So You Think You Can Dance Scorecard

A mostly good, but somewhat uneven episode tonight. The show belonged to Janette & Brandon. They were exceptional. Their first routine this evening was probably the best of the season so far.

This was also the first time I ever heard the judges strongly dis a pair of choreographers, not giving them the faintest bit of praise for the weak Russian folk number.

There is not a clear favorite to win the whole thing. Brandon may be edging closer, however. Again I was struck by how good Cat Deeley is as host of this show. Give this woman an Emmy nomination stat!

Ade & Melissa – A- & B+

Kayla & Kupono – A & B-

Caitlin & Jason – B & B+

Jeanine & Phillip – C & B

Evan & Randi – B & B

Janette & Brandon – A+ & A


Standouts: Janette & Brandon, Kupono

My vote goes to: Janette & Brandon

Going home: No idea, but I am guessing Evan and Kayla

Be a TV Smarty Pants

Yesterday you became a movie smarty pants. Today you can be a TV smarty pants. Here are seven facts about what is happening on television or with TV personalities:

* Michael Jackson’s memorial service will be broadcast live today starting at 10am (L.A. time) from the Staples Center and will feature Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Usher, and Stevie Wonder, among others.

* American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi got married in Prospect Harbor, Maine this weekend.

* Katie Holmes is scheduled to dance on the July 23rd episode of So You Think You Can Dance.

* America’s Got Talent was the top-rated show of this past week.

* The USA network beat Disney, Fox News, ESPN, Discovery, and every other cable channel in the ratings this past week with an increase of 15% in its viewership.

* Emmy nominations will be announced next week on July 16th. Expect some surprises this year.

* Jay Leno has won the rights to use the Web address thejaylenoshow.com. It is currently held by a man in Texas who uses the site to redirect traffic to his real estate business. Leno’s show debuts September 14th at 10pm on NBC.

Be a Movie Smarty Pants

I hope you have all had a fun 4th of July. Here are seven cool facts about current or upcoming movies:

* Transformers and Ice Age 3 tied at the box office with $42.5 million over the 4th of July weekend, but Ice Age had the highest per screen average.

* Harry Potter co-star Rupert Grint has recovered from the swine flu.

* Pixar’s Up has made a whopping $265 million, making it the 40th highest grossing film of all time—and it’s still going strong.

* Eminem has a small role in Judd Apatow’s new comedy Funny People with Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen.

* The film version of the Atari videogame Asteroids is in the works (true!).

* There have been at least three injuries on the set of Russell Crowe’s latest, Robin Hood.

* The following people were among those invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: Michael Cera, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Hugh Jackman, Jane Lynch, Casey Affleck, Viola Davis, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams, Amy Ryan, Danny Boyle, Dustin Lance Black, A.R. Rahman, Emile Hirsch, Tyler Perry, James MacAvoy, Jeffrey Wright.

So You Think You Can Dance Scorecard

A good solid night for the show, but the first number out of the gate was the best. Janette and Brandon stole the show with an extremely difficult but brilliantly danced routine. The rest were good, but not as good. Tonight also featured one of the show's strengths: the judges ability to give good, constructive, highly specific feedback.

The Dizzy Feet Foundation was introduced on tonight's show and should be a great boon to increasing access to dance education. You can learn more about it if you visit their website.

Here were tonight's grades:

Janette & Brandon – A

Ashley & Kupono – A-

Randi & Evan – B

Caitlin & Jason – B

Jeanine & Phillip – B+

Ade & Melissa – A-

Karla & Vitolio – A-

Standouts: Janette, Brandon, Melissa, Ade

My vote goes to: Janette & Brandon

Going home: Caitlin & Jason

Top 5 Box Office Blockbusters for July

May was a fun month at the movies and June was a disappointment.  It looks like things are picking back up for July.  Here are my predictions for the box office champs of the month:

1.  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (7/15) - Of course.  This is the safe bet.

2.  Public Enemies (7/1) - Johnny Depp can't lose.  Big box office even with an R-rating.

3.  Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (7/1) - Franchise favorite will pull in big bucks.  Could be as high as second place.

4.  Funny People (7/31) - Adam Sandler + Judd Apatow = Mucho dinero.

5.  Bruno (7/10) - Will do well despite unfavorable comparisons to Borat and envelope-pushing R-rated content.

Sleeper hit of the month:  (500) Days of Summer.  This may be the film that makes Joseph Gordon-Levitt a big star.  He will also star in the new G.I. Joe in April.  (500) Days of Summer also stars Zooey Deschanel.

Expect August to be a thin month for big blockbusters.  There may be an unexpected gem in there, but it looks like fairly slim pickin's at the end of the summer.

What's the Best Movie Out Right Now?

With Transformers earning a meager score of 37 on Metacritic and a horrible 21 on Rotten Tomatoes (yet pulling in monstrously good box office), you may want to save your money for a better movie.

Right now, the best-reviewed film out in theaters is called The Hurt Locker about soldiers who disarm bombs in the heat of battle. Earning an amazing score of 91 on Metacritic and an astounding 96 on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems like this is the film to see. It is rated R for war violence and language, so it probably isn’t for everyone’s tastes. 

Still, it is generating some of the best press of the year. Time called it a “near-perfect movie.” The Wall Street Journal referred to it as “an instant classic” and The Los Angeles Times deemed it “an unqualified triumph.” The New York Daily News said it is a movie that “deserves to stand as one of the defining films of the decade.” 

If there is a movie out right now that is actually worth your $9, this might be it.

Top 10 Best Michael Jackson Songs

When a performer has nearly 30 top ten singles, it is hard to narrow the list down to a top ten. Without regard for time on the chart or general popularity, here's my take on his best ten singles:

1. Beat It

2. Black or White

3. Billie Jean

4. Thriller

5. Smooth Criminal

6. Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough

7. Bad

8. The Way You Make Me Feel

9. Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’

10. Man in the Mirror

Just off the list: Rock with You. If you count Jackson 5, then, of course, you would have to include ABC, I'll Be There, I Want You Back, and a few others.

Michael Jackson By the Numbers

750,000,000 – Records sold worldwide

109,000,000 – Copies of Thriller sold

47,500,000 – Amount paid for Lennon-McCartney catalogue

47,000,000 – Viewers who watched him do the moonwalk on Motown 25

17,000,000 – Purchase price for land to build Neverland Ranch

7,000,000 – Cost of Scream, the most expensive music video ever

197 – Major awards won

80 – Weeks Thriller was in Billboard Top Ten

40 – Billboard Awards

39 – Celebrities who performed on We Are The World

39 – Charities he supported

38 – Minutes of runtime for Ghosts, the world’s longest music video

37 – Weeks Thriller stayed at number one on the Billboard charts

37 – Top Forty hits

36 – Music videos produced

28 – Top Ten hits

27 – Albums, including compilations

22 – American Music Awards

19 – Grammy Awards won

16 – Gold singles

13 – Guinness World Records held

13 – Number 1 singles

11 – Age he began his performing career

9 – Platinum singles

7 – Top Ten singles from one album (Thriller)

8 – Siblings

4 – Hours it took to sell out his 50-date concert comeback tour

4 – Albums that debuted at number one

3 – Inductions in the Grammy Hall of Fame

2 – Times inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame