Oscars: My Predictions vs. Winners

Last night, ABC aired the 84th Annual Academy Awards. And out of the 24 categories in which awards were handed out, I only missed six. So I got 75% correct predictions this time around (pretty much the same as the Golden Globes and only a few lower than last year's Oscars).

Below are the list of winners along with my predictions:

Best Picture:
The Artist
My Prediction:
The Artist (+)

Best Actor:
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
My Prediction:
George Clooney, The Descendants (-)

Best Actress:
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
My Prediction:
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady (+)

Best Supporting Actor:
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
My Prediction:
Christopher Plummer, Beginners (+)

Best Supporting Actress:
Octavia Spencer, The Help
My Prediction:
Octavia Spencer, The Help (+)

Best Director:
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
My Prediction:
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist (+)

Best Foreign Language Film:
A Separation
My Prediction:
A Separation (+)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
The Descendants
My Prediction:
The Descendants (+)

Best Original Screenplay:
Midnight in Paris
My Prediction:
Midnight in Paris (+)

Best Animated Film:
Rango
My Prediction:
Rango (+)

Best Art Direction:
Hugo
My Prediction:
Hugo (+)

Best Cinematography:
Hugo
My Prediction:
The Tree of Life (-)

Best Sound Mixing:
Hugo
My Prediction:
Hugo (+)

Best Sound Editing:
Hugo
My Prediction:
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (-)

Best Original Score:
The Artist
My Prediction:
The Artist (+)

Best Original Song:
"Man or Muppet," The Muppets
My Prediction:
"Man or Muppet," The Muppets (+)

Best Costume Design:
The Artist
My Prediction:
The Artist (+)

Best Documentary:
Undefeated
My Prediction:
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (-)

Best Documentary Short:
Saving Face
My Prediction:
Saving Face (+)

Best Editing:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
My Prediction:
The Artist (-)

Best Makeup:
The Iron Lady
My Prediction:
The Iron Lady (+)

Best Animated Short:
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
My Prediction:
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (+)

Best Live Action Short:
The Shore
My Prediction:
The Shore (+)

Best Visual Effects:
Hugo
My Prediction:
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (-)

You can view the full list of nominees, winners, and my predictions on T.W.O.'s Oscars page.

T.W.O: Oscars 2012 Predictions

Sunday night is the 84th Annual Academy Awards, beginning at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT on ABC. As usual, I have made my predictions on who will win in each of the 24 categories. Below are my predictions, and check out T.W.O.'s Oscars page for a full list of all the nominees. So, without further ado, here are T.W.O.'s 2012 Oscar predictions:

Source: gaelick.com

Best Picture:
The Artist

Best Actor:
George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Actress:
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Best Supporting Actor:
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress:
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Director:
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Best Foreign Language Film:
A Separation

Best Adapted Screenplay:
The Descendants

Best Original Screenplay:
Midnight in Paris

Best Animated Film:
Rango

Best Art Direction:
Hugo

Best Cinematography:
The Tree of Life

Best Sound Mixing:
Hugo

Best Sound Editing:
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Best Original Score:
The Artist

Best Original Song:
"Man or Muppet," The Muppets

Best Costume Design:
The Artist

Best Documentary:
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Best Documentary Short:
Saving Face

Best Editing:
The Artist

Best Makeup:
The Iron Lady

Best Animated Short:
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Best Live Action Short:
The Shore

Best Visual Effects:
Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Golden Globes 2012: My Predictions vs. Winners

Last night, NBC aired the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards. Out of the 25 categories in which awards were handed out, I only missed six. So I got 76% correct predictions this time around. Hopefully that bodes well for my Oscar predictions next month.

Below are the list of winners along with my predictions:

MOTION PICTURES:
Best Drama:
The Descendants
My Prediction:
The Descendants (+)

Best Comedy/Musical:
The Artist
My Prediction:
The Artist (+)

Best Animated Film:
The Adventures of Tintin
My Prediction:
Rango (-)

Best Foreign Language Film:
A Separation
My Prediction:
In the Land of Blood and Honey (-)

Best Actor - Drama:
George Clooney, The Descendants
My Prediction:
George Clooney, The Descendants (+)

Best Actress - Drama:
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
My Prediction:
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady (+)

Best Actor - Comedy/Musical:
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
My Prediction:
Jean Dujardin, The Artist (+)

Best Actress - Comedy/Musical:
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
My Prediction:
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn (+)

Best Supporting Actor:
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
My Prediction:
Christopher Plummer, Beginners (+)

Best Supporting Actress:
Octavia Spencer, The Help
My Prediction:
Octavia Spencer, The Help (+)

Best Director:
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
My Prediction:
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist (-)

Best Screenplay:
Midnight in Paris
My Prediction:
The Descendants (-)

Best Original Score:
The Artist
My Prediction:
The Artist (+)

Best Original Song:
"Masterpiece," W.E.
My Prediction:
"The Living Proof," The Help (-)

TELEVISION:
Best TV Drama:
Homeland
My Prediction:
Homeland (+)

Best TV Comedy/Musical:
Modern Family
My Prediction:
Modern Family (+)

Best Miniseries/TV Movie:
Downton Abbey
My Prediction:
Downton Abbey (+)

Best Actor - Drama:
Kelsey Grammer, Boss
My Prediction:
Kelsey Grammer, Boss (+)

Best Actress - Drama:
Claire Danes, Homeland
My Prediction:
Claire Danes, Homeland (+)

Best Actor - Comedy/Musical:
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
My Prediction:
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes (+)

Best Actress - Comedy/Musical:
Laura Dern, Enlightened
My Prediction:
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl (-)

Best Actor - Miniseries/TV Movie:
Idris Elba, Luther
My Prediction:
Idris Elba, Luther (+)

Best Actress - Miniseries/TV Movie:
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce
My Prediction:
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce (+)

Best Supporting Actor:
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
My Prediction:
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones (+)

Best Supporting Actress:
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
My Prediction:
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story (+)

You can view the full list of nominees, winner and my predictions on TV Watch Online's Golden Globe Awards page.

T.W.O: Golden Globes 2012 Predictions

Sunday night is the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards, airing at 8pm ET/5pm PT on NBC. As usual, I have made my predictions on who will win in each of the 25 movie and TV categories. Below are my predictions, and check out T.W.O.'s Golden Globes page for a list of all the nominations. So, without further ado, here are T.W.O.'s 2012 Golden Globe Award predictions:

MOTION PICTURES:
Best Drama:
The Descendants

Best Comedy/Musical:
The Artist

Best Animated Film:
Rango

Best Foreign Language Film:
In the Land of Blood and Honey

Best Actor - Drama:
George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Actress - Drama:
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Best Actor - Comedy/Musical:
Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Actress - Comedy/Musical:
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor:
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress:
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Director:
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Best Screenplay:
The Descendants

Best Original Score:
The Artist

Best Original Song:
"The Living Proof," The Help

TELEVISION:
Best TV Drama:
Homeland

Best TV Comedy/Musical:
Modern Family

Best Miniseries/TV Movie:
Downton Abbey

Best Actor - Drama:
Kelsey Grammer, Boss

Best Actress - Drama:
Claire Danes, Homeland

Best Actor - Comedy/Musical:
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Best Actress - Comedy/Musical:
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl

Best Actor - Miniseries/TV Movie:
Idris Elba, Luther

Best Actress - Miniseries/TV Movie:
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce

Best Supporting Actor:
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones

Best Supporting Actress:
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story

The X Factor: Season 1 Finale Recap/Review

If you didn't know already, OMGWire (the site that I do my X Factor recaps for) is undergoing some changes and is offline at the moment. So that is why my recap for the X Factor finale is now online yet. But since OMGWire won't be back up for a while, I've decided to just post it here. Check it out below:

The X Factor: Season 1 Finale
Air Date: Thursday, December 22, 2011 [8-10pm]

We're here, everyone! It's the very first finale for The X Factor USA! It's down to our Top 3: Josh Krajcik, Chris Rene and Melanie Amaro! Let's see how it plays out...

The Top 12 perform Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory." Drew is a brunette now. And almost everyone is pitchy, dawg.

Melanie Amaro performs Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You." By the way, this is one of my favorite Christmas songs ever; I just love it! And Melanie hit those high notes effortlessly. Following her performance, we see a video of people from her hometown and from the British Virgin Islands sending messages to Melanie: friends, family, teachers, co-workers.

Chris Rene performs "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" along with a friends/family video for him, too.

Josh Krajcik performs "Please Come Home for Christmas." Each of the Top 3 cry during and after their respective videos.

Justin Bieber performs "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)" with Stevie Wonder. When Justin was promoting Under The Mistletoe in November, his voice wasn't that good. But tonight, he sounds a lot better. Stevie on the other hand? Wow! That was a vocal mess. I've noticed that about Stevie the past few years or so; most of the time he's very pitchy. Then Stevie's gone and Justin performs "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." Just when we think the song is over, Justin brings Drew out and she helps him finish the song. She's going gaga over meeting him. If you remember, her audition song was "Baby."

The first results of the night are now. The singer ending up in 3rd place is...Chris Rene. I'm a little surprised by that. After he did "Young Homie" for his final song, I would've thought that song would have gotten people to vote hard for him. I guess not. Once Steve announces Chris is eliminated, here's my thought: Melanie just won.

A video is shown of the Top 5 Most Shocking Moments of the season. #5 is auditioner Zander Alexander. #4 is Astro's brat attitude when he initially refused to perform in the survival round. #3 is some random auditioner. #2 is some auditioner's dad flipping out backstage. And #1 is Rachel Crow's elimination.

Following this video, out comes Rachel Crow herself and jokingly says she's taking over Steve's job. She introduces Leona Lewis, who performs "Run" while a video plays in the background looking back over the season. It's very fitting that Leona's performing tonight, since she's an X Factor winner herself in the UK and became a global superstar because of this Simon Cowell created franchise.

Auditions are coming soon for season 2 (I believe you can audition online right now). Steve says something like, "We'll be back next year." My thought is, I don't think YOU will, Steve.

A video plays: L.A. vs. Simon - Smackdown, showing the back and forth snarky comments between each other over the course of the season.

Derek Fisher (who?) introduces 50 Cent, who performs "Waiting Until Tonight." During the beginning of the song, a bunch of stuff had to be bleeped out. What a trashy performance, what with the female "dancers" (they seem like they could be prostitutes or strippers or something like that) and the bleeping. A bunch of seemingly random people come out and join them on the stage. Who are any of these people? They didn't do a very good job introducing them. Astro joins in near the end.

We see a hilarious video of Paula vs. Nicole - The Cryoff. It kept going back and forth between showing all the times Paula and Nicole cried this season. I think it ended up being Nicole with 14 points and Paula with 10 or something like that.

Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo perform "Give Me Everything." Marcus Canty joins in near the end; I'm a little embarrassed that I actually didn't realize that was Marcus at first. All of a sudden it dawned on me who it was.

The Top 2, Josh and Melanie, perform "Heroes." Since they wouldn't have known who would be eliminated before this, I wonder if each of the Top 3 rehearsed this so they would be prepared no matter which two ended up being in the Top 2. But no matter, both Josh and Melanie sound great together, and they have excellent chemistry.

The very first winner of The X Factor USA is...MELANIE AMARO!!! Yes! It's amazing how this is the very first season and the right person actually won.

Melanie performs "Listen." She's obviously really emotional during the performance, not singing a few times because of the emotion, but is able to stay on the right beat when she starts singing again. I love her reactions during the song. These are classic moments on these singing talent shows. Kelly Clarkson's winning performance is probably the most classic winning moment. And Melanie's was just as fantastic.

I'm not trying to come off as cocky when I say this, but it's true that I predicted that Melanie would win when we first saw her audition way back when. This is only the second time that I've correctly predicted the eventual winner based on their audition (among these singing shows). The first was Carrie Underwood on American Idol. Both are stars, for sure.

3rd Place: Chris Rene

Runner-Up: Josh Krajcik

WINNER: MELANIE AMARO

Well, we're now done with the first season of the American version of The X Factor. What do we do now? Other than get ready for American Idol in January, I mean. How about we look at the Top 3 (and others) and look at marketability. Let's start with our darling winner, Melanie Amaro. It's really fitting that both her audition and winning song was "Listen." That was sung by Beyonce in Dreamgirls. And for a little while now, I've been thinking that they need to market her as a Beyonce type singer. That could be her best shot at being an accessible singer. For Josh Krajcik, he needs to go down the Daughtry route with that kind of rock music (and maybe a little of David Cook thrown in as well). I'm sure L.A. will make sure that Chris Rene is signed, and he'll obviously be doing hip/hop, R&B and rap.

What about outside of the Top 3? I'm sure Marcus Canty will get a record deal somewhere, but he won't do well. There's nothing that distinguishes him from other R&B singers like Usher. There've been rumors that Disney is after Rachel Crow. I hope she does something like that, because I could see her doing really well with that. It's hard to tell right now what they would do with someone like Drew, maybe songs similar to Demi Lovato? Astro will most likely get a deal somewhere. Unfortunately, I don't see anything big happening with the others: LeRoy Bell, Lakoda Rayne, Stacy Francis, The Stereo Hogzz and InTENsity. I'm sure most of them will try to put out music, but nothing will happen from it.

We're now less than a month away from the return of the show that started it all. American Idol season 10 premieres January 18 and 19 at 8pm on FOX.

This has been a fun few months recapping The X Factor on OMGWire. For even more from me, follow me on Twitter @TheJeffDodge, @TVWatchOnline and @Bieber_Guy (and follow OMGWire @OMGWire). I hope we can do this all over again next fall. In the meantime, it's time to sign off and say...see ya then...

BuddyTV Writer

You may have noticed some of the article links I've posted on TV Watch Online have been preceded by a mention of BuddyTV. I want to say that I am now a freelance editor and writer for BuddyTV.com.

According to BuddyTV, "BuddyTV is every TV watcher's friend. With the website, users can read news about their favorite shows and actors and interact with other fans in our rabid community. Users can also play addictive games on the sites such as Trivia, Personality Quizzes, and Celeb Rater."

I am excited to have joined their team as a freelancer. Any articles that I write for them will be linked to on TV Watch Online. I already have six articles posted online for them (one is a slideshow).

To make it easier to find all of my articles, you can click HERE my articles page with a full list of and links to everything I write for them.

The X Factor: Top 4

My recaps/reviews of this week's Top 4 episodes of The X Factor is now up at OMGWire.com. Below are some excerpts from my commentary.

Click HERE to read the entire performance show article & HERE for the results show.

Marcus Canty - "I'll Make Love to You" [Boys / Mentor: L.A. Reid]
It was a very conservative performance. This isn't going to cut it at this point in the competition. I know he and L.A. didn't choose the song (it was chosen by the public in the Pepsi Challenge, but it was still safe. What was the deal with the rose and the dancers? Overall, very boring, to say the least.

Melanie Amaro - "Hero" [Girls / Mentor: Simon Cowell]
I'm sure some would say this is safe as well. The difference, though, is that Marcus doesn't have the voice that Melanie has. Simon said she would be doing a twist on the song - what was it, that it was a tad slower? I don't know. But her voice is still exceptional.

Josh Krajcik - "Hallelulah" [Over 30's / Mentor: Nicole]
This reminded me of when he did "Wild Horses" a few weeks ago - slow, haunting, emotional. Josh seems to always do great when going down this route. This is the perfect time to pull out a song and performance like this, right when he's trying to get into the finals. And L.A. is back to doling out criticisms just for the heck of it, and not for any particular reason.

Click HERE & HERE to read the entire recaps/reviews.

The X Factor: Top 5

My recap/review of last night's Top 5 performance episode of The X Factor is now up at OMGWire.com. Below are some excerpts from my commentary.

Click HERE to read the entire article.

Chris Rene - "Live Your Life" [Boys / Mentor: L.A.]
Even though this isn't something I would go seek out to watch, this is absolutely the kind of performance we see by established artists. And you know what? I loved it. This is the avenue he needs to go down post-X Factor. And I loved the added touch of the moving floor.

Melanie Amaro - "When You Believe" [Girls / Mentor: Simon]
This is the perfect song for Melanie. We're halfway through the night, but this is by far the best of the night so far. Her vocals were flawless, and the choir coming out was just perfect. The feel of this felt like she was in the Top 2 and gave the performance that caused her to win (if not the winning performance itself).

Rachel Crow - "Music and Me" [Girls / Mentor: Simon]
This is definitely an improvement over her first song. And while it allowed her voice to shine, there was still something about it that seemed disconnected to me. I have a feeling that she could be in danger this week.

Click HERE to read the entire recap/review.

The X Factor: Top 7

My recap/review of last night's Top 9 performance episode of The X Factor is now up at OMGWire.com. Below are some excerpts from my commentary.

Click HERE to read the entire article.

Josh Krajcik - "Dirty Diana" [Over 30's / Mentor: Nicole Scherzinger]
It may not have been as strong as last week, but overall I enjoyed it. On the downside, the song forced him to sing a lot of low notes, which didn't help him. And they really need to fire the dancers. Josh is a rock artist - when do you ever see dancers like this on stage with a rock performer? You don't. Get rid of them.

Rachel Crow - "Can You Feel It" [Girls / Mentor: Simon]
Her voice was shaky or something during the first half. Fortunately, her voice was powerful and on by the end. And I think it was the song that caused those problems overall. So in that regard, maybe it wasn't the best song choice. I think it's about time that Rachel take charge again.

Marcus Canty - "Pretty Young Thing (P.Y.T)" [Boys / Mentor: L.A.]
In a way, this theme is right up Marcus' alley, depending on the song. Michael Jackson knew how to put on a show, and so does Marcus. Simon is right on that the vocals weren't the best at times. But regardless, I enjoyed watching it as a performance.

Click HERE to read the entire recap/review.

The X Factor: Top 9

My recap/review of last night's Top 9 performance episode of The X Factor is now up at OMGWire.com. Below are some excerpts from my commentary.

Click HERE to read the entire article.

Melanie Amaro - "The World's Greatest" [Girls / Mentor: Simon]
Dedicated to: God. The song perfectly suited her dedication. It's hard to tell yet where this will rank among all her sets (not one of her best), but she was virtually flawless vocally. In previous weeks, some may have called her bland, but she really showed personality when she was talking afterwards. And her accent during that talking got really thick - what was up with that?

Chris Rene - "Let It Be"/"Homie What You Tripping On" [Boys / Mentor: L.A.]
Dedicated to: Tim, a counselor from his rehab. "Let It Be" is a great song, but turning it into an R&B/Hip-Hop song didn't work - it didn't fit him at all. Then he segued into "Homie What You Tripping On," his audition song. While the vocals weren't perfect as usual, the second song was enjoyable to listen to.

LeRoy Bell - "In the Arms of An Angel" [Over 30's / Mentor: Nicole Scherzinger]
Dedicated to: mom. He started off a little rough, but improved as the song went on. By about the middle, he was back in good form. I've already been a fan of his, so I enjoyed that last half. But I'm not sure if it was enough to garner new fans/more votes.

Click HERE to read the entire recap/review.

The X Factor: Top 10

My recap/review of last night's Top 10 performance episode of The X Factor is now up at OMGWire.com. Below are some excerpts from my commentary.

Click HERE to read the entire article.

Rachel Crow - "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" [Girls / Mentor: Simon Cowell]
The reason why last week worked was because she took control and chose her own song. But this one harkens back to the Top 17 and Top 12 weeks, which were weak. They brought out the dancers and the outfit that doesn't look right on her (just as those weak weeks I just mentioned did). I'm just not understanding why all the judges gave her standing ovations. Her voice wasn't her strongest.

Josh Krajcik - "The Pretender" [Over 30's / Mentor: Nicole]
Josh is rock, so this has to be his week. I'm not familiar with the song - kind of a strange song (mainly because most of the song is sung in the same note). But you know what? He delivered. It was rock through and through.

Marcus Canty - "Piece of My Heart" [Boys / Mentor: L.A.]
In the intro video, he talked about moral values. Then during the song, he slides across the floor underneath a line of scantily clad women? Come on. Just to let you know, Marcus, R&B/Hip-Hop (which is the area he's obviously going to end up in post-show) and moral values don't mesh very well. As for his voice and performance, possibly one of the best of the night. At first, I wasn't sure, but I liked it by the end.

Click HERE to read the entire recap/review.

"Why I Refuse to Say Goodbye to Harry Potter" - An Original Essay by Jeff Dodge

At the end of July and beginning of August, I just had this weird feeling going through me. It was only a few weeks after seeing the final Harry Potter movie for the first time. It was hard to imagine that there would be no more Potter movies. So I started writing down my thoughts. I put it aside for a while. A while ended up being about months (I didn't plan on waiting that long). As the DVD release date approached for the final film, I got the essay back out and went back through and edited the essay.

Yesterday was the release date for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the final one. And to coincide with that release, I released my essay on OMGWire.com. I talk about how I was first introduced to the series, and transition into my feelings on the series coming to an end and what that means for me. I suggest reading the whole essay so you can understand why I titled it "Why I Refuse to Say Goodbye to Harry Potter."

Below is a short excerpt from the essay:

I didn't want to write this. I really didn't. It's been about four months now since the final Harry Potter movie came out, and I may have been in denial. In denial that the end was here and it's passed by me in a flash. I didn't want to write this, because I didn't want to say goodbye.

I first met Harry Potter in 1999. I was 11, the same age Harry was when he received his letter to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I never received mine, but I got so much more than just a mere letter. On Christmas Eve of that year, I received the first three books as a Christmas gift from my step-grandma. I had never heard of this series before, but thanked her because she knew I loved to read. Little did she (or I) know how much that one choice would change my life forever, would turn out to be more than just a simple gift.

But it didn't start that way. I began reading Sorcerer's Stone, and can you believe it when I say I didn't get very far before I stopped reading and stored the books away? At that time, it didn't catch my attention for some reason. A few months later, though, I was going through my closet and rediscovered Harry Potter sitting there with my other books. I decided to give it another chance. And boy am I glad I did. I can't even imagine what my life would have been like if I didn't. Before I knew it, I had swallowed up all three pretty much in one gulp and hungered for more. The problem? The fourth book wouldn't be released until summertime. And so Harry Potter went on the backburner again, but only temporarily. On the morning of July 8, 2000, I received a call from my mom (I had stayed at my grandparents' beach house the previous night) that UPS or some other delivery truck had pulled up and delivered a package. She didn't think she had ordered anything, so she was a little confused. But when she opened it, there was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I had completely forgotten that I had entered a contest through one of the bookstores at the mall to win a free copy of the book. I told her to make sure to bring it with her when she came out to the beach house later that day. To the average person, two weeks might seem like a short time to read a 734 page book. And at the time, it was fast for me. (My speed time would quicken dramatically for the remaining books).

Goblet of Fire changed everything. Not just for me, but for the fandom and the franchise. After Goblet of Fire, I discovered Harry Potter fansites, who were all dissecting and analyzing the books for clues to what would happen next. I read through every single news item and rumor to see what the plot of book 5 would be. It was excruciating to have to wait three (THREE!!!) years for Order of the Phoenix.

Tragedy struck just over a year later...

The entire essay is much longer than this. To read the full essay, click HERE.

The X Factor: Top 11

My recaps/reviews of this week's Top 11 performance and results show episodes of The X Factor are now up at OMGWire.com. Below are some excerpts from my commentary.

Click HERE to read the Top 11 recap/review.

Click HERE to read the Top 11 Results Show recap/review.

LeRoy Bell - "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," Runaway Bride [Over 30's / Mentor: Nicole]
"I'm Already There" was one of his weakest. But he's back in good form tonight. His soulful voice was a pleasure to listen to.

Chris Rene - "Gangsta's Paradise," Dangerous Minds [Boys / Mentor: L.A.]
Since he did rap, let's compare him against Astro. Who was better tonight? Chris Rene, because his song was one that went back and forth between rap and regular singing. I seem to like these kinds of rap songs better than ones with strictly rap, like Astro's. And I found myself getting into this performance. There were only a few pitch problems. Well done, Chris!

Bieber Guy Is Moving To OMGWire!

Announcement:
Bieber Guy Is Moving To OMGWire!

I teased on Twitter recently that I had a big announcement coming soon regarding the future of Bieber Guy, and that it would be good news.

I am excited to announce that the Bieber Guy blog will be moving to OMGWire.com! If you haven't checked out OMGWire before, please do so. They provide the latest entertainment and celebrity news every single day. I first started writing for OMGWire back in June when I provided the recaps/reviews for America's Got Talent; I am currently doing them for this fall's The X Factor.

I apologize for the delay in my latest Bieber Guy review. The reason for the delay was because I was in the middle of setting up the new site.

So here's what's going to happen now: the Bieber Guy blog will still be up and running for at least a little while until everything has been transferred over (and I will link to any articles I write at the new site). OMGWire has started up a brand-new area of their site called Bieber Blog at this link: bieber.omgwire.com. This will be OMGWire's top spot for providing the latest Justin Bieber news.

I haven't pinned down a date yet for when my next Bieber Guy Review will be up. I apologize for the delay, but I am excited by this new opportunity that OMGWire has provided. And there will be other writers as well providing Bieber news on OMGWire's Bieber Blog as well.

To find out the latest TV, movie and entertainment news, visit the main TV Watch Online site and OMGWire.com (Twitter: @TVWatchOnline @OMGWire).

To stay updated on everything related to Bieber Guy and when the next review will be online, follow me on Twitter @Bieber_Guy. Twitter is the best and fastest way to find out about any news, announcements, articles, or reviews.

The X Factor: Top 12

My recap/review of Wednesday night's Top 12 performance episode of The X Factor is now up at OMGWire.com. Below are some excerpts from my commentary.

Click HERE to read the entire article.

Rachel Crow - "Walking on Sunshine" [Girls / Mentor: Simon Cowell]
A great song. She wasn't always on pitch, especially during the first half. But she has a great personality to make up for that. I didn't understand why they changed the lyrics from "Walking on sunshine" to "You're my sunshine." It messed up what is a fantastic song. And ever since the live shows (both last week and tonight), I haven't been a fan of her clothing or hair style, or on-stage props.

Lakoda Rayne - "Landslide" [Groups / Mentor: Paula]
I wasn't impressed. It was a very safe song choice. And there was some shaky vocal moments (and one flat voice during the harmony), but their harmonies were pretty solid. The seasons aspect was corny.

Josh Krajcik - "Jar of Hearts" [Over 30's / Mentor: Nicole]
How do you top what he did last week? Since it worked, maybe Nicole thought he should do another slow song. And while not as beautiful as last time, his voice was still pretty good. Since he looks like a rocker, I think he needs to try out a more upbeat song, something more rock-like.

Marcus Canty - "Beautiful Girls"/"Every Little Step" [Boys / Mentor: L.A.]
The Boys category hasn't been the strongest, but Marcus has always had strong vocals. Tonight, his voice wasn't the strongest. Then he stepped up more in the second half and it felt more like he was an established artist.

Click HERE to read the entire recap/review. I realized after the fact that while I did made my bottom 2 prediction, I didn't type up my elimination prediction. So, I'm saying here that I predict that InTENsity will be sent home this week.

Elimination Prediction: InTENsity

The X Factor: Top 17

My recap/review of this week's Top 17 (& first live) episode of The X Factor is now up at OMGWire.com. Below are some excerpts from my commentary.

Click HERE to read the entire article.

Chris Rene - "Love Don't Live Here Anymore"
His song choice wasn't the best; maybe a little too subdued? I don't know. He still needs to work on his voice because it's still not the best. I hate to say it, but Astro might have been better. By the way, Chris Rene was one of the contestants I saw audition live in person when I attended one of the Seattle tapings back in June.

The Stereo Hogzz - "Try A Little Tenderness"
They're the best of the night so far. They have the whole package - excellent choreography and dance moves, great vocals, and the lead singer has a great voice. And a fantastic arrangement.

LeRoy Bell - "Nobody Knows"
Dexter gets the Most Energy Award, but LeRoy gets the Voice Award over him. I love his voice. The song was such a pleasant song. Some may say it's the wrong choice, but I liked it.

Melanie Amaro - "I Have Nothing"
She's been my favorite the entire season so far, and before tonight, I pegged her as the winner already. She's a pop star in the making. The song choice was a tad predictable, but she did great with it. My only negative is that she got a little off-pitch when she really went for those high notes, but it was quickly remedied once she steadied onto those high notes.

Who was eliminated, and who's in the Top 12? Click HERE to check out the entire recap/review.

Bieber Guy's 'My World' Reviews

It has been almost two months now since I launched the new Bieber Guy blog with my first review. If you haven't checked out Bieber Guy yet, here's a summary of what the blog is all about:

Justin Bieber's core demographic fan base is tween and teen girls. I, however, am a 23-year-old MALE college graduate. No matter where you turn, there Bieber is: on every TV show and website imaginable. I can certainly understand why the girls are in love with him, but I am not necessarily a fan. But neither am I a hater and dislike him either; I would consider myself a neutral outsider. That's there this new blog comes into play. I will become the Bieber Guy and explore the world of Justin Bieber (listening to all of his songs and albums, watch his music videos, read his book, watch his movie, view his YouTube videos, etc). This isn't necessarily to see if I will have Bieber Fever by the end; I'm not guaranteeing I will. The purpose of this project is to understand him as an artist rather than judge him or write him off as a fad, as many people have done without even taking the time to listen to much of his music. There are many who have said he will have lasting power in the music biz, unlike other young singing stars like Miley Cyrus or the Jonas Brothers. Why is that? Let's explore...

As I said, I am two months into this project now. And I really am enjoying working on it, being able to listen to his music. And so far, I have found that I am enjoying much of his music more than I thought I would. But I digress; my overall thoughts will be left for a future day.

I am currently in the middle of reviewing Justin's full-length album, My World 2.0, which is his second music release. But before I go any further, I thought I would let you all know where you can read all of my reviews from his debut, the My World EP. Below are all the links to those reviews:

Debut Single: "One Time" (Updated)

2nd Single: "One Less Lonely Girl"

Promo Singles: "Love Me" & "Favorite Girl"

EP: My World

You can also check out that blog for the reviews I've done so far for My World 2.0. I'll make sure to let you all know when I'm completely done reviewing the songs from that release.

If you follow TV Watch Online on Twitter (@TVWatchOnline), I do post links to all my reviews there. But if you really want to stay updated on everything related to Bieber Guy and when the next blog and/or review will be online, follow Bieber Guy on Twitter @Bieber_Guy.

Emmys: My Predictions vs. Winners

The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards were held last night. And to be honest, I didn't do too well. At the Golden Globes and Oscars earlier this year, I got 84% and 79% correct, respectively. But for this year's Emmys, I only got 46% correct, less than half! Oh my!

Here's the list of winners along with my predictions:

Outstanding Drama:
Mad Men
My Prediction:
Mad Men (+)

Outstanding Comedy:
Modern Family
My Prediction:
Modern Family (+)

Actor - Drama:
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
My Prediction:
Jon Hamm, Mad Men (-)
Nobody expected Kyle Chandler to win, but everyone is so excited and glad over his win, though. So good for him!

Actress - Drama:
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
My Prediction:
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife (+)

Actor - Comedy:
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
My Prediction:
Steve Carell, The Office (-)
Most people were hoping that Steve Carell would win, since it was his last year on The Office.

Actress - Comedy:
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
My Prediction:
Laura Linney, The Big C (-)
I loved this moment during the Emmys! When the presenters named the first nominee in this category, Amy Poehler, who's name that was, jumped out of her seat and went up to stand on stage. Then each time a nominee was named, each of the women went up and they all stood up in a line. And when Melissa's name was called as the winner, they gave her a bouquet of roses and tiara. Loved it! This was probably THE best moment of the entire show!

Supporting Actor - Drama:
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
My Prediction:
John Slattery, Mad Men (-)

Supporting Actress - Drama:
Margo Martindale, Justified
My Prediction:
Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire (-)

Supporting Actor - Comedy:
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
My Prediction:
Chris Colfer, Glee (-)
Well, Chris, let's hope you get it at the Golden Globes!

Supporting Actress - Comedy:
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
My Prediction:
Betty White, Hot In Cleveland (-)
I don't think anybody predicted Julie to win. Everyone was saying it would be either Jane Lynch or Betty White. I was so hoping that we would get an acceptance speech by Ms. White - that would have been great.

Guest Actor - Drama:
Paul McCrane, Harry's Law
My Prediction:
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife (-)

Guest Actress - Drama:
Loretta Devine, Grey's Anatomy
My Prediction:
Loretta Devine, Grey's Anatomy (+)

Guest Actor - Comedy:
Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live
My Prediction:
Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live (+)

Guest Actress - Comedy:
Gwyneth Paltrow, Glee
My Prediction:
Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live (-)

Reality Competition Program:
The Amazing Race
My Prediction:
The Amazing Race (+)
And this year showed that American Idol will never ever win the Emmy. And it has nothing to do with the new energy in season 10. It's because EP Nigel Lythgoe keeps submitting the same episode each year, which is the season finale. The season finale is basically just an episode where a bunch of guest singers perform. He needs to be choosing competition-type episodes, such as the episode when Casey Abrams was eliminated, then the judges saved him. Now that is drama at its finest!

Reality Program:
Deadliest Catch
My Prediction:
Antiques Roadshow (-)

Reality Host:
Jeff Probst, Survivor
My Prediction:
Jeff Probst, Survivor (+)
Good for you, Jeff! You're the greatest!

Variety, Musical or Comedy Series:
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
My Prediction:
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (+)

Variety, Music or Comedy Special:
The Kennedy Center Honors
My Prediction:
The Kennedy Center Honors (+)

Movie or Miniseries:
Downtown Abbey
My Prediction:
Mildred Pierce (-)

Actor - Miniseries or Movie:
Barry Pepper, The Kennedys
My Prediction:
Edgar Ramirez, Carlos (-)

Actress - Miniseries or Movie:
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce
My Prediction:
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce (+)

Supporting Actor - Miniseries or Movie:
Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce
My Prediction:
James Woods, Too Big to Fail (-)

Supporting Actress - Miniseries or Movie:
Maggie Smith, Downtown Abbey
My Prediction:
Maggie Smith, Downtown Abbey (+)

Well, I guess better luck next time for me.

You can view the full list of nominees, winners, and my predictions on TV Watch Online's Emmy Awards page.

T.W.O: Emmy Predictions

Tomorrow are the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards, airing at 8pm ET/5pm PT on FOX, hosted by Glee's Jane Lynch. On the eve of the show, I have now made my predictions on who will win in each of the categories. Below  are my predictions, and head on over to T.W.O.'s Emmy Awards page for a list of all the nominees. So, without further ado, here are TV Watch Online's predictions for the 2011 Emmy Awards:

Outstanding Drama:
Mad Men

Outstanding Comedy:
Modern Family

Actor - Drama:
Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Actress - Drama:
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Actor - Comedy:
Steve Carell, The Office

Actress - Comedy:
Laura Linney, The Big C

Supporting Actor - Drama:
John Slattery, Mad Men

Supporting Actress - Drama:
Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire

Supporting Actor - Comedy:
Chris Colfer, Glee

Supporting Actress, Comedy:
Betty White, Hot in Cleveland

Guest Actor - Drama:
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife

Guest Actress - Drama:
Loretta Devine, Grey's Anatomy

Guest Actor - Comedy:
Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live

Guest Actress - Comedy:
Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live

Reality Competition Program:
The Amazing Race

Reality Program:
Antiques Roadshow

Reality Host:
Jeff Probst, Survivor

Variety, Musical or Comedy Series:
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Variety, Music or Comedy Special:
The Kennedy Center Honors

Movie or Miniseries:
Mildred Pierce

Actor - Miniseries or Movie:
Edgar Ramirez, Carlos

Actress - Miniseries or Movie:
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce

Supporting Actor - Miniseries or Movie:
James Woods, Too Big to Fail

Supporting Actress - Miniseries or Movie:
Maggie Smith, Downtown Abbey

America's Got Talent 6 - Finale Week

My recaps/reviews of this week's Top 4 performance episode and Finale of America's Got Talent are now up at OMGWire.com. Below are some excerpts of my commentaries.

Click HERE to read the entire Top 4 Recap/Review and HERE for the Finale Recap/Review (& HERE for the Quick Results Recap).


Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. - Singer
Song: Frank Sinatra's "My Way"
The opening lines of the song fit the evening perfectly: "And now the end is near / And so I face the final curtain." However, the first half of the performance was not as fitting, not spectacular. Very  boring. Fortunately, though, he was perfectly on form during the final half. Since the song picked up, he was able to really show off his voice. And I loved the final drawn out notes. Since he's a singer, he could very well win, since this show basically only votes singers as its winners. But I'm wondering if the producers purposefully had him perform first, so that a singer wouldn't win.

---

During Wednesday night's performance episode, some technical difficulties occurred just before Silhouettes was about to perform. Now, we see the backstage video of what really went on. The huge door behind the stage broke down and wouldn't open up, even when the crew tried to manually open it. Finally, they were able to get it, and the show went on.