Survivor: Samoa Episode 13 Recap/Live Blog

7:00: Crap. Having the episode start out with Russell stating "I'm in control of this game" and "I'm on my throne" "and telling Mick about his million plus earnings. This is not a good sign for his fate in the game.

7:01: It should also be noted that since I'm a fan of Survivor's page on Facebook, I saw that tonight will feature 2 Immunity Challenges, 2 Tribal Councils, 2 Jeff Probsts...apparently, two of everything. I do not expect Russell to be here at the end of the night.

7:02: Then again, would they really be so obvious with the outcome of tonight's episode? I can only hope not.

7:06: Chin Pubes speaks! Perhaps this is a sign that Brett will be the other person voted off tonight; he's said more in the first 5 minutes of this episode than in the last six combined.

7:08: Blammo - challenge time already. This ought to be a good episode.

7:09: You know I have a theory that every movie that features bowling is a good movie, or at the least, every movie is improved by bowling, right? And here we have a bowling tournament - excellent.

7:10: OMG! Are they actually going to let the contestants throw the ball more than once? What a luxury for them?

7:11: Well, yes and no. They get two throws - a whole frame. How big of the producers. "Here you are, player - I'm going to hand you a foreign object (more or less). Your job is to excel at this task on your first try. If not, you're out of the contest. We're simply trying our best to ensure that all of these challenges are determined by pure bullsh*t luck and not any sort of skill whatsoever. Enjoy."

7:14: In a battle of attrition, Jaison takes Immunity, though I can't imagine that either he or Shambo were on the chopping block.

7:18: Good god, Sham. Please cover your gut. Do this for me and I won't ask anything else from you.

7:20: Thank you.

7:21: Have we ever figured out why it is that Shambo hates Dave so much? Sure, there was that one argument we were shown over how to cook a chick, but there's got to be a hell of a lot more than that? I dunno - Dave just doesn't seem to be all that hatable to me.

7:22: Jeff to Shambo: "Great working of the jury. Well done." Ha! Way to call it like you see it, Probst.

7:27: So much for Russell's plan that he mentioned to Dave. Kevin Spacey voted out. Too bad - he was probably my second-favorite player there. I'm gonna be screwed if Russell gets ousted.

7:29: Okay, I think that was a first. We were just shown a promo during the show...for footage to be seen later in the show. I'm already watching - you don't need to advertise to me!

7:32: As we know, any time someone shows him the slightest bit of anxiety, Russell freaks out as well and immediately wants them voted off. I wonder, what would he do if everyone left came up to him and told him that they were nervous about him and/or their place in the game?

7:36: [Arms raised, two fingers on each hand held up in the air] Brett wins...immunity!

7:43: Why should Mick and/or Jaison care what Russ's plan is? What about their plan? He's only one man and there's two of you.

7:45: Russell talking about his money is far and away the stupidest move he's made in the game. Everyone knows. And he's left not knowing who to be more pissed or afraid of - it seems as though everyone's gunning for him. If he does in fact have the hidden immunity idol, he needs play it.

7:47: Sh*t...as I type that (of course), the amazing Russell goes ahead and pulls the idol out of his pocket and puts it around his neck. Easily one of the best moments of the season thus far. Never seen that before.

7:49: Brett is clueless. After Russ's move, he claims that the oil man is "obviously confident" with his place in the game. Dummy - Russ wouldn't make that move unless he was freaked out; it's an act of desperation, and frankly, I'm crazy worried about his place in the game. He needs immunity, and lots of it.

7:52: Who's it gonna be - Monica or Russell? And will Russell play his hidden idol? Stay tuned to Blog Cabins continuing coverage of Survivor: Samoa...coming up next!

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7:53: And we're back. Russell does not play his idol...

7:54: Thank God...Jaison, Mick, and Natalie decide to not turn on Russell, sending Monica home. Frankly, it was a fine play for Russell to not use his idol (the rare case where I'd say that) - had he played it, it's likely that he would have just been teamed up on again at the following Tribal Council, where he would be naked.

You know, unless he found the idol for the fourth time. :)

Survivor news at Survivor.com
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Familiar Face - Unknown Name #18 - Jon Gries

Call them what you want - character actors, "That Guy(s)," scene stealers - I don't care. This is a regular feature where I spotlight one performer, whether they be longtime veterans like J.K. Simmons or Barry Corbin, or a fresher face just making their way up the stardom ranks. For previous FF-UNs, click here.

Today's Familiar Face-Unknown Name:

Jon Gries

Where You've Seen Him (high profile): Napoleon Dynamite, as Rusty the Homeless Guy on two episodes of Seinfeld, on LOST as Ben Linus' dad, Roger, the Liam Neeson actioner Taken, Real Genius, Get Shorty, Martin, etc., etc.

Where You've Seen Him (not-so-high profile): The Astronaut Farmer, Stick It, the NBC drama The Pretender, random guest spots on TV (Chicago Hope, Beverly Hills, 90210, CSI: NY, to name a few).

Character Specialties: Greaseballs, scumbags (and dirtbags), drug addicts - basically, the cream of the crop. Some of my favorite character 'names' that Gries has had the luxury of playing: Drunk's Friend, Dope Dealer, Hood 1, B Cool, and Dirty Curt. Nice!

My favorite role: Napoleon's Uncle Rico, of course. Though it's closer than you'd think; as a Seinfeld junkie, choosing Rusty is awfully tempting ("I once knew a horse named Rusty." - Kramer). But Uncle Rico has it all - a goofy look, a quirky character, some choice, super-repeatable lines ("How much you wanna make a bet I can throw a football over them mountains"), the above pose...he's a pop culture icon, damnit!

I have a soft spot for Ronnie from Get Shorty as well, but it's really not all that large or memorable of a character ultimately.

Little Known Facts: From IMDb: "Does not drink milk and eats very little red meat." There's really not much else to find. Though there was this quote, from an interview done with The Onion A.V. Club:

"AVC: Which character do you identify with most?

I would say Lazlo and Uncle Rico, in some odd combination, are two that I really identify with. Lazlo has this kind of sensitivity—he's almost autistic, where he can't look people in the eyes. He's worried about their feelings, and would rather hide away. And Uncle Rico—you know, I came to things a little later. I didn't get on the ball as an actor when I was younger. So I understand how Uncle Rico feels like opportunity passed him by. Though he blames it on other people, and I more just accept it. I also had dreams of playing sports. Luckily, I found something else."

On Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Gries
On IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0340973/
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jon-Gries/#/pages/Jon-Gries/103637131907?ref=search&sid=1347401336.2249069452..1

The Dude That Does Stuff Movie Plot Game #9

Last Week's Results: Jason and Nick tied, with 3 points apiece. 5 plots went unanswered; see last week's comments section for the answers.

Sorry I couldn't get this up sooner. Long day. Also, cutting this down to 12 plots on a go-forward basis, but I'll try to make them slightly easier (harder than it sounds).

The concept is overwhelmingly simple; below are 12 movie plots, torn down to their basest base, and invariably involving the words "dude" and/or "stuff." All you must do is name the film. 1 point per correct answer; he/she with the most points wins. Google to your heart's content; it will do you no good. Many films might match the plots you see below, but there is only one correct answer, and that's the one that's in my head when I write it.

Have fun with this stuff, dudes and dudettes.

1. Dudes unsuccessfully try to figure out which dude is doing stuff.
2. Idiotic dude finds secret stuff.
3. Dude does stuff a little too good for his own good.
4. Dude hatches a plan to do stuff, then changes his mind.
5. If I can do stuff, and you can do stuff, all dudes can do stuff.
6. Dudes twirl stuff.
7. Dude more or less creates a place where dudes and dudettes go to do stuff.
8. Dudes and dudettes are stuck, unable to do stuff.
9. Dude finds something that lets him do magic stuff.
10. Dude is only the 2nd best at doing stuff.
11. Dude's not too great at doing stuff anymore, but he knows a thing or two.
12. Dude does stuff one last time before dying.

As you get them right, I'll mark them as gotten and stuff. Good luck.

Standings
JacksSmirkingRevenge - 4
Myherobobhope - 1.5
BD79 - 1
Nic Cage, Jason, Nick - .5

Correct answers so far:
1. Zodiac (Fitz)
2. Burn After Reading (JSR)
3. Hot Fuzz (Fitz)
4. Fargo (JSR)
5. Rocky IV (Univarn)
6.
7. Bugsy (Fitz)
8. The Breakfast Club (Nick)
9. The Mask (Justin)
10.
11. Bull Durham (Fitz)
12. This Is It (JSR)

Stained Glass Cinema Sunday (#70)

A bit harder than last week's, but someone ought to get this.




















Standings:
J.D. - 14
Fletch - 12
Nick - 6
Wendymoon, Clive Dangerously - 5
Jason/Daniel, David Bishop, Rachel - 3
Evan Derrick, Jason Soto, BD79, Dreamrot (smacdonn) - 2
Steel11Kane, TonyD, Luke Harrington, Adam Ross, Justin, Anders, Dave, JLG, Big Mike Mendez - 1

Here are the altered/actual posters from last time:

TGITDNMAR (12/4/09)

It's that time again for TGITDNMAR, which (obviously) stands for Thank God It's The Day New Movies Are Released.

Armored
Hey, Mr. Producer and/or Mrs. Casting Director! Do you want Matt Dillon in your next movie? Well, I hope it has an armored truck in it, 'cause if it don't Dillon ain't coming anywhere near it. At least, that's what I couldn't help but think after seeing the trailers to Armored and Takers (aka The Awful Poster Movie) back-to-back recently. Sure, it's kind of arbitrary, but it's like Keira Knightley and period flicks - is she not capable of acting in this time and age?

All of this is my way of saying that I have neither the interest to see this movie or the insight to properly analyze it, which probably ties back to that whole lack of interest thing.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 1%

Brothers
I know this movie deals with mature, adult subject matters, but...what is going on with that poster?

Tobey Maguire is topless, Natalie Portman appears to be wearing a bra or nightie whilst snuggling with his backside, and meanwhile here comes Jake Gyllenhaal from behind her, about to do god knows what.

If that poster isn't a visual translation for the exact events of the movie, I don't know what is. But did they have to be so literal about it? Sickos.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing: 89%

Everybody's Fine
Two things come to mind every time I hear or see something about this movie.

1. Awesome. As if Four Christmases wasn't bad enough, we now get the bizarro sequel to it: Three Christmases, this time with the parent visiting the children. And though it's being marketed as a drama (or perhaps dramedy), I'd wager that it'll end up beign loads funnier than the Vince Vaughn-Reese Witherspoon lump of coal that was delivered to theaters last year (intentionally or not).

2. A Serious Man has inadvertently ruined this movie. It's not the same quote by far, but it's close enough: I just can't help but think of Sy Abelman telling Larry Gopnik "we're gonna be fine," which leads me to wonder if this movie isn't 90 minutes of Bobby DeNiro running around the country, hugging his kids and telling them "we're gonna be fine." Which would be pretty awesome if you think about it.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing: 8%

Up In the Air
I like George Clooney a lot. We even did a LAMBcast about him, in case you missed it. But here's the deal: no actor, no matter how likable, and even if there are voice-only roles mixed in, should have three films released with the same six-week period (much less the four I think it's been). I'm not sure of what the exact calculation is (Is three in three months alright? How about four in a year? How much does the size of the role play a factor?), but I know that Clooney's the lead (or, in the case of Goats, the 1A) in all of them, and he's probably onscreen in Up In the Air for at least 95% of the runtime.

Of course I'll see it, and by all indications, I'm bound to like it...but two things need to happen to avoid boredom/overexposure to Mr. Clooney: A) You need to take a few months off, George, though I imagine since the last of these films finished up months ago, you might already be on hiatus (read: make it a longer hiatus than usual), and B) as I mentioned on said LAMBcast, Clooney needs to go wildly outside his comfort zone. I want to see him play a cold-blooded killer or a homeless sex addict or, hell, a drag queen or something. Go nuts - just be sure that you're not playing anything that resembles yourself (Tom Cruise in Collateral, anyone?). Thank me later.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing: 99%

Survivor: Samoa Episode 12 Recap/Not-So-Live Blog

I always wanna call the episode after the recap show the next in line numerically after the last one (which would make this one 11), but I seem to be the only one in the internetiverse that does so, and that leads to all kinds of confusion between me and the bajillions of Googlers looking for information and/or hot noodz of the contestants. And so, I will call this episode 12; world, don't go changin' on me now.

Anyway, as you might've noticed, this post is coming to you hours after the episode aired (even on the West Coast). Thus, the Not-So-Live blog. That being the case, the standard time stamps are moot, and will be replaced by run-of-the-mill asterisks. But my recap will be 100% LIVE as of the date and time of my watching it, so expect the same off-the-cuff, poorly thought-about commentary and bad jokes that you've come to know and love.

Alright, Mrs. Fletch has readied herself for viewing, so let's get this party started!

* Odds of Russell holding up his end of the bargain he made with John (about voting off a Foa Foan next): 50-1.

* Could it be possible? Is Russ finally starting to lose a little bit of his pot belly? It would seem so...of course, as I'm typing this, the contestants are receiving their auction money and talking about full bellies. We'll see.

* Um...what's the deal with Jeff's hair? A bit too much Grecian formula, Mr. Probst?

* I want to sell my car to Natalie. If it were on the market for $25,000, I think I could get $68,000 from her.

* Of course, I shouldn't give her too hard a time; there's nothing worse than seeing these auctions and having players walk away with nothing but the meaningless cash. You're there to bid, you might as well get something, even if it is sea noodles or cucumbers.

* Good for Jaison - food is temporary and fleeting, but advantages in the game can make lasting changes.

* That's the biggest hamburger I think I've ever seen. Four pounder?

* What were the odds that the best looking person left won the right to get naked and shower? Classy use of porny jazz music, Survivor. I wonder if the same music would have played had Shambo won that?

* John, John, John...what a dummy. It's one thing to be selfish and take the lone slice of pie for yourself when you had a prime opportunity to win back some goodwill. But no, you had to make it 10x worse by, when given the option from Jeff to share, asking your tribemates if they wanted pie (duh!) and then decided to play keep away with it. Hey, homeless people - do you want a free mansion filled with booze? Yea? Ok, sorry, I'm gonna keep this can of beer for myself instead. Idiotic move.

* Haha - wow, those people are sick of each other, man. Big ol' fights about how to cook chickens. I understand that Shambo got too close to the chickens and had a hard time with their being killed and eaten, but that's no excuse to go off on the other players. Or how about this for an idea? If you have large issues with the fates of the chicken (which is fine), don't be the one to cook them!

* I wonder - do the producers force the previous Immunity Idol winners to wear the idol to the next challenge? I always think they look stupid wearing their giant necklaces; I'd want to just carry it in if it were me.

* Big, big advantage for Jaison if he uses it correctly. Wait until you start to tire, then move up those two spots. The only way he can ruin it is if he uses the advantage either too early or too late...which of course, he just did, using it pretty much right out of the gate. Dummy - you need to wait until people start to tire (including yourself), thereby demoralizing them and giving yourself a mental boost to go along with your physical one.

* Impressive run by Natalie, putting several of the men to shame. Meanwhile, Jaison looks weaker than Dave despite his advantage. What a pansy.

* Lucky for him, he was able to barely outlast Dave. I'm be somewhat ashamed of that win if I were him, though.

* And so the dilemma of which I first spoke is soon to come to a head: Shambo is dying to vote off Dave, and I don't see Russell really having a problem with that plan. However, John ought to have a big something to say about that. Let the fireworks begin!

* Sorry - I know there's no time stamp, but it's been awhile since the last comment. And it's all due to a ton of great strategical play all over the place. Will it be Dave or John...or perhaps another blindside (Russell?)? An excellent point brought up by Jaison when the talk of voting off John came up; piss her off and you run the risk of losing her votes in future Councils. Feel free to take her for granted as long as you want, so long as you make sure that you've got the numerical advantage at the point that you do so she can't come back to haunt you. Though there's a bit less drama here than in the last episode, there's certainly plenty to go around, and for the first time since the game really got going, I don't have much of an idea at all who's going home. The players can say that no vote would be a shock, and they're certainly right to an extent, but I'm almost certain to be surprised.

* Then again, from the votes we were shown, perhaps it won't be that big of a surprise. Dave, Mick or John.

* What you just saw there...that was John getting f*cked. Proper f*cked, as someone from Snatch might say. I actually feel bad for him.

* Next week? More Russell on the chopping block!

Survivor news at Survivor.com
Survivor homepage at CBS.com

Programming note

There will be no Survivor live blog tonight, as Mrs. Fletch is away and I'm off to see Ninja Assassin in preparation for the next LAMBcast, to be recorded tomorrow.

However, since we'll likely be watching it tonight, there may be a tape-delayed (sans tape, of course) unlive blogging later. Stay tuned...

Directorial Diversion: Stay the Course or Boldy Go?

Not long ago, I was listening to Row Three's Cinecast, and the gents were discussing Todd Solondz's latest film Life During Wartime, specifically in how it compared to his previous films, Happiness in particular. Generally, praise was given to the film, though it was at times tempered with quotes along the lines of "that's just Solondz doing what he does." A bit later on the same conversation, Wes Anderson came up, as did Wong Kar-wai, in the same context. Kurt mentioned how much it bothered him that certain directors are shit upon for, more or less, making the same movie over and over again, that their quality should stand above their relative newness. The Darjeeling Limited was a key example.

I couldn't disagree more.

An artist that makes a great piece of art, and then does little more than duplicate said piece ad nauseum ceases to be an artist and instead transforms into a wannabe of their own work. To cease to take risks is not only cowardly but boring. I was one of those people that blasted Anderson for Darjeeling; in my review, I stated that "Anderson needs to branch out or change some things up lest he be deemed irrelevant in the near future." Thankfully, he took a giant leap towards doing just that with Fantastic Mr. Fox, a departure in form if not style - but it's a big start, and more importantly, it felt like a risk.

Where the conversation really gets interesting is when its applied to music. We seem to want to have it both ways with artists. On the one hand, we (me) celebrate The Beatles for starting as a straight-up pop band and, within an infinitesimally small period of time for a musical act, became something altogether different, playing with sitars, metal, and cascading, intersecting melodies and arrangements. For their growth, they are universally acclaimed, where had they stayed a boy band into their 30s, they might well be forgotten.

On the other hand, witness rock legends such as the Rolling Stones or Aerosmith or even U2. The former two have, for the most part, made no significant changes to the style of music they've played since...ever, and were they to at this point, they would be widely ridiculed (assuming they are even relevant at this time, which they really aren't). The latter has taken more of a Beatle-ish route, occasionally delving into other genres while maintaining generally the same level of popularity. But back to film.

Take a look around at any of the celebrated directors of the past few decades, and more often than not, they will be risk-takers, more than willing to step outside of their comfort zone (if they were even ever pushed into one): Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorcese, Steven Spielberg, David Fincher...

...and the subject of this month's LAMBs in the Director Chair series, Steven Soderbergh.

If there's anything Soderbergh has proven over the last 20 years, it's his versatility and unwillingness to be typecast. Covering everything from celluloid to digital video, independents to big budget extravaganzas, comedies to dramas to documentaries and everything in between, Soderbergh is the biggest director currently working that's also nearly impossible to pin down. You might not love or even be interested in everything that he's done (I consider myself a fan and yet have not seen 12 of his 20 films), but you can rest assured with the fact that whatever is next on his radar is likely different from what you've previously seen from him.

So where do you stand: Stay the Course or Boldly Go?

LAMBcast #6

Editor's note: Prior to my publishing this post, I had uploaded the latest podcast to my hosting site. In case you were one of those awesome people that downloaded already, you might have noticed that the audio was screwed up towards the end of the show. I noticed and didn't want to publish this until all was well, as it should be now. Sorry for the inconvenience.

The latest LAMBcast aims to destory your world as you know it. The featured discussion is none other Roland Emmerich and his latest opus, 2012. This leads, of course, into a comparison between Emmerich and his contemporary, Michael Bay. Pick your poison carefully. Also on tap: Trailer Talk and a disappointing game of Last Man Standing.

In it, I was joined by fellow LAMBs:

* Tom Clift of Plus Trailers and
* Jason Soto of Invasion of the B Movies.

Trailers discussed:












For more information on the LAMBcast, check out the topic at the LAMB Forums.

As usual, the music, as provided royalty-free by Kevin MacLeod's Incompetech website, is the bomb. Big thanks to Kevin for providing this service.

You can listen by playing it in the widget in the left sidebar; if you'd like to add it to your site (you would), click the "Add to my page" link. Also, you can find us on iTunes; just go to the Podcasts section and search for "LAMBcast."

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, we'd love to hear them.

The Dude That Does Stuff Movie Plot Game #8

Last Week's Results: JacksSmirkingRevenge...again (4th straight), this time with 4 points. As Inigo Montoya said to the Man in Black, "Who are you?"

The concept is overwhelmingly simple; below are 15 movie plots, torn down to their basest base, and invariably involving the words "dude" and/or "stuff." All you must do is name the film. 1 point per correct answer; he/she with the most points wins. Google to your heart's content; it will do you no good. Many films might match the plots you see below, but there is only one correct answer, and that's the one that's in my head when I write it.

Have fun with this stuff, dudes and dudettes.

1. Dudes just keep happening upon stuff.
2. Dudette thinks bad stuff is happening. But it isn't...or is it?
3. Dudes go away to get away from bad stuff.
4. Dudette dreams up some weird stuff.
5. Dude and dudette fight about inane stuff.
6. Dudes think stuff is fake, but it's not.
7. Dude tried to hide stuff for a long, long time. No longer.
8. Little dude sees stuff.
9. Dudes and dudettes are afraid of stuff, but their fears are unfounded.
10. Dude is really good at throwing stuff.
11. Two dudettes bitch about stuff.
12. Dude gets drunk and stuff.
13. Dude can't see stuff no more.
14. Dudes see a whole lot of stuff that ain't there.
15. Dude sees stuff that others can't even though others see stuff that he can't.

As you get them right, I'll mark them as gotten and stuff. Good luck.

Standings
JacksSmirkingRevenge - 4
Myherobobhope - 1.5
BD79 - 1
Nic Cage - .5

Correct answers so far:
1. Dumb and Dumber (Jason)
2. Premonition (JSR)
3. In Bruges (Jason)
4. Pan's Labyrinth (Bob Turnbull)
5.
6. Tropic Thunder (Jason)
7.
8. The Sixth Sense (Jess)
9. The Village (Univarn)
10.
11. Bride Wars (Nick)
12.
13. Ray (Nick)
14. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Nick)
15.