Thursday 29 April 2010

ANTM Top 5

This cycle of ANTM has just been a huge disappointment. I still go by my first opinion that this cycle had possibly the greatest potential but maybe because I had expected great things from this cycle that i feel so disappointed now.

Two things totally blew my model radar away. Krista getting FCO and Angelea booking 6 out of 6 go sees

I think I understand why Angelea may have booked 6 out of 6 in New Zealand. Out of the 6 girls I think I'd understand why
Krista - too old
Jessica - too commercial
Raina - square body
Alexandra - plus sized
Alasia - her body is gorgeous but maybe a bit too curvaceous for high fashion.
Angelea has the least obvious problem - her face is stuck on bitch please mode. I do have to say Angelea looked decent at some of the go sees I saw but I still don't see her as engaging on the runway.

Did one of the designers say Angelea would be a nice person to have around?!?!?

Angelea said something about their penthouse - Tallest building in New Zealand? Only 29 floors? I don't think so! 

That penthouse was INCREDIBLE! SO JEALOUS! Best ANTM penthouse for ages.

Back to ranting. Angelea has produced a few decent photos but there are just too many problems I see with her. Her face doesn't look fresh to me, she looks tired as hell most of the time. Her styling can be a mess, she can be slightly rude at times. Her face is stuck in bitch-please mode for most of her photoshoots. If Angelea wants me to convert to a fan she needs to do a lot more than what she has done atm.

Krista FCO, you kidding me! To be somewhat honest with you I rather let Angelea get FCO cause she scored 6 out of 6 go sees so she obviously wasn't going to be eliminated. Like someone said on the RTVG forums this FCO is probably the worst FCO in ANTM history, if not at least one of the worst.

I did get my prediction wrong, I expected Jessica or Alexandra to get eliminated but when I saw Alasia's photo I knew there was no saving her, she was getting lower and lower callouts. The photo had to be at least as good as last weeks for her to stay and sadly it wasn't.

Next week I see Jessica going and then the week after Alexandra or Angelea. I think Angelea will be eliminated 4th, I just don't see both Krista and Angelea making the Top 3 and at the moment I think Krista is getting more of a winner edit. I still see Krista winning, yes I do.

Alexandra - I don't get all the hate from fans, she's not the best but I don't think she's the worst either. What she lacks is a defining shot, she's produced a lot of middling photos but middling doesn't mean bad imo.
Jessica - She's overated by fans in all honesty. I see her leaving next, I like her but she hasn't really done anything fantastic imo. And finally, the judges comment about her face/expression, there's just nothing there.
Krista - I'm slowly seeing Krista's potential as a model however I think she looks and is too old. She's also not very photogenic imo, she relies heavily on interesting poses so she doesn't have anything to fall back on.
Angelea - I just don't see it, I don't think I ever will. Her look just doesn't evoke model to me. Pretty girl probably but definitely not model. There's just nothing fresh or interesting about her look to me, it's a bit plain-but-pretty Jane.
Raina - Raina is the only saving light in this cycle. If she was eliminated before the Final 2 I think I'd seriously consider not watching the rest of this cycle and possibly the next. It's weird, every cycle (preshow) when I look at the models and think "They look interesting", the cycle is normally weak, every cycle I go "God, I'd rather watch the last cycle", most of the time the cycle is fantastic.

Alasia - It's a shame she was eliminated. I still think she has the 2nd best portfolio she just needed to be a bit more consistent - weed out all the weaker shots. Alasia is a beautiful girl and my god does she have a fabulous body, she was my 2nd favourite on the show but sadly she had to leave before Angelea :(

I think the only thing that may salvage this cycle is if Raina wins. I think Raina is perfect for photo shoots but sadly I'm not sure she'll be big on the runway considering her body shape. Nonetheless she is the best ANTM cycle 14 has left.

Brother!

Why is my brother so inconsiderate? He just does what he wants! He's taken the speakers outside the house and is playing music in the garden really loudly. There's a primary school really near by and they're about to go home whilst my brother is playing loud music with swear words in basically every line. I myself think it's inevitable that children will hear swear words in every day life but some parents are totally against this and make a lot of fuss about it and may complain about us to the the local councils. I don't want the neighbours to dislike us but my brother is making that really difficult. I just don't understand why you need to play music really loudly. If you want to drown out all the other sounds listen to it on your headphones. There's a time and a place for loud music as it can be really annoying to other people. I sound like a killjoy don't I but I really do find people who play loud music without considering those around them to be really offensive and plain rude. How can my brother be less mature than I am when he's nearly 31 and I'm 18!

Wednesday 28 April 2010

Cupid Stupid

I've just finished watching Cupid Stupid, it's possibly one of the most annoying series I've watched for some time. I applaud Tsui Yue On for being somewhat original in terms of the ending but everything was rather painful to watch, the ending was extremely painful, in a way it reminded me of Shine on You, where the couple we all wanted to be together weren't together in the end. I think Cupid Stupid had a lot of potential to go far but sadly I felt it imploded before the ending and personally the ending was not to my liking. Sad endings are not common for Hong Kong series, whilst Korean series can get away with it because every episode basically focuses on the couples storyline Hong Kong doesn't produce Romcoms like Korea does, Hong Kong tends to try and add other things to the plot which diverts your attention away from the romance plot therefore in actual fact there is little time to develop a connection between a couple pairing.

Personally the ending left me utterly annoyed. I think we all know that Twinkle wanted to be with Chi Yat Po and vice versa but both just let Jeff to take over. I'd almost rather the series was generic and Twinkle went to England to study design and comes back with a boyfriend and Chi Yat Po and Jeff have moved on - that would be so TVB. Whilst annoying endings like these normally leave an impression on the viewer I think Cupid Stupid didn't because in the end we all felt a bit stupid for watching it simply because all the fuss came down to a let down of a climax, it just ended quite abruptly and left you not feeling satisfied at all. It was in fact quite similar to Vagabond Vigilante which aired on Saturday's and Sunday's in the UK. Both had rather painful endings that made us question the point of watching it at all. In the end I watch Romcoms to make me feel happy inside and Cupid Stupid just didn't do it which was a shame, I can go on and on about it but I think this is enough. Now onto my nominations :)

Best Actor
Steven Ma

Steven is really leading the way in terms of Best Actor at the moment. In both series he's portrayed his character well, I find it slightly disturbing that nearing the age of 40 Steven can still portray first love like he's in his mid to late 20's. I think Steven is underated, he really deserves recognition for his roles in A Watchdog's Tale and Cupid Stupid but obviously that won't happen. I actually find his role in Cupid Stupid rather like Raymond Lam in Moonlight Resonance, of course without all that drama. Whilst this role probably isn't as difficult as his role in A Watchdog's Tale to portray I do believe that Steven performed better here, it felt more natural.

Best Actress
Tavia Yeung

Tavia portrayed her character well, not brilliantly but worthy of some recognition. I think she acted better at the start of the series, it does seem that Tavia tends to lose that genuine touch when it comes to dramatic stuff. She is definitely a great actress when it comes to the more down to earth things, it flows well but when there's some sort of tension in the plot we see a few cracks in her portrayals.

Best Supporting Actor
No Nominations

Best Supporting Actress
Kingdom Yuen

Bar a few places where she looked like she was going to call NG on herself I felt that it was all very natural and believable. Her character was very down to earth and relatable. The viewer was led to feel sorry for her situation, it was interesting that such a down to earth character was at one point affected by star signs and the lot.

Best Couple
Steven Ma and Tavia Yeung

Steven and Tavia were the perfect couple in this series, the chemistry they had before Jeff stuck his immature foot in was so genuine and lovely to watch, I think the difference if this series was Korean would be that we'd get Steven and Tavia all the way through but maybe with hurdles such as Jeff they need to tackle. Jeff was just an unwelcome addition to their relationship and I found that the love plots were poorly managed by Tsui Yu On, I just didn't want to watch how Chi Yat Po couldn't tell Twinkle his love, I didn't want to watch how Twinkle was slowly falling for Jeff, it was just all too annoying! What i wanted to watch was Steven and Tavia as buddies and maybe they would develop into a couple but the gem in this series was definitely the friendship Steven and Tavia had.

Kingdom Yuen and Ram Chiang

Didn't expect another nomination did you! Throughout this year I have been more impressed with the supporting couples rather than the leading couples. Kingdom Yuen held this couple together single handedly, whilst there story was definitely by no means realistic the way Kingdom portrayed it made me feel rather warm inside - something the main plot didn't do. Ram Chiang I felt was actually quite bad in his portrayal, it just felt like Beyond The Realm of Consciousness part 2 - this is by no means a compliment as I thought he overacted in BTROC.

Most Improved Actress
Mandy Cho

I've never liked Mandy but this series has changed by view, I don't know why it has actually but from now on I'll definitely have a different perspective towards Mandy.

Favourite Male Character
Steven Ma

Who can hate Chi Yat Po, how he cares and devotes himself towards Twinkle is something truely amazing and just so heart warming to watch. How can someone give all they have and not want anything in return? People donate to charities to feel happy they have done a good deed but how would Chi Yat Po ever be happy when he'll see Jeff and Twinkle together possibly for the rest of their lives. Whilst this is obviously only a story I think Steven and Kingdom truely held this story together.

Favourite Female Character
Kingdom Yuen

In a story like this we need something a bit more realistic, down to earth, to relate to, this is where Kingdom stepped in. She just grounded this series a bit, if not it may have flown away and gone a bit too crazy.

Breakthrough Performance
Just to reiterate Breakthrough Performance is a performance by someone I've basically never really cared for but made me notice them with their performance this time round.

Mandy Cho

Yet again as I have said I never really liked her but now I kind of do, I never actually saw the head over heals prettiness she supposedly had, but now I do :) lol

Most Annoying Character
Michael Tse - Jeff

(thank you HKCeleb)
Do I need to explain myself? Stepping into Chi Yat Po/Twinkle, destroying Mandy's heart, being selfish and rather immature, having his little diva moment - I think I've said enough. His sudden changes in personality were also rather annoying actually. Overall I didn't like it at all.

Recognition Award
Kingdom Yuen

For someone who just never gets recognition. This is possibly her best role since Gods of Honour.

Tuesday 27 April 2010

Desperate Housewives Season 6 Episode 20 - Epiphany...

SPOILERS AHEAD!
I just finished watching the latest episode of Desperate Housewives and oh my god have I not seen DH this dark in AGES! Whilst the storyline is all too predictable it's actually quite uncharacteristic of DH. I knew from ages back that Eddie Orlofsky was the strangler, he just had to be! He had little screen time for an actor that has more roles under his belt than say Beau Mirchoff - he played the Young Dr. Evil btw! REMEMBER - he doesn't look the same does he. Also why would DH add an extra character to the story without exploiting them? And by episode 20 its getting quite late to make a credible and relevant story out of Eddie "The Killer" Orlofsky - it kind of has a ring to it don't you think?

Who would have thought Eddie was so cute when he was young (hysterial laughter at Eddie... god don't kill me Eddie! - you'd understand if you watched it). The story is all too predictable, guy leaves wife, wife turns to alcohol, wife blames son for all her problems, son goes into psycho-crazy mode for getting no love - however whilst this is all cliche it's not what I expect from DH. DH has battered nearly every cliche storyline I can think of but at the moment I'm interested - more so than cliche Patrick trying to get cliche Danny back from cliche Angie - enough cliches?
It's refreshing to see Mary-Alice back, it's always a joy to see somebody different. If only she hadn't killed herself maybe all this wouldn't happen, oh well. Gabrielle's little story with Eddie was quite sweet actually, if only Carlos hadn't forced her to get rid of him, oh well. Bree hurt him deeply, I believe, if only she wasn't so nosey, oh well. Susan had to be so nice to him, if only she wasn't an art graduate who thought she'd discovered the next Matisse, oh well. Lynette had to show kindness and naivity that's rather rare of her and can potentially get her killed, if only she was less motherly, oh well. Basically throughout the episode there were a load of "if onlys", we saw loads of buildups of Eddie's confidence and then loads of crashing downs, but don't get me wrong I do not sympathise with a character like Eddie's, whilst it is awful that Eddie had to go through so many tough times not everybody becomes a psycopathic murderer because of rejection - if so the streets would be crawling with murderers and I would be one too! Come to think of it Lynette had a somewhat abusive childhood.

I am interested to see what happens next, this episode was basically a long spoiler unto what would happen when Eddie lives with Lynette - hate that Eddie's name is Eddie it makes me think and say Edie out loud. Whilst I want something dramatic to occur I doubt it would happen, what confuses me is that Marc Cherry has hinted upon the two mysteries being intertwined - so is Eddie going to take out Angie and Patrick or something? Or maybe he'll kill Danny - woah that'd be weird! Also are the police of Fairview that inefficient? How many people has Eddie killed without any sort of pre-planned element to it? Surely there'd be loads of hints and clues to a potential killer for all these people.

Overall whilst I was interested in the story the storyline was rather cliched. I'm happy to have seen a bit more about Eddie but what I'm more interested is seeing what happens next. There's only 4 episodes left but the story already feels like it's one or two episodes from the end, what'll happen next? I hope DH will go out with a bang as I haven't felt that from DH in a long time.

Thursday 22 April 2010

ANTM Top 6

Anslee left like the 99.9% of every ANTM watcher thought. Everything pointed to her not making the Top 6. Her callout, her edit, her place in the ending picture, her being seen with decoys etc etc. I'm not sad that she left because I agree she needed to go but there is one person I want to see go more - that's Angelea. Whilst I think Angelea has taken some decent shots what annoys me by far is that she can do no wrong in the judges eyes. Look at that awful photo she took this week, but the judges gave her 2nd best ahead of Alasia and Raina who both were miles better than her. She also looked awful in judging but none of the judges seem to mind except, I think, partially Andre Leon Talley. If Angelea makes the Top 3 I will literally puke! Whilst I'm beginning to see Krista's potential I don't see Angelea ever becoming, ANTM- wise, a successful model. I literally can't see how she has the best callout of any of the girls - look at Raina's portfolio, Alasia's portfolio or even Jessica's portfolio! Angelea has produced some of the worst or most boring shots this cycle but she never gets criticised. I also don't think she's improving, like Krista is. Whilst I wouldn't like to see Krista win, but I think she does, I'd rather Krista get further than Angelea. If Angelea and Krista both make it to the Top 2 I think I will have lost hope for ANTM and it will officially be the worst cycle EVER!

I still go by my predictions with maybe a swap between Alexandra and Jessica because out of the remaining girls neither of them have the love from the judges. Angelea has the love from Tyra, Alasia has the love from ALT, Krista seems to be getting the love from Nigel, Raina JUST HAS THE LOVE! lol! But anyway yeah I think my Top 6 predictions shouldn't be wrong unless Angelea makes usurps in and trust me if she does the computer screen will not like what I throw at it!

Friday 16 April 2010

ANTM - Down to the final 7

Why is the Final 7 so momentuous? because it's one week before overseas! This cycle promised so much, but sadly it has not delivered the way it could have. To be very honest I think a lot of the girls that have an interesting or potential model look have already been eliminated and what we are left with now are the pretty girls, the plain girls and the Tyra-thinks-so girls.

Gabrielle - She had potential, yes she did, but I wouldn't in a million years see Gabrielle make it further than Week 3 in a competition like ANTM. She just doesn't fit in.

Naduah - In an attempt to make the whole competition a bit more edgy Tyra enlisted Naduah, sadly Naduah wasn't really edgy she was instead actressy and tbh we could find that type of girl anywhere.

Ren - Ren was definitely the biggest diamond in the rough this cycle - bigger than Alasia! She had so much potential and so much going for her, sadly like Danielle - who got eliminated before Top 13, she will just never be able to get far on ANTM as her look is not what ANTM is currently going for.

Simone - A very pretty girl who looked amazing most times I saw her on the show but sadly I don't think she'll ever really cut it as a model. She's a great looking girl and one of my favourites but she's purely there for us to gawk at.

Tatianna - She had a distinct look which could have played highly in her hands. Like Naduah and Ren before her she was one of the girls that looked different and had potential.

Brenda - Brenda looks the part but she didn't play the part. Out of the 8 girls left she had the most distinct look which would get her noticed but sadly she just didn't have the spark.

And the girls that are left...

Alasia - She is a huge diamond in the rough. She needs to believe in herself and then perform because in person she has a lot of potential. With the right styling she just pops out from the group - that was evident in the Seventeen styling. She's a gorgeous girl but she can potential sabotage her own chances. Diamond in the rough 1.

Alexandra - She is undeniably a pretty girl. The conventional pretty girl syndrome has been a part of Simone, Jessica and Alexandra and in Tyra's world that is too much. Tyra has already eliminated Simone and I believe one of Jessica or Alexandra or possibly both will be eliminated before the Top 4. Pretty Girl

Angelea - Sorry guys I just don't see Angelea as a model. She has definitely got some good shots in this competition but whether she'll truely make a good model - I don't think so. Tyra-thinks-so girl

Anslee - In my opinion Anslee doesn't have the model looks or potential. Some may say her face is gorgeous but I think it can easily look a bit aged. She can take good photos but she just doesn't have much to distinguish her from anybody else. She's in my plain looks category. Plain girl.

Jessica - she is being edited as the back stabbing bitch I think. Sadly Tyra doesn't seem to have time for her. Whilst I like Jessica I think she's overated and I think the judges think that too. Pretty Girl

Krista - Yes Krista performed well this week but that still doesn't class her as model to me. Sadly I just don't see it but everyone on the show seems to think she's the second Teyona! Eek. Tyra-thinks-so Girl

Raina - Out of all the girls I think Raina is the best, you must have got the gist by now. Raina just has it all but I don't think she has the title. From reading her blog and seeing how she's showing a lot more post show activity than the other girls I think Raina is going to be part of a shock elimination, sadly. Diamond in the rough 2.

So who do I think will be the unlucky girl to go next week... hmmm.... Let's analyse.

Alasia - A bad edit this week puts Alasia in the firing line for next week. I think the only thing saving her in the judges side is ALT, hopefully his enthusiam for her hasn't waned yet as I do see Alasia as a huge potential. From these episodes I don't actually see Alasia winning anymore but lets hope she makes the Top 3.

Alexandra - How many times has she been featured? How many times has she been edited badly? We haven't seen much of Alexandra to remember lately, that can mean good or bad. For the past few cycles girls who don't get mentioned much early on normally go on to win, but those girls also get a lot of praise and are extremely quirky or different looking, I don't think Alexandra fits into either so I potentially see her getting a lot of screen time next episode and being eliminated. She's been middling with the judges and in Tyra's eyes that's worse than rollercoastering up and down the rankings. Chances are high but I personally think she's into the Top 6.

Angelea - Angelea is looking like a favourite (with the judges of course). Before Cycle 11 favourites (as in girls with the best callouts) rarely won but since Cycle 11 the favourites in the judges eyes has always won. Will Angelea win? I don't think so. Will she go far - sadly I think she will. If Angelea continues to improve I may forgive her rudeness but if she doesn't she needs to go. I also want to rectify this weird thought pattern that some girls have (and some fans actually), REAL does not equal RUDE, you can be real yet graceful and calm e.g. Nicole Cycle 13. Angelea is real but just because Raina, Jessica, Brenda are more calm doesn't mean they aren't REAL. Jessica is slightly fake I agree but Brenda is just an unconfident bunny and Raina is just trying to mind her own business.

Anslee - Anslee is at the bottom of the pile from everything I've read. She may not have produced a god-what-the-hell photo as such but she hasn't produced any great shots either. Personally I don't think Anslee is staying and I still think she's is the most likely to be eliminated girl next episode but she's been hanging on a thin line for the past few weeks so you never know! Also she's been seen with decoys so she's probably gone.

Jessica - I think this episode was the killer for her. Tyra has been hiding her away for the past few episodes so the fans can love her but this episode would definitely split fans. I'm between OK to like with her. The only reason why she's in my favourites section is because this cycles competition is thinning in my opinion. She will never win I don't think but she can potentially go far - or get eliminated next episode seeing none of the judges are backing her at the moment.

Krista - Whilst typing I was also thinking about the potential winner and I got scared because the more I thought about it the more I saw Krista winning! Whilst Angelea is basking in the love Krista is getting some of that attention. She hasn't done anything wrong in the judges eyes for a few episodes and she hasn't really been edited badly for a long long time. She's been getting a few confessionals in and she is quirky enough to go underground most of the cycle and end up winning. The more i look at it the more I see Krista winning - oh no!

Raina - Raina will get far, she has to! But I don't see her chances of winning that high anymore. She's just got a lot of post show things on the internet and sadly that normally spells - I didn't win. I think if she doesn't win it'd be as big of a shock as Whitney winning over Anya - whilst I wasn't a huge fan of either Anya was definitely better.

Possibilities... Girls that normally fall at 7th are ones that haven't had much of an edit
Most Likely - Anslee, Alexandra
Possible - Jessica, Alasia
Could be - Krista, Raina
Not likely - Angelea


Winner
Most Likely - For this week it goes to: Krista
Possible - Raina
Could be - Alasia, Angelea
Maybe  - Alexandra, Jessica
Unlikely - Anslee

Ok I'm going to try and predict how they leave!
7th - Anslee
6th - Jessica
5th - Alexandra
4th - Angelea
3rd - Alasia
2nd - Raina
1st - Krista

That scares me a lot! 
If Anslee goes next week everybody left would have an A as the last letter of their name :)

Thursday 8 April 2010

Miss Universe Canada

Having tons of candidates and only one small photo of each contestant it normally a huge turn off for me in terms of assessing candidates but for some reason I decided to break that tradition and look at the Miss Universe Canada delegates. Like most years there are a bunch of girls that don't really impress but there are a number who popped out to me. Originally, I only had 7 girls but I thought 10 was a better number. See if you can guess the three extras. Here they are :)

Melissa Plante -Sorel-Tracy, Quebec
Wish I could have seen a head on shot.
 
Aleksandra Malkin - Concord, Ontario
She's not the typical look I go for in pageants but she seems very approachable yet beautiful.

Bianca Gaudreault - Montreal, Quebec
Very modelesque

 
Laudia Yambala - Montreal, Quebec
I've seen another photo of her where she looks average but this shot is more than enough to save her for now.

Maria Mejia - Montreal, Quebec
An exotic beauty

Paniz Yousefzadeh - Vancouver, British Columbia
Another exotic stunner
 
Sarah Bernier - Drummondville, Quebec
Is it just me or is it obvious that she speaks French from her look?
 
Zahra Al-Aubiydy - Orleans, Ontario
She looks really pretty and friendly, something that may be hard to find in some pageants.

Ashley Callingbull - Enoch, Alberta
There are a few East Asian or Asian looking girls in this competition, she along with Maria is one of those I chose maybe lured by her huge number of sponsors - having so many must mean something right?

Theresa Crame - Vancouver, British Columbia
She has a fresh-ish face which looks good in the photo but may look awful with heavy makeup.

Miss Universe GB

How can I make a series of posts about pageants without my local one! Well actually Miss Universe GB isn't that interesting to me you don't get to see it and it's probably very unorganised anyway. Well last year Clair Cooper was a great representative for us and I applaud you again Clair, you may not necessarily be the prettiest but you were definitely one of the most fun, engaging and interesting girls of the pageant you also had killer presence and style. There isn't that much to go by for my favourites, there is nothing besides a small grainy photo and a few words from each candidate, anyway I've managed to find my favourite (and it seems she's the hot favourite for the crown also)... Sophie Jones. Oh I forgot to mention that one of the prices was a contract with Vibe models, who seem to prize themselves with having WAGs in their rostrum!


Miss Slovakia 2010

Whilst I'm in the mood for blogging (and not in the mood to do work) I'll blog more about upcoming pageants. I'm such a pageant freak - that's because I love all things beautiful :) Some may say pageants exploit women but I personally think as long as the girls feel happy and content with what they are doing pageants aren't the worst thing they could have got themselves into and why not flaunt your looks and potential intellect if you've got it. Yes I do believe that pageants should place a higher proportion of their scores to intellect, wit and personality but they are slowly getting there. Anyway here are my Top 2 from Miss Slovakia, there are more good candidates but these two stood out above the rest.

Erika Kovacova

Leona Cechova

Miss Dominican Republic 2010

I decided to post about Miss Dominican Republic because I saw a lot of girls that I liked the look of, though many of them looked a bit overdone and high maintenance there were still a lot of dazzling stunners amongst the plethora of beautiful girls. I'm a huge fan of contestants from the Dominican Republic from this decade only we've had Amelia Vega - my favourite MU of all time, Marianne Cruz and Ada Aimee de La Cruz, Renata Sone wasn't bad either. Anyway back to this year, I've gathered my current Top 5 to show you, see what you think :)

Alma Alvarez Alfonso - Miss Samana
A multiracial butterfly lol! If you watch ANTM you'll know what I mean.

Eva Arias - Miss Espaillat
Looks a bit photoshopped but oh well.

Olga Lidia Navarro - Miss Hermanas Mirabal
I can't be the only one that sees a slight resemblance to Ada Aimee de la Cruz can I?

Libell Duran Caba - Miss Communidad Dominicana en Estados Unidos
There's something unique about her, yes she looks like she's a fan of plastic surgery but 21,387 votes, the current lead, on the official website surely begs some consideration.

Sarah Feliz Mok - Miss Bahoruco
Look at this photo and tell me she doesn't look pretty here, go on tell me! She was also in 2007 which featured Marianne Cruz and Ada Aimee de la Cruz, maybe that year could breed another Top 5 Miss Universe!

Miss USA 2010

At this precise moment I'm not astounded by the candidates this year. Unlike 2009 I found it particularly hard to select a favourite from the pre-pageant portraits released on the website. For now my slight favourite is Miss Colorado, Jessica Hartman. I've seen two photos of her, one below and one with her crown and both are decent so for now I'll place my hopes on her. However it has been 10 years since Colorado placed in Miss USA; with Tiani Jones. There are definitely much stronger states such as North Carolina; who looks OK, Texas; who have placed every year since 2001, Tennessee, California, South Carolina etc etc. The list goes on and on till we finally reach Colorado. And will Miss Delaware finally place? I'm not sure but atm I'm not convinced.

Tuesday 6 April 2010

FFXIII-2

I heard news that the developers were thinking of making a FFXIII-2, that would be great! Though I don't know what story they could pull together it would be interesting, it would obviously mean that Vanille and Fang won't be in it that much. Serah and Dazh should definitely be part of the playable characters!

One thing I truly missed in FFXIII was the ability to explore towns, FFXIII-2 could make this happen, develop on Eden, Palumpolum, Nautilus etc, the glimpses of those towns were fantastic - though they'd probably be abandoned after FFXIII. Have huge towns, where you can actually get lost! lol.

As I think adding anything apocalyptic to the story would just drag it down maybe it should be a bit more light-hearted where FFXIII wasn't at any point. Feature Sazh's chocobo more! Oops I suddenly realised it's Dajh not Dazh - my mistake! Will try to change it :)>

Maybe they should have them doing some sort of treasure hunting with some mysterious subplot- you can see I'm not born to be a game designer! lol.

FFXIII

OMG, just finished the story side of FFXIII! Whilst I'm very happy to have finished it I'm also sad that now all I have to look forward to is hunts :(
If you don't want to read spoilers STOP now.

Anyway the ending was good but in my opinion rather short. I thought the apocalyptic end should have been more crazy, it felt a bit tamed to me. Vanille and Fang may supposedly be in eternal life but to me they may as well be dead, being in crystal form for all your life isn't really what I aspire to! lol. I'm feeling quite bad for Vanille especially because she was my favourite character. Whilst the ending was good I don't think it even holds a light to FFX's ending, that got me near tears. Whilst it's nice to see Serah and Dazh back I think they should have featured a longer ending with them and the "surviving 4". The final boss battles were difficult but not too difficult but it wasn't as ridiculously easy as FFX.

Whilst typing this I actually feel quite sad that there's not going to be anymore plot for me to go through - well at least I have FFXIII Versus to look forward to.

Anyway here's my opinion on...

Lightning - Besides being a great fighter I'm not sure I was all too interested in her, like FFXII there didn't seem to be a central character and tbh I felt that Fang and Vanille took over from that role more than once. If I was to remember a single character from FFXII a year or two later Lighting wouldn't be the one.

Snow - I like Snow but yet again I feel mostly the same with him as with Lightning. However his semi story with NORA, Serah and Hope was slightly more interesting than Lightning's.

Vanille - My absolute favourite character in the series. However I know a lot of people think she's the most annoying out of the 6. I however found her really endearing and was very sad to her become Ragnarok and turn into Crystal - again!

Fang - Whilst Fang was a nice character and one of the more 3 dimensional characters in this game I wasn't really drawn to her as much as I was with Vanille - it's kind of weird.

Hope - Personally I found Hope annoying and I didn't really like his sudden scenes of enlightenment, they just seemed a bit odd. Did his dad die? That's so sad - the ending is actually quite sad but supposedly it's the best thing to happen to them!

Sazh - Forgive me for saying this but what was the point of Sazh? Ok he provided some comic relief at times and I loved the chocobo in his head but he seemed to do nothing at the latter stages of the story.

Ranking of my favourite characters
Vanille
Snow
Fang
Lightning
Sazh
Hope

In a way the more I type about FFXIII the more unhappy I get with the ending, it was just a bit short and vague, ah well what's done is done.

Overall
Music - I absolute loved the music, it was one thing that brought the game together and will possibly the thing that lasts the longest in my memory for this game.
Fights - It can be frustrating at times because you kind of have to find the right combos to defeat opponents but once you do it gets quite repetitive. You also need to get use to the gameplay, if not you'll lose in a lot of battles.
Graphics - OK, this is definitely the best graphics I have seen in a game - I don't think anyone will challenge that, however it's almost too good as my PS3 couldn't cope sometimes as there were a few jitters.
Characters - Will I remember any of the characters by the next FF game? Probably Vanille, saying that I thought I'd remember Balthier FFXII vividly but it took some memory jogging to get his name out. I can't actually believe that game critics rank FFXII higher than FFXIII in general (FFXII has higher overall scores on MetaCritic and GameRankings). I must say I remember very little in terms of story from FFXII - because it was near storyless!
Story - I did like the story but I think at times it dipped. Whilst the story is leagues better than FFXII, as I don't even remember what disaster the heroes were trying to save the world from in FFXII, I don't think it matches FFX. However as an overall I think it gets very close to FFX.

Well my blabbers done for now, if I think of anything I'll update this post. Now off to lament on finishing FFXIII.

Sunday 4 April 2010

ANTM Final 9

As we're getting close to the final 6 I thought I'd share with you who I thought would get a ticket to New Zealand. This cycle hasn't been as amazing as I'd hoped for but we can still get my favourite top 6 - though unlikely.

ALASIA
Alasia is really developing into a true contender so I don't see her leaving just yet. If Tyra saved her after her first and second photo-shoots; both of which garnered negative comments, I don't think she's just going to eliminate her randomly especially considering Andre Leon Talley's love for her. I really like her so I'm happy that she's finally stepping up to the plate.

Prediction: Top 3



ALEXANDRA
Alexandra is doing well, she's getting generally positive comments and I remember Andre showering her with praise in one of the judging panels so she is a dark horse, however I don't see her winning. Not only is having 2 plus sized models win in the space of 5 cycles unthinkable, even on ANTM, Alexandra isn't really prominent on the series; without much of a story or quirkiness that allows her to go unnoticed for most of the series yet still win.

Prediction: Top 6, one of the first to leave


ANGELEA
Angelea's call out means she is one of the favourites but I think she's going to do a Tahlia, the judges love her (the fans don't) and then get eliminated "technically" on a high and considered a shock because her call out is so high. Whilst Angelea isn't as bad as I thought she'd be she's giving me nothing besides the same bored face. I just don't see her making the Top 6.

Prediction: 8th



ANSLEE
The last episode has put Anslee on the line. Being quite mature looking and not having a picture which defines her on ANTM is a huge problem. Whilst she can totally shock us and make it into the Top 6 I don't think she is going to be in the Top 6. Next week will be a huge week for her, she'll either fall and therefore get cut or do really well and book herself a ticket to New Zealand.

Prediction: 9th



BRENDA
Brenda is really confusing me, I don't know whether she'll make the Top 6 or not. It really does depend on the next episode - a real turning point for a lot of the models. To be honest Brenda has really disappointed me so far and I'm considering whether I'd put her in my Top 6.

Prediction: 7th





JESSICA
Unlike a lot of fans I'm not convinced Jessica will make the Top 3. Whilst I love Jessica to bits I kind of think the judges are bored of her especially Andre Leon Talley. In a way she's too pretty and conventional for Tyra and Andre who have eliminated Simone already. My gut feeling is that she's not going to make the Top 6 but my heart puts her in 5th or so.

Prediction: 5th




KRISTA
Krista is the undying beast of this cycle, I DON'T WANT HER ANYMORE! But the judges love her. I just don't see model in anything that she has done currently and her bone structure scares me - it's one thing having an interesting bone structure, it's another when you scare the viewer! I really don't want her in the Top 6 but I'm afraid she's a very likely candidate.

Top 6



RAINA
Whoever doesn't think Raina is a favourite to win must be watching a different cycle. Raina is not only a fan favourite, judge favourite and my favourite she's also one of the most modelesque girls of this cycle. Her photos have been very good throughout and I do believe the best is yet to come. Unlike "back in the day" the expected have been winning for many cycles now - 13=Nicole 12=Teyona 11=McKey - all very predictable and I guess this cycle the predictable also wins.

Prediction: Winner


TATIANNA
She's one of those contestants where you don't know when she's going to go. I don't think she'll win the competition but I don't know how far she'll get. At the moment I think she's heading for the Top 6 but I don't think she's going to get to the final 3.

Prediction: Top 4





The problem this cycle is that I don't see any girl plausibly being the runner up - that sounds weird doesn't it! It's just that I can see a few girls winning but I can't see any girl losing at the final hurdle.

Raina - can see her winning definitely
Alasia - has the personality, I wouldn't be at all shocked if she did win
Alexandra - can't see her winning or making the Top 2
Jessica - she's the likeliest runner up but I don't see her making it that far.
Krista - I don't see her winning or making the Top 2
Tatianna - I don't see her winning or making the Top 2 either.
Angelea - Oh god no! I don't think so either.
Anslee - I can actually see her making the Top 2 but I don't think she would
Brenda - I don't think she'd be in the Top 2.

So really the people I think could plausibly make a Top 2 combo are Raina, Alasia, Jessica and Anslee.

Now to mourn those that left :(

REN
If Ren wasn't her drunk-ass self she really would have been a huge favourite of mine, her first photo was gorgeous! Sadly she couldn't get back to that level as she just didn't want to be there.








SIMONE
Simone was a lovely girl and possibly the prettiest contestant but sadly she didn't deliver. Whilst her photos aren't that bad she lost out because her photos aren't that bad. In Tyra's world having mediocre photos is just as bad as having loads of awful photos. As long as she can see potential it doesn't matter if you have a score of weak photos but sadly Tyra couldn't see potential in her as she's just too safe.






If I had the say my Top 6 would be:
Raina - the best atm
Alasia - personality and decent shots atm
Jessica - whilst I'm not a fan of her shots she is pretty and has potential
Tatianna - she's gorgeous and different looking
Ren - Edgy and potentially fantastic, though she could sabotage herself
Simone - she has potential, her prettiness just forbade Tyra to save her as Tyra doesn't like conventional pretty.

Quick Cling on note, after seeing how much Raina is willing to put on her blog I'm kind of worried, mostly you don't get to see an ounce of the contestants after the show when the show is happening. I hope this isn't a sign as I want Raina to win so badly! If not Raina then Alasia or Jessica please :)

Friday 2 April 2010

The Beauty of the Game


The Beauty of the Game is one of those series where I just can't decide whether I liked it or not. It's an interesting and gritty series by TVBs standards but I found that there was something missing maybe it was something from the storyline. I did feel that there should have been more development because Kate Tsui basically turned into an angel over night. Anyway here's my nominations.

Best Actor
No Nominees

Best Actress
Christine Ng

I've always loved Christine and this role was perfect for her because her image won't be soured by it as she's really funny and nice in person. I really liked her portrayal of the evil Keung Chin Fung, she portrayed it very realistically and the final moment where she finally knew how stupid she was was a great scene as her eyes did all the talking - she was actually paralysed and couldn't talk so... Christine needs to be nominated for this because she definitely pulled this series together. Her final scenes were definitely a must watch.

Best Supporting Actor
Wong Cho Lam

I'm not a fan of Wong Cho Lam but he really did provide much needed comic relief to this somewhat dark drama. Though at times his character was annoying he did make this whole series a bit more lighthearted and I guess that's why Wong Cho Lam is TVBs favourite clown :)

Best Supporting Actress
Sharon Chan

I don't think Sharon is considered a lead as such in this drama so sadly I've demoted her to Best Supporting but she portrayed Cally really well. Sharon is one of those unlucky artists who just doesn't seem to have any luck with TVB, she's pretty, a good actress and been in the industry for a while - so I don't understand why she's still under the Most Improved Category for like 4 years. Personally I think she outshone Kate Tsui here but they both did well overall.

Mimi Lo
I love Mimi, she is such a fun actress to watch, like Sharon she hasn't had the luck as say Kate Tsui has. Remember Blade Heart way back with Raymond Lam, Liza Wang and Adam Cheng - she was like a leading lady there but for some reason along the way she just couldn't stay in that position. Anyway Mimi played a great couple with Wong Cho Lam, there chemistry though weird was very very watchable.

Kingdom Yuen
My favourite character of Kingdom's is still the mother she portrayed in Gods of Honour but in here she also showed glimpses of that caring, self sacrificing mother nature that she has. Whilst she may not have been the highlight of the series she was a great support to Kate's character and really helped that storyline progress. She's a great actress and really deserves some recognition.

Yvonne Lam
Whilst most would probably forget about Yvonne Lam portraying Lena I found her portrayal incredibly believable. Her act as a strong women was so convincing and unlike her comedy roles I don't think she overacted in any instance.

Best Couple
Mimi Lo and Wong Cho Lam

Forget the Chris Lai/Kate Tsui/Sharon Chan business, this was the couple we were all routing for. They were so funny together and that scene where Mimi confessed her love whilst stuffing her face with egg tarts is an absolute classic. I never would have thought this coupling would work so well but it did!

Most Improved Actor
Whilst in previous roles I just found him annoying this time I felt some sympathy towards him and also felt that his character was more "3D" as such.

Favourite Female Character
Mimi Lo
Most of the times I found myself wanting to see more of her, if that doesn't deem you a favourite character I don't know what does.

Best Chemistry
Let me remind you this award goes to Chemistry besides couples.

A lot of you may ask me why but I think these two really did feed off each other when they were fighting against each other. The energy they created really did spark off something interesting to watch.

Most Annoying Character
Kate Tsui
This is mainly due to when she was evil - how she betrayed everyone she could, but a tiny bit of me also puts the blame on her sudden change. Yes she may have been lost int he industry, explaining why she became so nasty but I thought she turned 180 degrees too quickly, I think there should have been instances where she still lingered on to her selfish nature in order to make the change slightly more believable.

Recognition Award
It's your third nomination Sharon! More than you'd ever be nominated with TVB! Anyway she really is a great actress that doesn't seem to be liked by TVB that much. I think the first time when I really did recognise her was in Catch Me Now, a 30 second scene where you could only hear Sharon cry and not see her face really sealed the deal with me - since then she's been in my to watch list.

Mimi Lo
Mimi Lo tops Sharon with her 4th nomination. She's a great actress that needs desperately to be recognised, though it's obvious she won't be. :(