And then there was one….. dude with absolutely no points that will hopefully pass Ammon in the near future. Meanwhile, Pete MC continues to ride the domination of Zoe Saldana in Guardians. He’s went from middle of the pack to top 4 in less than 4 weeks. Relax, Pete MC. Hopefully the Fall movies can mix things up a little bit. Click the link below to see the entire spreadsheet or simply stare at the picture as if it one of those magical pictures that changes if you sit there long enough. It’s not.
Tons of points were scored this week but it wasn’t because of the Emmys or SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR’s box office. Most people scored huge in the nudity category. Lizzy Caplan whipped them out again, as did Eva Green, and Juno Temple. Rosamund Pike scored a Entertainment Weekly cover too. Moreno’s attempt to take control of this league has fallen way short though as SIN CITY flopped in a major way. Meanwhile, Pete MC got a huge push as GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY actually went back into the number one spot. Fuck. Is that HUNGER GAMES movie out yet? I’ll just wait here in limbo. Full spreadsheet is in the link below.
Said Helal has extended his lead nicely in the 20th week of The Hottie Fantasy league but more importantly, we now only have 2 scoreless player left. That’s right, Meryl Streep finally managed to scrounge up some points for Justin Smith and he’s on the board, soon to pass Ammon. There was no relevant nudity this week on TV (somebody should have drafted Sarah Silverman) so it was all box office points. Next week starts Moreno’s huge run at the title with his 2 hotties in SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR. It almost makes me not want to see it.
Click on the link below for the whole spreadsheet or just look at the silly picture and pretend you know what’s up.
Said Helal’s dynamic duo of Scarlett Johansson and Megan Fox have thrust him into the top spot. For a while I imagine. Moreno will give it a run in a couple weeks with his own tandom in SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR but everybody else will have to play the long game to see if we can get back in this thing. If I could give Ammon negative points every week, I would.
All the nudity points should be updated but be sure to give me a shout if you think I’ve been ignoring your hottie’s boobs. Click on the link below for the whole spreadsheet or just look at the picture and satisfy yourself. Gross.
We got ourselves a game, folks. Anthony D. and Said are fighting it out for the top spot with furious numbers being thrown around by their various hotties. Or something like that. TMNT is going to blow this bitch wide open soon though so watch out for that. We now only have three scoreless participants. Soon they too will pass Ammon. As always, click the link below to check out the entire spreadsheet or just look at the silly picture like a silly asshole. Your call.
Scarlett Johansson is back on top of the box office and here comes Said Helal again. It’s only a matter of time until he finds the number one spot with Megan Fox and TMNT waiting in the wings next month. We can all just try to hold on and weather the storm. In happier news, it looks like Ammon might be passed by everybody in the next few months. Ammon sucks. Hit the link below for the entire spreadsheet.
Hold on to your butts, we got a battle for the top. Only 5 points separate the top 3 in the league with Law and Moreno respectfully representing Binge Media to round out the top 5. The top scorer of the week has to be Richard Hoggarth who scored two Emmy nominations and an Empire cover to boot. Things are very interesting right now. Sta tuned.
I guess living through the 80s was a drastically different experience as an adult. My concept of the cold war was shaped by `Saturday Night Live` skits, a ROCKY movie, and Nikolai Volkoff dropping mean renditions of the Russian national anthem before his WWF matches. I was a twitchy little Canadian kid with an addiction to Coca Cola and no real concern for world politics or the threat of nuclear devastation. This is what makes The Americans so interesting to me. While the scenery and the soundtrack seem familiar, the subject matter is all very mysterious. It feels like some dark unspoken secret being pulled from my childhood.
There’s every opportunity for The Americans to drown itself in clichés. Espionage clichés. Will they/won’t they relationship clichés. Even clichés of the era (see: THE WEDDING SINGER). Thankfully, all of this takes a backseat to story. Much like its main characters, The Americans focuses on the job at hand. Nothing else matters because it’s all for show. Elizabeth and Phillip Jennings (Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys) are Russian spies living the American dream. At a distance they look like your average blue-collar family – running a respectable Travel Agency and raising two centered children while keeping a tight lawn in the middle of suburbia. Get a little closer and you’ll start to see the cracks. Covers are almost blown, fake marriages start to crumble, children start to hitchhike, and lots of people die.
My “turn-the-channel-forever” moment came early in the season here. The moment we realize the Jennings have moved across the street from FBI agent, and Russian spy stomper, Stan Beeman (the great Noah Emmerich), I was legitimately scared that this show was going to be more Bosom Buddies than Homeland. The conflict is, impressively, taken head-on shortly after it arises. Not that the tension is taken out of the relationship, let’s just say it’s allowed to breathe a little bit as it underscores the rest of the series-long drama.
And drama there is. The Russians have moles in FBI offices, the FBI have moles in Russian diplomat’s offices, everybody’s boss is a dick, most characters cheat with other characters, women get punched in the face (a lot), and there’s a recurring fake mustache that makes everybody feel uncomfortable. The show seems to develop pride in itself and the courage to pull of some big moves as it briskly moves along. Characters are introduced slowly and with care so we can really get to know them before they’re killed off. It’s admirable yet frustrating as a viewer. There are definitely some people let go too soon here.
Keri Russell is solid as the patriotic Elizabeth Jennings. She might have more action scenes than monologues to deal with here but she steps up to the plate wherever needed. Matthew Rhys might be even better. His effortless method of delivering lines adds confidence and an unsettling casualness to some of the wacky situations he gets himself into. Noah Emmerich’s flawed Stan Beeman is truly the highlight of the show for me. He’s a solid guy that keeps making the worst possible decisions. These lead to more bad decisions and eventually bad news for everybody involved (in the world). Add a handful of fantastic supporting roles by Margo Martindale, Richard Thomas, Maximiliano Hernandez, and Derek Luke and you have a pretty great freshman season for FX. Even for a clueless Canadian that thought, for years, that Jodie Foster shot President Reagan.
