Dave's Reality Check

Only 10 Days Until The Deuce Weekly!

First up... American Idol. I have my favorites now in American Idol... I am a big fan of the following four:

Kellie Pickler--I think I just like the idea of anyone named "Pickler" becoming famous. And she's got some pipes.

Taylor Hicks--Dude from Birmingham with a head of almost solid grey hair... makes me feel okay about mine. I love to watch this guy sway while he sings... he's like a Joe Cocker mixed with Justin Glenn. And he sang "The First Cut is the Deepest", which surprised me... I know Sheryl Crow remade it, but still.

Katharine McPhee--Chick who's mom is a voice teacher, and it shows. And the judges love her too...

Chris Daughtery--Rocker guy who has the same name as the winner of Survivor Vanuatu, but can sing better. Married a chick with kids, and became Superduper Dad, so it will be cool to see him go far.

I also like the voice of Paris, but the look of Lisa Tucker. If they could have a kid together--Paris Tucker, maybe--I'd be all for them.

I'm not a fan of the Cryin' Cowboy. (I ain't never been nowhere!). He admitted in his auditions that he sings to turkeys back on his farm in Podunk, USA. He was standing in the ocean, crying, because it was so beautiful. And really? I don't think he's all that great, to be honest with you.

On Survivor, we're stil learning about the people... its only two episodes in, and it usually takes me about four shows to figure out who everyone is, instead of depending on their names to be shown during confessional.

They got rid of Tina last week, and tonight the four tribes went to two tribes, and now they chunked Melinda out of the way.

The Freak of the Week Award goes to Shane, who went on and on about leaving the show, until Aras made him renege... now they sent poor Melinda home, who wanted to stay so badly. Schitzo Shane is a weird guy.

I think my favorites would have to be Sally Schumann, whom I think is this season's cutest (every season has one... last year it was Danni... it all started with Elisabeth Filarski in Survivor Outback). The other guy I like is Bruce Kanegai, aka Bruce Almighty. He was sporting some Tai Chi Jujitsu on Exile Island... I expect him to point to his head and say "Jeffsahn... Survivor not in heah..." (then point to his heart) "Survivor in heah...".

The jury is still out, though, on how good of a season this will be. Survivor was doing great with Outback (Season 2) and so-so with Africa... to me, it hit a dry spell in Thailand, Vanuatu, Marquesis and Amazon (though the peanut butter incident is funny)... but with Pearl Islands, All Stars, Guatamala and Pulau, its been doing quite alright.

And I can't wait for The Amazing Race.

Saw "Munich" yesterday. Steven Spielberg's muh ballyhooed ode to the 1972 Israeli Olympic team who were taken hostage and murdered by Palestinian terrorists. The gist is that the Israeli government, soon after the massacre, hired a group of secret agents to hunt down and kill the men responsible for Black September, ie, the massacre.

What was the hardest for me, I guess, was watching Burton from Survivor play the main role. After appearances in Black Hawk Down, Troy and Hulk, which just sucked all around, Bana finally gets a leading role--and does really well with it.

Two problems I had with this movie... one, it was too long. Two... I dunno. Just something. My buddy Mikey loved this, and thinks it better than some of the other movies nominated for Best Picture, but I can't say that. "Munich" was, though, extremely well done and excellently shot. Its interesting watching Eric Bana go through a range of emotions when he goes from an unseasoned agent to a trained killer by the end of the movie (which was almost in real time, honestly).

Anyway, that leaves "Brokeback Mountain", "Crash", "Capote" and "Good Night & Good Luck" on my list of films to see before Oscar night... yes, I'll probably end up seeing Brokeback. I don't know that I want to, but I guess I should, as many jokes about it as I've made.

With seeing "Hustle & Flow" this weekend coming up, that will also help me see all of the Best Actor nominations. As far as Best Actress goes, I've already seen Reese in "Walk the Line", so I'll have to see Felicity Huffman in "Transamerica" (again, not sure I want to see that one either...). Everyone else--Keira in "Pride", Charlize in "North Country" and Judi in "Henderson"--really doesn't matter.

Oh, before I forget... I give "Munich" a $$$1/2