Oscar Review

So Last night was the Oscars or as they were calling it the "hip Oscars." Both Anne Hathaway and James Franko had chemistry during the Oscars promos but on Oscar night the clear winner was Anne Hathaway. She had great comedic timing when Melissa Leo said the F-bomb and she said she though F stood for the Fighter. She even stole the show in the video montage as the duck and saying "in the future microphones get bigger." Then I loved her singing her own version of On My Own mocking Hugh Jackman however her WooHooing and cheering did get a tad annoying. Overall I think she did a great job compared to James Franco who took a backseat and just sat there. If anything all the action he had was all the tweeting of pictures from the back stage.

Reading reviews of the show as usual it got boring reviews but it has been hard to fulfill Billy Crystals shoes. When I think of last good host I think Hugh did a pretty good job and Neil Patrick Harris is an amazing award host although he is stretched pretty thin when it comes to awards since he has done a good job with the Emmy, Tony, and a mini montage for the Oscars too. Although Anne and James did a good job Robert Downey Junior stole the show again with his comedic timing when he presented with Jude Law and putting out there that although he was caught he can laugh at himself. Will he be the next host? Doubt it but he has made people laugh with just his presence as a presenter.

Another great presenter that did great with a laugh was Sandra Bullock who was in a different place this year. Saying things like Jessie you havent accepted my Facebook request and Jeff Bridges is greedy trying to get another Oscar. Then who could forget Kurt Douglas, who was hard to understand but kept saying you know.. you know which then Justin Timberlake mocked when he presented.

Overall all the Oscars for Best Actor/Actress and Supporting Actor/Actress were all predictable. No surprises like there sometimes are and the Best Picture went to the Kings Speech which was a good movie although it is your typical Oscar pick with a story about a person overcoming something. If they wanted to make it the hip Oscars they should have gone with the Social Network. Both great movies and stories. Honestly the Oscars need to go back to the top 5 movies not 10 because it is ridiculous for movies like the Kids are all Right and Toy Story to be nominated especially with an animated category.

Now on to Fashion. My top picks I loved Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, and Mila Kunis were some of my favorite dresses. I was not a fan of Cate Blanchetts dress which looked like an apron/ pink beaded Telly Tubby. The colors that were big were Reds and natural colors.

Starkid Starship Review

Forewarning there will possibly be some spoilers.

First off: This review which is one of the worst reviews I have seen for Starship really didn't give Starkid the type of credit it deserves. Companies like Steppenwolf started the same way and Starkid is trying to do the same thing. This reviewer talked about the length of time which I will agree was longer than other plays but it kept the attention of those who bought tickets for a SOLD OUT SHOW. If you have seen the Potter Musicals you know what to expect. Yes, the comedy/pop culture was there. Darren Criss music and lyrics had its pop tunes and catchy lyrics. If I saw it again I would remember them better but since my friends and I had listened to Goin' Back to Hogwarts before going to the show it somewhat overcrowd our heads. However for the dedicate "fan girls" they would probably remember them better.

Which brings me to the 2nd point I was not expecting the audience to be majority of girls who were in high school. Since my friends and I have graduated college we expected there to be some people there our age but that was not the case which made me believe that some people didn't get some of the jokes or what the OverQueen really was or the joke of no gag reflexes since my friends and I were the few that laughed at that joke. Now as with anything that has a fan base you will get some crazies hence why Starkid calls them fangirls and sadly went a little crazy with Joey Richters Facebook to where he can't have one (his tweet yesterday). However we encountered one in person. Case in point when we tried to get a picture with Joe Walker 2 girls were a little overbearing and you could get the slight hint that he wanted to get home. Then the best line said to Joe while signing autographs SPOILER "I don't know if you heard me but I totally snorted really loud when you did the eskimo kiss with Joey." My friends and I got a little bit of a kick out of the snort comment due to maturity but I have to say to their credit they really appreciate their fans and listen to everything they say.. or at least act like it.

Dedicated to their fans:After the show mostly everyone met their fans and were willing to sign autographs and take photos. We were literally kicked out at 11 but the cast did stay outside the theatre to sign some autographs and take pictures. My friends and I were able to have a little chat with Joe Walker about Chicago and the show and like the rest of the cast they took time to listen to everyone's comments. Someone in the audience came all the way from Brazil; that's dedication. I feel like the Starkids definitely deserved a day off today because they have been putting a lot of work into it and it showed though.

Show itself: The best way to describe it is Avenue Q meets Starship Trooper meets Little Mermaid. If you have seen Starship Trooper you can see where they get a lot of the concept ideas but they definitely expand on the idea from the movie. The vibrant colors and bugs themselves were something that I could not have imagined and they have upgraded from their puppets from previous shows. Joey Richter did a great job as Bug and maneuvering him and you could tell all the fun Nick Lang was having with the puppets. He was more prevalent in Starship compared to other shows and his enthusiasm added to the show considering he usually takes a back seat role.

Lauren Lopez as always was amazing and added to another great role which she will be remembered for. Dylan Saunders added great comic relief as Tootsie and added another element to the love story. Then as Pincer he did a great job maneuvering a huge puppet and made you forget that it was a puppet and not just a puppeteer . Brian Cox was great as roach. I have not seen him in any of the musicals posted online unless I am missing something but he did a great job and hope we will see him in future Starkid productions. Then 2 new additions to the Starkid lineup that shined through were Denise Donovan as February and Meredith Stepien as Mega-Girl. Both were amazing, funny, and fit in with the other cast perfectly. Both girls made you begging they had more scenes. Brian Holden and Joe Moses both added comic relief especially Brians pot scene and Joe's over enthusiasm. Finally Joey Richter did a fantastic job holding the show together and proved again what a great lead actor he can be. Working with a puppet and the other actors as a human there was a perfect blend between both Little Mermaid and Starship Trooper.

SPOILERS to help those who want to know before posting: Also it was great to see the headband incorporated again not only on Joey, but Bug and Pincer. One of the highlights besides the great music

- The mention of G-L-E-E a nod to Darren Criss

- Disney Movie References: Aladdin, Little Mermaid, and Cinderella

-The Overqueen exposing itself as what it really was in the Movies a vajayjay

-Joe Walker and Joey Richter's kiss... oooo ;)

-All Julia Albains scenes as Specs--- JUST AWESOME

-Lauren Lopez accents as both characters but when she got a piggy back ride from Joe Walker

Overall, compared to their other musicals it is right on par with their fan base and pop culture. I disagree with said critic and believe the props, puppets, and story line was beautiful. It kept to their many true stories of love, good and evil. The Starkids get an A in my book and I can't wait for their next musical.

Side note to those who don't know:

- Yes, Red Vines are free

- If you spend over $100 you get an autograph photo of Darren Criss

- If you want the best seats in the house feel free to get their early but there is no bad seat in the house

-You can get an autographed puppet signed by Joey Richter and Ann Arbor tshirts are all Starship things but includes sunglasses, and headband

To those who have yet to see it you will enjoy it and to those who are waiting for it to go on youtube you will enjoy it and it will definitely worth the wait.

Below are Pics from the Feb 15 show

With Dylan Saunders aka Tootsie/Pincer/Dumbledore

With Brian Holden aka Junior/Lupin- Writer/Actor


With Joe Walker aka Up/Voldemort/Umbridge --- we had a 5 minute Convo about Chicago and moving here and being cold and being tired. Like I said nice to fans

With Joey Richter aka Bug/Ron. Think he's excited he doesn't have to work tomorrow or wants to go home? No matter winner of best Smile

Blizzard 2011

So I am from Chicago and we had one of the worst blizzards. We got 20 inches and the weather was just crazy. Had 50 mile per hour winds, thundersnow which is where snow is so bad that thunder and lightening happen,Wrigley Field rooftop was blown off, roads were awful and still are. Lake shore drive was shut down due to an accident and still isnt cleared. People had to leave their cars and when it came to retrieving them Chicago couldnt tell them where they were. Todays roads were practically deserted and still bad. It took over 2 1/2 hours to plow everything with snow up to my knees.
Here are some pictures of mine and others of how terrible the damage is. Chicago Public schools were closed for a 2nd day the first time that has happened in 12 year which was when I was a kid and there were blizzards but not this crazy. Were suppose to get another 3-5 inches but its below freezing about -25 tomorrow. So everyone stay warm and safe.