http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Wed, 27 Apr 2005 21:44:40 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/04/27/214440.php Scott PepperWell, we have our first real shocker of the fourth season of American Idol. Early favorite Constantine Maroulis will be rejoining his band, Pray For The Soul Of Betty, as he received the lowest number of votes on the show this week.Last night, Con turned in one of his weaker performances with an enthusiastic rendition of a sub-par song (Nickelback's "How You Remind Me"), but almost no one figured that he'd be the one to leave tonight, particularly in light of Scott Savol's truly dreadful showing. But Scott wasn't even in the bottom three tonight.Prediction ScorecardLast night, both ZMethos and I predicted that Scott Savol would be the one to leave, bringing our records to a horrible 2:7 and 1:7, respectively. Kudos to ZMethos for picking Con as one of the bottom three, but no extra points, unfortunately.American Idol Season Four Odds UpdateWith Constantine gone, the remainder of the season is likely to be a showdown between Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice.Constantine Maroulis - Previous Odds: 2:1 - No Current OddsMy previous pick to win the whole thing, now nothing but a fond memory.Anthony Fedorov - Previous Odds: 20:1 - Current Odds: 30:1With too many showings in the bottom 3, Anthony is likely to be the next to go.Vonzell Solomon - Previous Odds: 12:1 - Current Odds: 20:1She's got talent, but she'll still likely end up in fourth place.Scott Savol - Previous Odds: 30:1 - Current Odds: 15:1The inexplicable phenomenon continues. He may make it to first runner-up, but no further.Carrie Underwood - Previous Odds: 3:1 - Current Odds: 3:1My personal favorite is likely to end up in the Clay Aiken spot this season.Bo Bice - Previous Odds: 9:2 - Current Odds: EvenWith Constantine gone, this is Bo's show. Video28748@blogcritics.org Wed, 27 Apr 2005 21:44:40 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/04/26/230159.php Scott PepperThe American Idol producers are clearly running out of ideas for weekly themes, as tonight's was simply any track from the past five years. One would have thought that with such a broad array of choices, the contestants would have picked better songs than they ended up with.1. Carrie Underwood - "When God Fearin' Women Get The Blues" - Martina McBride 2. Bo Bice - "I Don't Wanna Be" - Gavin DeGraw 3. Vonzell Solomon - "I Turn To You" - Christina Aguilera 4. Anthony Fedorov - "I Surrender" - Celene Dion 5. Constantine Maroulis - "How You Remind Me" - Nickelback 6. Scott Savol - "Dance With My Father" - Luther VandrossScott: A decidedly mixed bag this week, with favorites Carrie and Constantine turning in somewhat less than impressive performances. Carrie was clearly comfortable singing Martina again, but I agree with the judges that the song did little to show off her great voice. While not exactly a deadly showing for her, it was among her worst performances to date. Carrie is best when she sticks with country, but there are far more impressive songs that would really showcase her talent.Constantine was in much the same situation, choosing a fairly simple song and even then not singing it all that well. Where he excelled, however, was in his performance, really giving off the rock star vibe even better than Bo this week.ZMethos: While Constantine rocked with a rock song--resulting in only an average performance overall--Bo did a more rockin' version of a current radio hit. In the end, Bo won this round. Although I had the same thought as Simon Cowell about the glasses; why hide those pretty eyes?Carrie's fans will always be happy to hear her do country of any kind, and they'll vote for her no matter that this performance wasn't up to her usual standard. Vonzell, too, did okay but this evening wasn't her strongest showing. The beginning of the song was off, and she didn't hit her stride until halfway through.I have to put Anthony, Scott, and Constantine in the bottom three for the week. Constantine has many fans, and he may pull it out, but I think Vonzell may top him this go round.Scott: Wow, I cannot see Con in the bottom three. He has what could be the most devoted fan base of the remaining hopefuls, and if they perceive this week's performance to be as lackluster as the judges did, expect them to turn out in droves to save him. He and Bo appear to be playing to different audiences now, so I don't think they steal votes from each other like they might have in earlier rounds.Anthony is in an interesting situation this week. He has not been a favorite of mine, nor am I a fan of the song he choose tonight, but I think he'll actually get a fair amount of votes this time around, both from sympathy and from his "fans." I don't think he'll be in the bottom three; instead, I predict it will be between Vonzell, Carrie, and Scott.Vonzell continues to turn out decent performances, but I don't think she has the grassroots support to really turn out the vote.Carrie has yet to be in the bottom three, and I'm guessing some of her fans may abandon her this week, or possibly just assume she's safe again, dropping her into the loser's circle for the first time.Scott was absolutely horrible, not even whatever fans he has left can save him this week.ZMethos: Scott had some particularly glaring pitch problems this evening, and I have him pegged to (finally!) leave tomorrow. But that could be, yet again, just my wishful thinking.Scott: My record at predicting the loser has been horrible to date (1 out of 6), but I agree that Scott Savol leaving tomorrow is a pretty decent bet.Related PostsAmerican Idol Season Four Odds UpdateAmerican Idol Season Four Reviews Video28697@blogcritics.org Tue, 26 Apr 2005 23:01:59 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/04/21/070321.php Scott PepperOnce again, we've reached that point in the American Idol competition where the voting trends seem to defy all logic and reason.From a relatively objective point of view, two excellent singers, Nadia Turner and Anwar Robinson, have been sent home, and two mediocre (at best) singers still remain among the top six contestants. Some fans of the show are up in arms, unable to cope with the fact that we'll be subjected to at least one more week of the song stylings of Anthony Fedorov and Scott Savol. In particular, Mr. Savol seems to have struck a negative chord with many viewers.Last season, we were in a similar situation, with crooner John Stevens and the pretty-but-vapid Jasmine Trias inexplicably outlasting far more talented performers like Jennifer Hudson. Much print has been devoted to the voting dynamics of the show, but it seems that something is happening that the show's producers probably weren't counting on: some fans are purposely voting for the singer whom they deem to be the "worst."Witness the web site "Vote For The Worst," with it's tongue-in-cheek mission statement:This show is not about finding the next big superstar. Your favorite contestant probably won't win, and will probably get a record contract anyway if they're good enough. LaToya London had an amazing voice last season and she didn't make it past 4th place. Fantasia won the competition and her record sales are dismal because 19 Entertainment barely even promotes her. What a great "prize". TV is supposed to be about the entertainment value, and what's more entertaining than a fish out of water outlasting the big fish and sharks? This pledge is to keep whoever we've selected as the worst competitor in the competition by voting for them for the entire time alotted every week. Even if you live outside of America, tell people about the pledge and spread the word. At the top of this page, we will post a banner with the contestant that we're supporting. If you so choose, vote along with us and help keep the no talent of the week in the competition.For the time being, the "Vote For The Worst" crew has thrown their support behind contestant Scott Savol, and quite a few fans seem to be on board.Now, will these renegade voters actually alter the outcome of the finals? Unlikely. With consistently more than 30 million votes cast each week, and far more in the finals, it would be hard for such an effort to swing the needle once the competition gets down to the final 3-4 competitors. But in earlier weeks, when there are more choices and the voting is closer, it's somewhat easier for these folks to make a difference. The only real question is how many of the "good" singers will get sent home while the "worst" remain. Video28460@blogcritics.org Thu, 21 Apr 2005 07:03:21 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/04/20/205534.php Scott PepperThe American Idol audience got it wrong tonight, sending home the talented Anwar Robinson over the bland Anthony Fedorov and the excruciating Scott Savol. Last night, Anwar recovered from a few off weeks, but it apparently wasn't enough to renew America's initial adoration for the middle school music teacher.The top four of Vonzell, Constantine, Carrie, and Bo were no surprise, of course, and kudos to Bo for refusing to play the game of choosing the top group even after he knew that he himself was safe.Prediction ScorecardWell, our weekly guessing game does not seem to be turning out well. Of the six finalists who've left the show so far, I've predicted only one correctly. ZMethos has had 2 of the 6 right.Scott: 1:6 ZMethos: 2:6It is some consolation, however, that I did correctly predict the bottom 3 tonight, even though I thought it would be Anthony leaving, and not Anwar."AI" Season 4 Odds UpdateI realize that I haven't updated the odds for some time now, so it's probably time to revisit the finalists.Mikalah Gordon - Previous Odds: 40:1 - No Current OddsLong gone by now, Mikalah was too obnoxious to hang around for long.Nikko Smith - Previous Odds: 30:1 - No Current OddsNikko got a second chance at stardom, but that was the only chance he got.Jessica Sierra - Previous Odds: 25:1 - No Current OddsJessica was a decent performer, but not strong enough for this season.Nadia Turner - Previews Odds: 6:1 - No Current OddsThe only real travesty in the voting before tonight, Nadia started off strong by made some poor choices (mohawk, anyone?) along the way.Anwar Robinson - Previous Odds: 15:2 - No Current OddsWhile he didn't really have a chance to win it, like I said above, Anwar deserved to last at least longer than Scott and Anthony.Scott Savol - Previous Odds: 15:1 - Current Odds: 30:1As inexplicable as it is that he's still around, Scott can't continue to last much longer. He just can't.Anthony Fedorov - Previous Odds: 20:1 - Current Odds: 20:1The weakest singer of the remaining finalists, Anthony is living on borrowed time.Vonzell Solomon - Previous Odds: 20:1 - Current Odds: 12:1Without a doubt, Vonzell is the most improved of the finalists. She came in with very little screen time from the previous rounds, and she's been a consistently solid performer. However, she's definitely number 4 this year.Bo Bice - Previous Odds: 3:1 - Current Odds: 9:2Slipping a bit since his appearance in the bottom 3 last week, Bo came back strong tonight as his fans rallied for him. He could still win, but it will take truly amazing showings each and every week from here on in.Carrie Underwood - Previous Odds: 12:1 - Current Odds: 3:1Carrie is not particularly consistent, having faltered a few times with strange song choices and amazingly large hair, but she has the voice and she has the look. With no appearances to date in the bottom 3, it's a good bet we'll see her in the final 2 along with...Constantine Maroulis - Previous Odds: 10:1 - Current Odds: 2:1The true star this season has been Constantine. He started out strong, faltered, and then came back with a vengeance. Every time Bo ups his game, Constantine follows suit. A consummate performer, it's quite easy to see Con as this season's American Idol.Related PostsReview of Last Night's Performances"American Idol" - Index of Season Four Reviews Video28446@blogcritics.org Wed, 20 Apr 2005 20:55:34 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/04/19/210929.php Scott PepperThe final seven American Idol finalists put on their dancing shoes tonight to take on the sounds of the 70s.1. Constantine Maroulis - "Nights on Broadway" - The BeeGees 2. Carrie Underwood - "MacArthur Park" - Donna Summer 3. Scott Savol - "Everlasting Love" - Carl Carlton 4. Anthony Fedorov - "Don't Take Away the Music" - Tavares 5. Vonzell Solomon - "I'm Every Woman" - Chaka Kahn 6. Anwar Robinson - "September" - Earth, Wind, and Fire 7. Bo Bice - "Vehicle" - Ides of MarchZMethos: Bad news first: what the hell was Carrie singing? Maybe I'm biased because I've always hated that song (although Brak did a good take on it on Cartoon Planet), but I honestly can't see what the judges liked so much in her performance tonight. Maybe it sounded different in the studio. Scott also failed to impress; he just lacks the force of emotion behind his vocals that would serve to make his singing compelling. Finally, I thought Anwar's singing was a tad grating. That song should have been smoother sounding.Scott: I'll go ahead and call my top four right now (in no particular order): Carrie, Constantine, Vonzell, and Bo. While quite a switch from the last time I updated my odds, these four are so clearly in a different league from Anwar, Anthony, and Scott that it's ridiculous to even see them in the same competition.Sure, Carrie picked a truly horrible song and she needs to lose the big hair, but her voice is still the best in the competition and that last note was absolutely amazing. She's proved she can do well outside of her core country demographic, she just needs to get a little more confidence when she's rocking out like last week or dancing up a storm like tonight.Constatntine just keeps getting better and better every week. I totally disagreed with the judges lukewarm assessment of his performance tonight; I thought he did a fantastic job with a mediocre song, particularly by infusing a little bit of his own personality into it.In like manner, Vonzell improves every week as well. The judges think she has personality, but I just don't see it. What she does have is a great voice and a great sense of style. She won't win, but she'll be around for awhile.Bo is no longer the front runner, but if he continues to turn out great performances like tonight's, he's still got a shot.ZMethos: Bo has been my favorite for a while, and I still really enjoy his singing, but I see Constantine beginning to pull ahead. However, I think all told that Carrie has the most marketable voice and image (even despite this evening's performance)--last week she came out looking and sounding like another Kelly Clarkson, and I think she could do as well or better than Clarkson has done.I like Vonzell more and more each week, although I didn't think this week was her best (although still very good). I do believe she has personality, is very likeable.I think the bottom three should be Anwar, Scott and Anthony, although Anthony may yet scrape by again--his performance this week was borderline.I'd like to see Scott be the one to go home. I'm just kind of sick of him.Scott: I agree with your bottom three, but I think Anthony will be the one to go. Scott's getting on my nerves, but he's got a good core contingent of fans, more so than Anthony, I think.Related PostsAmerican Idol Season 4 Reviews Video28385@blogcritics.org Tue, 19 Apr 2005 21:09:29 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/04/06/234440.php Scott PepperLast night, the final nine AI4 contestants took on show tunes--and lost. Losing most of all, however, was Nikko Smith. It was only by chance that Nikko made it this far at all, as his appearance in the finals came only after Mario Vasquez chose to leave the show.While Nikko was not among the worst singers last night (that honor goes to Scott Savol and Anthony Fedorov), he really wasn't anything special. Among a group of incredibly talented performers, he just couldn't quite measure up.Prediction ScorecardBoth ZMethos and I were off in our predictions last night, expecting Anthony and Scott to be the ones to leave, respectively. Scott did end up in the bottom three (finally), but Anthony seems to have developed a devoted fan base that will pull him from the jaws of Idol death even after disasters like last night.Scott: 1:4 ZMethos: 2:4Not exactly an awe-inspiring record so far, but I'll still go out on a limb and try to predict next week.Constantine, Bo, and Carrie are all clearly safe. They could all phone in it next week and not one of them would land in the bottom three, as they can all still be riding the strength of their knockout performances (Constantine last night with "My Funny Valentine," Bo with "Spinning Wheel" in 1960s week, and Carrie during 1990s week with "Independence Day.")As much as it pains me to say it, Anthony will probably be around for another few weeks as well.Nadia has hit the bottom 3 more than once now, but she escaped the pressure this week. While we could see her back there next week, I don't think she'll be the lowest on the totem pole. Likewise, Anwar has been getting worse and worse, but not bad enough to be the one to go.That leaves us will Vonzell and Scott in the bottom three again, with either Nadia or Anwar in there along with them. My guess right now is that Scott will be the one to go. He's shown us what he can do, and that appears to be it. His voice hasn't been as strong lately, and the whole shady past thing will likely cause him to continue to lose fans as more of America finds out about it. Next week, it's a good bet that AI will say goodbye to Scott Savol.Related PostsPrevious American Idol Season 4 ReviewsComplete Blogcritics Coverage of American Idol Video27851@blogcritics.org Wed, 6 Apr 2005 23:44:40 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/04/06/165255.php Scott PepperThe latest comics-to-film adaptation, Frank Miller's Sin City, cleaned up at the box office last weekend. Your Blogcritics weigh in with thoughts on the comics, the film, and more.Breaking Windows Sin City Review It has been a while since I have seen a movie before it hits DVD. And I must admit, I had fairly high expectations for "Sin City" after hearing all the hype. Per the norm, I was let... Posted to Video by Ken Edwards on April 17, 2005 10:52 PMMovie Review: Sin City I had to see this movie twice before I could even attempt to put fingers to keyboard to birth my thoughts. Even now I am having a hard time deciding where to begin. This is such a wonderfully gritty trio... Posted to Video by Chris Beaumont on April 13, 2005 07:32 AMLet The Girl Go! aka another Sin City review You don't really need to read a single panel of the comics to see how amazing this movie is Posted to Video by Laron Cue on April 11, 2005 05:13 PMSin City--AKA... Sure, sure, I talk way too much about It's a Wonderful Life, but this one's obvious! The movie was pretty good--unquestionably the most stylish adaptation of a comic book ever--although the... Posted to Video by David Fiore on April 11, 2005 01:33 AMcan't say enough about... SIN CITY! loved loved loved it the cast - well, i'm NOT a huge Mickey Rourke fan - but holy shit was he fanfriggintastic and a barely recognizable Benicio del Toro... no words Bruce Willis was, well... Bruce Willis and that was good and Elijah Wood - spooky... Posted to Video by Sonja Valentine on April 8, 2005 10:25 PMComic Novelty On The Big Screen & More Hope For My Transmetropolitan Screenwriting Credit Saw Sin City April 4th. I'm going to skip the clever commentary and requisite applause and refer you to the IMDB site for the details about who played who, the plot summary, and a reasonable but flattering review by SteakTheCow... Posted to Video by David Koehn on April 7, 2005 01:32 AMSin City: The Movie and Lessons Sin City moves you in a visual and gut wrenching way. The narratives immediately draw you in. The darkness of the scenes establishes a world where there is no hope and no light. It is as if daylight never comes.... Posted to Video by Tom Donelson on April 6, 2005 11:08 PMSin City: A Review Among the random posts on IMDB.com about Sin City is the presumably high praise calling it the best adaptation of a graphic comic book ever to hit the silver screen. That's nice and all, but what does that really... Posted to Video by Chase McInerney on April 6, 2005 12:48 PM Sinful Comics Sin City is very funny, very sexy, very violent. Posted to Video by Erin McMaster on April 6, 2005 01:35 AM Sin City Robert Rodriguez's adaptation of Frank Miller's series of Sin City graphic novels is the latest link in an already hefty chain of films that try to overcome a lack of substance with an abundance of style. Although substantially better than... Posted to Video by Quack Corleone on April 6, 2005 12:09 AM Sin City Directed by Frank Miller & Robert Rodriguez Screenplay by Robert Rodriguez Based on the Sin City comic series by Frank Miller In Frank Miller's award-winning, graphic novel series Sin City everything is black and white with a rare splash of color. That's... Posted to Video by El Bicho on April 5, 2005 03:02 AM Sin City Beats The Living Crap Out Of Beauty Shop Written by Joe Wilson LOS ANGELES, California (PoopyCaca.com) - Sin City, the dark, violent, R-rated film demolished the PG-13 rated comedy, Beauty Shop, at the North American box office, proving once again, chick-flicks can't fight action movies and should only air... Posted to Video by PoopyCaca on April 4, 2005 07:48 PM Sin City is Sinfully Delicious Adapted from Frank Miller's graphic novel series, Sin City is a visually groundbreaking tour de force that is perhaps the best comic to film translation done to date. The rain falls hard in the burg of Basin City but cannot... Posted to Video by Pete Petrisko on April 4, 2005 07:00 AM Sin City, a Stunner of a Movie Sin City is one of those rare movies where the visual creativity matches the power of the script to create a rare, powerful movie. Posted to Video by Matt Schafer on April 3, 2005 11:17 AM Sin City and the Future of Film I fervently hope that anyone who is considering a movie adapation of a graphic novel, comic book, anime, or other similar medium is paying attention, because this film is a truly important benchmark in adaptations. Posted to Video by LegendaryMonkey on April 3, 2005 04:12 AM Sin City You need not have read Frank Miller's graphic novels to enjoy Sin City. However, if you don't have a stomach for violence (even when a lot of the blood comes in milky, whiteout-like patches) or an appreciation for dark... Posted to Video by Solonor Rasreth on April 2, 2005 08:47 PM Movie Review: Sin City Sin City, Robert Rodriguez's latest feature (co-directed with Frank Miller of Batman comics fame) lives up to the hype, naked and violent. Posted to Video by Michael Benning on April 2, 2005 05:49 PMReview: Sin City Short version: A gritty, violent, and overall impressive film that may not go over big with the general public. Posted to Video by Screen Rant on April 2, 2005 01:00 PMMovie Review: Sin City The whole time I was left wondering whether I hated this film or loved it. In the end, I have to say it was a little of both. This movie is an instant Classic (5 out of 5) that will be quoted time and again. While it wasn't what I expected (or wanted), it did what it was trying to do flawlessly. Posted to Video by Nicholas Roussos on April 1, 2005 10:20 PMfilm - Frank Miller's Sin City Frank Miller's Sin City 5/5 Dripping with a dark, gritty, sleazy and ultra-violent style, Sin City is a graphic novel adaptation that suceeds with its three stories that end up interwining. Mickey Rourke looks like a cross between Kurt Douglas and Flattop... Posted to Video by Triniman on April 1, 2005 08:11 PM Video27836@blogcritics.org Wed, 6 Apr 2005 16:52:55 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/04/05/222433.php Scott PepperIt was a first for American Idol tonight as the remaining nine contestants tried their hands at classic showtunes.1. Scott Savol - "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha 2. Constantine Maroulis - "My Funny Valentine" from Babes in Arms 3. Carrie Underwood - "Hello, Young Lovers" from The King and I 4. Vonzell Solomon - "People" from Funny Girl 5. Anthony Fedorov - "Climb Every Mountain" from The Sound of Music 6. Nikko Smith - "One Hand, One Heart" from West Side Story 7. Anwar Robinson - "If Ever I Would Leave You" from Camelot 8. Bo Bice - "Corner of the Sky" from Pippin 9. Nadia Turner - "As Long As He Needs Me" from Oliver!Scott: What an absolutely awful night. After a rather sorry round of performances, it is a good bet we won't be seeing the return of the "Musicals" theme again any time soon on AI. The contestants clearly were flailing a bit in the song choice department, but the most bizarre selection was from Bo Bice, who picked a song no one has ever heard from a musical no one has ever heard of. Maybe he really did just close his eyes and pick one, but it was not a strategy that served him well. Bo wasn't great, but he wasn't the only previously strong singer to falter tonight. Carrie Underwood had probably her weakest performance in the finals so far. She did what she could with the song, but there really wasn't that much to be done with it.Obviously, though, Carrie and Bo aren't going away any time soon. While they weren't at their best tonight, neither was anyone else, with one possible exception: Constantine Maroulis. With a starring role in Rent under his belt, Constantine was the only contestant with the showtunes credentials going into tonight. It was his night to shine, and shine he certainly did, turning in what I would consider the only truly memorable song of the entire show.ZMethos: I think Bo, while not at the top of his game, did better than most tonight. Although I have to agree that Constantine was the best performer in this evening's competition. I also give a thumbs up to Anwar's performance; he rallied tonight after several weeks of drooping.Most of the singers tonight were dull and some were even downright bad. Scott's take on "The Impossible Dream" had no force, no emotion behind it. And he wasn't even holding his notes well. Carrie and Nadia were boring, and Anthony and Nikko were just awful. Nikko's voice in particular was thin and sounded strained, especially in the first part of his song. It wouldn't be fair of me to say anything about Vonzell, though; I absolutely hate the song she chose and my bias is too strong for me to give a fair ruling.Scott: Vonzell probably did more for that song than most other singers could have, though I think many other viewers will probably bring a similar negative bias to the table.I disagree with you about Anwar, though. While technically decent, his performance tonight did absolutely nothing for me. I'm starting to see him more as a one-trick pony at this point: he always sings very similar songs and in a very similar style. We've yet to see him really stretch beyond his comfort zone and, while I don't think that has really hurt him yet, it could as the theme weeks get more challenging.Also, I didn't find Nadia boring at all. In fact, her performance was the only other one besides Constantine's tonight that I thought was remotely interesting. Not her best, but not as bad as most of the other singers tonight.ZMethos: It's true that Nadia wasn't as bad as some tonight. Nikko and Anthony and even Scott were worse. Last week I predicted Anthony to be the one to go, and this week I will truly be baffled if he isn't the one to leave. Unless the recent revelation of Scott's rap sheet causes any fans he has to drop him.Scott: While I think Anthony was the worst of a pretty awful lot tonight, I think you're on to something with Scott Savol; I predict that his past will come back to haunt him this week and that he'll be the one to go tomorrow night.Related PostsPrevious American Idol Season 4 ReviewsComplete Blogcritics Coverage of American Idol Video27803@blogcritics.org Tue, 5 Apr 2005 22:24:33 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/03/31/232522.php Scott PepperTonight on The Apprentice, the two teams worked with Domino's Pizza to develop a meatball pizza. In past challenges such as this, the sponsor has gone on to launch the product developed on the show the very next day, as happened last week with the winning Storage Chest DIY clinic for Home Depot, as well as early in the season with the "Western Angus Steak Burger" at Burger King.For whatever reason, Domino's did not launch the meatball pizza tonight, instead choosing to promote its new "American Classic Cheeseburger Pizza".Enter rival pie maker Papa John's, who choose the occasion to poke fun at both The Apprentice and their competitor:One of the other national pizza chains (we're not naming names) is apparently having a new pizza developed by some aspiring "apprentices." While we can't comment on the wisdom of new product development via prime time TV, we can tell you a thing or two about making a superior-quality pizza....Whether in the dining room or in the boardroom, up in the suite or down on the street, street smarts or book smarts, folks seem to like our simple recipe for success.It would appear that The Donald has been trumped. Domino's may have been the featured product tonight, but expect Papa John's to get a much bigger slice of the press tomorrow. Video27573@blogcritics.org Thu, 31 Mar 2005 23:25:22 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/03/31/224458.php Scott PepperThe eight remaining Apprentice candidates got a taste of the pizza business tonight in a task that was less about creativity or originality and more about simply moving product to keep the cash register ringing.With the Net Worth team down to only three players (Angie, Stephanie, and Chris), Trump started off tonight's show by giving them their choice of the remaining Magna members (Bren, Kendra, Craig, Tana, and Alex) to even things out. After a quick conference, Net Worth decided to add Seattle attorney Alex to their ranks. This decision was not entirely surprising, as Alex is in the unique position of being one of the more consistently good candidates while also never really having gone out of his way to distinguish himself. So, while he was a solid acquisition for Magna, he also was not really a threat.Tonight's challenge was simple. Working with Domino's Pizza, each team was to create a new type of pizza using toppings not currently on the chain's menu. Then, they would bake and sell their creation from mobile restaurants during the lunch rush in Manhattan.Net WorthAs Project Manager, Stephanie seemed to work more by committee than leadership. The team picked up on Trump's offhand suggestion and decided to create a "Meatball Masterpiece" pizza. To market their creation, they hired models to work the area around their location, which included five NYU dorms, handing out flyers and directing the crowds back toward their street corner.Chris and Alex took the initiative the day before the actual task to visit a construction site and pre-sell a large order of pizzas. Unfortunately, their good working relationship ended almost as soon as the task started. Chris began to notice that Alex was flirting with many of the female customers rather than running the register. When Alex began chatting up one of the models who had been hired to promote the pizzas, Chris blew a bit of a gasket (not surprising, considering his frequent outbursts in previous weeks), and he and Alex went at it.During all of this, Stephanie and Angie were off delivering the pizzas that Chris and Alex had sold the day before. They made the horrible decision to take the subway rather than a cab, and they ended up wasting nearly a hour and a half just making the one delivery.Despite the men's bickering, Net Worth did quite well, bringing in a total of $523.90 for the day.MagnaIn a somewhat humorous turn, Magna ended up with the exact same idea for a pizza as their competition. Project Manager Bren batted around ideas with his team, until Tana drew on her Italian roots and suggested the "Manga Meatball Pie." It certainly says something about Trump's powers of persuasion that both teams quickly picked up on his casual comments to completely drive their creative strategies.While Bren and Craig manned the pizza stand, Kendra and Tana pounded the pavement, hitting up nearly every local business in the area for lunch orders. It was a strategy that paid off, netting Magna a winning $653.12 and the reward of having breakfast the next morning with Trump in his sickeningly extravagant suite.The BoardroomWith only four team members, it was every man for himself in the Boardroom tonight. Alex started going after Chris for his outburst, and Chris quickly tried to turn the tables, a tactic that failed instantly because of Chris's well-known prior history with anger management issues. It seemed like the two would claw each other apart, with Chris ending up on the losing side, until Trump asked where Stephanie had been during all of this.When it came out that the Project Manager had abandoned her team to make one delivery, the blame quickly began to shift, with Stephanie's leadership called into question.Inexplicably, Stephanie choose to keep Alex and Chris in the Boardroom with her, letting Angie, who had contributed absolutely nothing to the task, head back to the suite. With only the three contestants remaining, Alex and Chris quickly tag-teamed Stephanie. Unable to defend her bad judgment and lack of leadership, Stephanie became the latest Apprentice candidate to be fired.Who's Next To Go?Last week, I predicted that Chris's time would finally come tonight. He managed to make his way out of this one, but just barely. I actually think Trump is started to like him a little bit, as evidenced by his fatherly advice given in the Boardroom the past two weeks. Given that, I think Chris may actually be safe for another week or two.Magna now has the three strongest candidates remaining (Bren, Tana, and Kendra), and Craig seems unlikely to bring down the team on his own. That means there is a very good chance that Net Worth will be returning to the Boardroom yet again next week. If that happens, I think Angie will finally hit bottom and be the next candidate to be shown the door.Who's Going To Win?As I've been predicting since as long as six episodes ago, Tana will be the next Apprentice.Past Reviews of The Apprentice Season ThreeThe Apprentice - Episode 308 - "Bling It On"The Apprentice - Episode 309 - "Pandora's Box" Video27568@blogcritics.org Thu, 31 Mar 2005 22:44:58 EST