Louisiana International Film Festival

When I decided to attend graduate school at LSU the blogger in me got excited about moving to Baton Rouge. One reason was the food. Louisiana is known the world over for its unique culinary tradition. A second reason was the opportunity to see films that were not released in smaller markets like Auburn. I can’t tell you how exciting it’s been to not have to wait for a home video release to see critically acclaimed films. Knowing all of this, you can imagine my excitement at learning Baton Rouge is home to the inaugural Louisiana International Film Festival (LIFF).

The festival will open on Thursday April 18th in New Orleans with a screening of the Morgan Neville Documentary Twenty Feet From Stardom and run through Sunday April 21st. LIFF will feature over 50 narrative feature films, documentaries and shorts to be screened in multiple venues throughout Baton Rouge. The films have been carefully selected to include new films, festival favorites, recent releases and a few cult classics. LIFF Programming Director Ian Birnie explains, “The LIFF line-up spotlights three themes that reflect the cultural and social history of Louisiana: Francophone films - namely films from France, Quebec and the Middle East; films that deal with environmental issues - both to honor Louisiana Earth Day (April 21st) and to reflect Louisiana’s activist interest in its own habitat; and music films that encompass musical styles ranging from doo wop and jazz to Italian opera.”

Opening day in Baton Rouge will feature a free Producers’ Conference & Industry Expo at the Celtic Media Centre. The festival will also give guests a chance to attend a variety of workshops on acting, music, development, production incentives and film financing hosted by industry professionals. For a full schedule of workshops and more information please visit http://liff2013.com/workshops.

I can’t tell you how excited I am about the festival. I can think of no better break from the monotony of my end of the semester grind than checking out some new movies and attending workshops that will help me finally figure out whether or not I have what it takes to write a screenplay! Looking at the lineup, I’ve already determined a few “must see” films for myself. The first is Twenty Feet from Stardom. As mentioned above, Twenty Feet From Stardom opens the festival in New Orleans on Thursday April 18th.

The film is a documentary that focuses on the life of a back up singer. While documentaries might not be everyone’s thing, I feel fairly confident that everyone loves music. Twenty Feet From Stardom seems to be a nice showcase of musical talent and the unseen, less glamourous side of music stardom. In the film’s trailer on LIFF’s website the film’s director, Morgan Neville, hints at the struggle between “We and I” that is found in our society. This struggle particularly manifests itself amongst back up singers as they have to put any individual aspirations they might have aside to ensure that the entire group functions cohesively (i.e. put your aspirations aside to ensure the star looks good).

A second film I’m excited to see is A Hijacking. This Danish film is about a commercial ship that is hijacked by Somali pirates and held for ransom. The trailer is only a minute long but it does a wonderful job of building up tension. I can’t wait to be stuck to the edge of my seat as the deadly chess game between the pirates and the corporation that owns the ship plays out.

As mentioned previously, I’m working on my PhD in Political Theory, so my third pick, Hannah Arendt, shouldn’t be a big surprise to anyone who is familiar with the field. The film focuses on Ms. Arendt’s controversial work for The New Yorker during the war crimes trial of Nazi Adolf Eichmann. The film will be even more interesting for me since I’m due to write a paper on totalitarianism in just a few weeks and will be confronting the “banality of evil” along with the role of individual citizens in resisting tyranny.

The final film on my “must see” list is Starbuck. The movie is about a man who through his donating sperm years early has fathered over 500 children, with 142 of them filing a lawsuit to find out who their father is. Of course the comedy of this comes not only from the fact one man has fathered so many children, but that “Starbuck” aka David Wozniak is the last person you’d want to father your child. If the trailer is any indication, many of Wozniak’s children are doing better than he is. From the looks of it, the film seems to have an “Apatow-esque” element to it; the laughs are a vehicle to deliver life truths.

Don’t let my parents know, but it seems next weekend I’ll be busy shirking my school duties in favor of watching movies (what else is new?). I invite you to join me in showing your support for the fine men and women who have worked so hard to bring us the inaugural Louisiana International Film Festival by attending a workshop or checking out a movie or two. With workshops to attend and over 50 movies to choose from there’s something for everyone.

Check out the list of films and schedule online at www.liff2013.com.

Why I'm Done With Redbox

I'm done with Redbox. 

I was never a big fan to begin with, but after the past week, I've decided that I will no longer put up with their poor business model. "What do you expect for around $1?" I expect the company to deliver on its biggest selling point, convenience. Redbox says it has kiosks located all over the country and you can rent a movie and return it to any kiosk! Sounds wonderful, until you get stuck trying to return a movie to a kiosk that is full. Now you're left with having to trek to another location to return the movie or eating the cost of an additional night. Of course, Redbox will gladly make things right, but to them, "making it right" isn't removing the additional cost from your credit card, but rewarding you with a free night rental (in the case of Blu-ray, a discount). Of course, at first glance a promo code and removing the charges might seem like the same thing, but they're not. A promo code has an expiration date and forces me to rent another movie in order to obtain my benefit. Taking the charge off my card keeps me from having to waste time and money finding another Redbox. Basically we have a role reversal on our hands. Someone is going to lose time and money and for Redbox, they'd rather that be you. 

Of course, this decision to stop filling the coffers of Redbox didn't come about randomly, so here's a little context: The reason I am done with Redbox is my experience with them in the past week. I am currently enrolled in school at LSU, working on my PhD and from time to time I like to take a break from school and studying by watching a movie. There's a Redbox kiosk located in the LSU Student Union, so it's convenient for me to swing by after class and grab a movie, watch it that night and return it the next day to the exact same kiosk. Last Tuesday I rented The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises on Blu-ray. When I went to return them Wednesday I received a notification that the kiosk couldn't accept my return and was given a number to call. I called the number and spoke with a gentleman at Redbox who apologized for the inconvenience and who assured me they'd work with me to solve my problem. He mentioned a nearby kiosk that just so happens to be off campus and out of my way. I was sick on Wednesday, heading to the doctor that afternoon, so I wasn't feeling well enough to trek all over Baton Rouge to return a movie. Thankfully, while I was speaking with the Redbox employee another student rented a movie, so I was able to return one of my films. Having been assured that the problem could be easily remedied if I called Redbox once I both movies, I proceeded to go to the doctor and go home to rest up.

Needless to say, I was so sick that I couldn't do much over the next few days, so I wasn't able to return my movie until a few days after initially trying to do so. I was able to return my 2nd movie to the kiosk in the student center without any problems after a few days of resting at home. I fully expected that I wouldn't get credit for every day it was late, as the problem was technically only present on Wednesday and the additional days were due to my being sick. That was fine, I was the one who got sick, not the machine. I contacted Redbox after the kiosk processed my return and the agent was helpful, but I was upset to learn that I wouldn't be getting credit put back on my card for the extra night, instead I'd receive three promo codes. I was still appreciative that they acknowledged my plight, so I willingly accepted three promo codes. 

After class on Monday I decided to grab a movie from Redbox because I had a promo code that expired Tuesday from a text message they'd sent me. I went to return the movie on Tuesday and once again, the kiosk couldn't accept my return because it was full.* I was obviously frustrated, but I perused the kiosk's selection and found another movie that I'd like to rent and decided I could utilize one of my three promo codes to free up room for my one return. I did a "one for one" (rental for return) trade if you will. Frustrated with the situation I decided to contact Redbox to request their technician check the kiosk more often. It was Tuesday evening after all and the kiosk should have had room since new releases came out that day. The representative offered to send me more promo codes, but I already had two more to use and I was just giving them a suggestion to improve their service. 

Wednesday morning rolls around and I decide to get on to campus early to grab some breakfast. I make sure I bring my movie as I want to be sure to return it so I don't incur any late fees. Unsurprisingly, the kiosk is too full to accept my return, but chalking it up to the fact the technician couldn't have made it to the kiosk at such an early time, I went ahead and decided to return the movie after class (which ends at noon). When I returned to the student union after class I once again found the kiosk full. I couldn't believe it. Sure, it had only been a few hours, but you'd think that someone complaining about a kiosk being full would result in some sort of action. It was at this point that I had reached my breaking point, I would no longer deal with Redbox. Yesterday afternoon I returned my final Redbox rental, Expendables 2, to a kiosk outside of my local CVS pharmacy.  

I know I'm not the only one who has experienced the frustration of a full kiosk, but the fact that the way the company makes things "right" is by having me spend more money on rentals (because promo codes don't cover the entire cost of Blu-ray rentals) is infuriating. Sure there are multiple locations to return films to, but the student union kiosk is convenient to me, especially since I walk to class. Thankfully I have access to an automobile to drive to a kiosk, so I'm not trapped by late fees due to a full kiosk, but not everyone has that luxury. Besides, isn't the point of the Redbox kiosk supposed to be convenience? I fail to see the convenience of having to waste gas money just to return a movie to a red cube outside a gas station or grocery store when the most conveniently located kiosk was full because the company was not smart enough to notice that the volume of sales was so low the machine was accepting more returns than doling out rentals. I'm tired of playing Redbox's nickel and dime game. The fees for extra days and gas money wasted on returns is not worth it. 

I stopped receiving Netflix rentals because I was trying to save money, but I'm now reconsidering that stance. Am I really saving money if I have to make unecessary trips to a kiosk outside of a store exclusively to return a rental? I don't think so. Between late fees and gas money I guarantee I'm close to spending the $10 a month it'd cost me to have movies shipped right to me and that doesn't even take in to consideration the fact that Redbox's selection is extremely limited compared to Netflix. 

Maybe it is because I'm old school, but I really do miss having an actual video store in town. In Auburn, we had a store called Hastings (it's still there). They rented movies and games. They also sold them in addition to music and books. Sure you had to make a car trip to rent a movie, but when you went in to the store they had multiple copies of new releases in addition to thousands of older films. They also offered rental credit which brought the cost in line with Redbox. With Redbox, you do not have the same level of assurance of the newest releases being in stock and when you go to return it, the kiosk might be full. At rental stores you don't have this problem. The stores take all returns and process them. All you do is drop them off. 

I lament the rise of Redbox kiosks because they helped to run video stores out of existence. We traded convenience for customer service. Now we're stuck in towns without a competitor for the kiosk, subject to the tyranny of someone who will never look us in the eye and will only offer us more opportunities to line their pockets instead of making sure they make things right by their customer. It's a sad state of affairs and I've had enough of it. 

*Note: Until last week I'd never encountered a full kiosk

Pre-Oscar Thoughts

Contrary to what my lack of updates might lead you to believe, I am still alive and I have in fact still been watching movies. As I mentioned in my last post, I started a PhD Program so I've been busy trying to stay afloat academically and have shirked my duties as a blogger. I hope to get better about this, but since I'd been out of the school game for 4 years, I figured it best to not try and do too much at once. I'm adjusting well and it's now a matter of getting back on the blogging horse...

So, tonight Seth MacFarlane will host the 85th Academy Awards (Oscars). Spielberg's Lincoln leads all films with 12 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis), Best Supporting Actor (Tommy Lee Jones) and Best Supporting Actress (Sally Field). I hate to use the word, "prediction" because what I believe to be most deserving isn't bound to be the winner, so my predictions would be wrong. I don't want to be embarrassed as the blogger who perfectly predicted the losers for each category, so I'll provide you all with my general thoughts on who/what I think deserves to win and will occasionally mention who/what will probably win.

I think it's important to mention a few things before getting down to the nitty-gritty. First off, I tweeted during the Golden Globes I'd have things shake out this way, Best Director: Ben Affleck for Argo and Django Unchained as Best Picture. Surprisingly, the Academy snubbed both Affleck and Tarantino in the Best Director category. I absolutely loved Django Unchained, as it is immensely entertaining but still has an emotional core to it, but I give Affleck major kudos for making me feel tons of suspense in a movie where a lot of folks were aware of the outcome. That's why I felt he deserved a lot of credit and the Best Director Award. Making you feel emotion in a situation where you probably shouldn't is a special thing and Mr. Affleck did a wonderful job creating tension and putting you into the uncertainty of a hostage situation.

Who should lose their spot as a Best Director Nominee to allow room for Affleck? Since I haven't seen Amour or Life of Pi I don't think it fair to automatically dismiss their directors, so my vote goes for Benh Zeitlin. I just didn't enjoy Beasts of the Southern Wild. I think this is a case of an amazing performance by a young actress causing people to overestimate the overall quality of a film. Quvenzhane Wallis was great as Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild, but overall the film left me with an overwhelming sense of "meh" and a general amazement that so many could proclaim the film one of the years best (even the Academy put it on their list).

Once again, awards time gets me worked up on whether or not people can tell the difference between a boring movie that is artistic and a boring movie. Boring does not equal artistic. I was worried The Master would be mistaken for profound when it was actually just a couple of great performances by its lead actors that gave the film any sort of redeeming qualities. I think The Master is a great example of a boring movie that somehow takes on a transcendent quality because folks get bored by it and they instantly know that because it is boring it's profound and award-worthy. It's not. It's just a shit movie with some great acting. This again raises the question of whether or not a movie is worth watching strictly for performances and I must say that in some cases the performances are good enough to warrant that, but The Master was really terrible and even the strong performances don't make me feel like it's worth another couple hours of my time.

Ok, on to the real task at hand, discussing who I think should win and who will probably win. Let's start with Best Original Screenplay: My heart wants to go with Django because I absolutely loved the movie and Tarantino was snubbed for directing, but I must say, Zero Dark Thirty is impressive in that they seemingly pieced a movie together out of news stories and possibly classified documents. Sure, it's a dramatization, but the story seems plausible, if not accurate, and I hope Mark Boal is rewarded for the great work he did at creating order out of chaos.

Best Adapted Screenplay could get interesting. Life of Pi seems like it would have been one of those books that was too imaginative to properly translate to the big screen and they seem to have done a good job of doing that. Argo also deserves credit because a lot of folks knew the outcome of the story, but we still became invested in the characters and their plight. For me though, the best adapted screenplay award should go to Lincoln. Spielberg's film was great because it wasn't a movie about slavery, it was a movie about the American political process. Sure, slavery is involved, but the movie speaks as much about our nation's history as it does its present.

Speaking of Lincoln, throughout the entire movie I couldn't help but think, "Man, Tommy Lee Jones might be stealing this movie from Daniel Day-Lewis". Of course, Daniel Day-Lewis is a chameleon, blending into his role as Lincoln so perfectly that you don't think, "This is an actor realistically portraying Lincoln"; instead, you think, "That's President Lincoln, let's watch what he does next". Initially I figured Tommy Lee Jones was a lock for Best Supporting Actor, but now that I've seen Django Unchained and Silver Linings Playbook I'm not so sure. Christoph Waltz is wonderful as Dr. King Schultz in Tarantino's "Southern" and Robert De Niro finally returns to dramatic form. Hell, even Alan Arkin is great in Argo. This might be the strongest group, because the last nominee is Philip Seymour Hoffman who put in a solid performance in The Master. For what it's worth, I'll be cheering for Tommy Lee.

If Best Supporting Actor is the most competitive race, Best Supporting Actress is most likely the least competitive category. Anne Hathaway will most likely win for her performance in Les Miserables and I have no problems with that. Ms. Hathaway really nails her limited role in the film. The only potential competition I see for Ms. Hathaway is Helen Hunt. I haven't seen The Sessions, but it seems like an intriguing film and if I've learned anything about The Academy it's they like it when ladies get naked. Nudity aside, I think Anne's got this one in the bag.

If you'd have asked me when I first saw Flight if there'd be a better performance this year than Denzel's I'd have said "no". Unfortunately, the year kept moving forward and Oscars are judged on the entire performance, not roughly 10-15 minutes. Mr. Washington's performance in Flight during the plane crash is some of the best acting I've seen in a while. I almost wrote a review of Flight precisely because I wondered if anyone had ever won an Oscar in a few minutes of screen time: I'd say Denzel came pretty damn close. I think the real battle in this category is Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln vs Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean from Les Miserables.

I know a lot of folks want to go ahead and give the Oscar to Daniel Day-Lewis, but Hugh Jackman really brought his "A-game" in Les Miserables. I don't know how these things usually shake out post Golden Globes, but Day-Lewis won Best Actor in a Drama for Lincoln while Jackman won Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical for Les Miserables. Something has to give and it'll be fun to see how The Academy voted. I'm cool with either winning although I was really impressed with how well Daniel Day-Lewis "was" Abraham Lincoln, not some over the top caricature of The 16th President of the United States. Then again, Hugh Jackman sang every line of dialogue and did a wonderful job of emoting. Well done gentlemen.

Having never seen Amour I can only say, "If Hushpuppy doesn't win, we riot". The performance Quvenzhane Wallis gave in Beasts of the Southern Wild is the only thing I really care to remember from the film. Sure there are some other redeeming qualities to the film, like its portrayal of life in Louisiana (where I'm attending school), but young Miss Wallis' performance makes the movie. If she doesn't win, I'll be upset. As much as I like Jessica Chastain, I just don't think her performance in Zero Dark Thirty was the best by a female in a lead role this year. Jennifer Lawrence was also good in Silver Linings Playbook, but let's not let the fact she's beautiful and charming get in the way of Miss Wallis winning her Oscar. (Full disclosure: I haven't seen The Impossible, so I can't make any snarky remarks about Naomi Watts' performance)

Before moving on to Best Director and Best Picture, it's important to note that Leonardo DiCaprio was most likely snubbed for his portrayal of Calvin Candie in Django Unchained. They could have easily left Joaquin Phoenix off the list (The Master) and made room for Mr. DiCaprio, but I'm starting to perceive a selection bias towards past winners (i.e. Ang Lee, Phoenix, Meryl Streep) from The Academy. I'm not saying these individuals are undeserving, but it almost feels like half of those voting didn't see some of the films and just go with the name they know will put in a solid performance (it's the college football "tradition" effect that plagues poll voting).

Since Ben Affleck isn't included in the Best Director category, I think it's safe to say Spielberg wins this one. Again, I haven't seen Amour, but I think Mr. Spielberg deserves a lot of credit for making a movie that could have easily become a preachy diatribe about the ills of slavery and Lincoln's heroic salvaging of our union much more about the realities of the political process and how real change, as painful as it is to wait for, must occur piecemeal.

Prevailing wisdom seems to be that since Affleck was snubbed for Best Director, Argo will win Best Picture. This predicament is why I hate the potential for selection bias within The Academy. Had they not possibly played favorites with Ang Lee (Life of Pi) or let their love of Hushpuppy's fine performance elevate Benh Zeitlin's stature, we could have had a true vote for Best Picture and not a make up award. I enjoyed Argo, but I don't think it was the best movie of the year. As I already mentioned, my choice for Best Picture is Django Unchained, but I doubt it will get as much consideration as it should simply because voters feel they should act to right the wrong done to Mr. Affleck. I'm not saying Django Unchained would have won Best Picture, but I simply worry there's no chance it or any of the other nominees got a fair shot after The Academy snubbed Mr. Affleck.

*Note: Pretty excited to see what Mr. MacFarlane does as host. I'm personally a fan of a Muppet Oscars, but if Mr. MacFarlane was given creative input and could use some of his circle to write jokes, it should be a fun show. If they made him use the past Oscar writers, it'll be another "so-so" show.

Feel free to comment and rub it in my face how wrong I am! Enjoy the show!

Quick Update

Just wanted to post something on here to let you all know what's been going on with me. As I'm sure you've noticed I haven't made a post since August. I have seen a few movies since then, but I've been quite busy in my "real life" lately and haven't found the time to write reviews. I could, of course, post something, but if it's halfass I don't want it going up on the site. I want to be known for providing quality work, even if that means going a while between posts. 

So, what have I been up to? Well, I had to leave my home on the Plains of Auburn, Alabama in order to begin working on my PhD at Louisiana State University (LSU). Believe it or not, I was accepted into the LSU Department of Political Science's PhD program to pursue my degree, specializing in Political Theory. Due to the fact that this huge shake up in my life occurred within a matter of a month or so, my work on the blog had to take a backseat to getting everything in order for the move. I'm settling in nicely, even having found a cool movie theater in town to watch films (check out the picture below of the outside)! I can't wait to get back to writing for the blog, but right now I'm working on making sure I stay afloat in school. It's been a few years since I was last in school, so I'm having to readjust to all the reading...and more importantly the monotony of it. 

Anyways, you might not care, but I thought it'd be better to explain to everyone why the page hasn't been updated. I haven't given up on making this the best movie blog on the internet, I've just been busy improving myself, which I believe will, in turn, make my site better. Please don't give up on me...I'm still here and I still love movies. I'm just having a hard time finding time to tell you about them right now. Thanks for understanding!

Food Network Star: How It Could Shake Out

If you follow the blog on Twitter, you know that one of my favorite shows to watch and tweet about is Food Network Star. I’ve watched the show in years past (beginning with season 4), but I missed last year because I had grown tired of seeing my favorites sent home by Food Network executives Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson. This year Food Network decided to change things up. Instead of there being one group of potential stars there would be three teams, each mentored by a Food Network Star. The three mentors, Bobby Flay, Giada DeLaurentis & Alton Brown, were each allowed to choose their own teams and from there the teams would be narrowed down through weeks of challenges.

The Mentors. 

I must admit, I wasn’t particularly impressed with Team Giada. No one on her team had the “it” factor in my mind. The only one I thought might have a chance was the Hawaiian Hunk Ippy. It turns out I was almost right as Ippy was one of the final two on Team Giada, barely missing out on the chance to shoot a pilot episode to be shown to the viewing audience who are the ones making the final decision this season. 

I also picked the first runner up from Team Bobby, Nikki Martin. From the beginning I thought Nikki had star potential, but as the weeks went on and the tweets were analyzed it appeared Bob and Susie, along with other viewers didn’t like her very much. In Nikki I see a confident young woman. Others see an arrogant young woman. Regardless, she persevered week after week making it to the final elimination, losing the chance to shoot a pilot in favor of Michele Ragussis.

From the beginning I found more folks on Team Alton who I felt had star potential. From week one I thought Justin or Emily could make it to the finals. I was right about Justin, but Emily was eliminated in one of the more controversial eliminations I can remember. Bob and Susie reamed Emily for not telling a personal story, instead opting to keep Martita who had in the same episode botched a promo, leaving 30 seconds of dead air. Emily’s elimination had me thinking, "here we go again"; they keep someone on the show that will shoot a program no one will watch beyond the first season and let someone with a fun and interesting personality go. 

As mentioned above, Justin made it to the finals for Team Alton. Joining Justin in the finals was fellow Team Alton member Martie. I must say Martie’s start to the competition was less than stellar. I actually thought she’d be eliminated early in the competition, but her Southern Charm is endearing and she has proven herself worthy of a spot in the finals alongside Ivan, Michele and Justin. 

Now that you know a little about how we got to this point, it’s time for my predictions! I’ll go through each finalist talking about what I like or dislike and will give reasons why I think they’ll win. 

Yvan Lemoine has really won me over as the weeks have gone by. Initially Ippy was the only person I saw as a potential star from Team Giada and even then it was only out of trying to find someone I thought could represent the team in a final. Over the weeks Yvan began to surge, finally learning to open up on camera and winning people over with his charm. For his pilot, Yvan chose to go with the title, Family Style.

For Yvan, cooking is a great way to bring your family together. I like that. For me, food has a wonderful social component. From tailgating to family reunions food serves as a fun way to gather together and spend time with friends and loved ones. I appreciate what Yvan is trying to do, but I feel like Food Network already has shows catering toward family. Off the top of my head I can think of Ten Dollar Dinners (with Food Network Star winner Melissa d’Arabian) and The Pioneer Woman as shows that have a cooking for family theme. 

Yvan’s saving grace could be two things. One is the poor economy. In his pilot he made a cost effective mac and cheese. In a down economy, people will be looking for ways to feed their families on a tight budget. Although he’s shooting for “family style” Yvan could stretch his concept into a meals on a budget show, but again he’s veering toward Semi-Homemade or Ten Dollar Dinner territory. The 2nd thing I think might help Yvan is the fan vote. Coming from Team Giada he might get the backing of Martita fans. In fan voting Martita was always near the top. After her elmination you have to wonder where her fan votes would go. My guess, they don’t all go to Yvan, but a lot will. Team Alton has two finalists so any potential gain of Martitia votes Justin might have gotten could be divided with Martie.

Team Bobby’s finalist was Michele Ragussis. I have never been a big fan of Michele. It’s nothing personal, I just feel like the network already has a Michele Ragussis in Anne Burrell. Another concern I have about Michele is her culinary point of view, My New England. How diverse is the regional cuisine of New England? I just don’t really see an entire series being created out of the point of view. If she does try different cuisines and the show is called My New England I’ll be frustrated because one thing we’ve continually seen contestants badgered about is a consistent point of view. With Michele fans might be voting more for her personality than her point of view. 

Team Alton’s finalists will have the toughest hill to climb in my opinion. Fan favorite Justin might have run away with the votes, but the addition of Martie to the mix really makes things interesting. Justin’s point of view is Rebel with a Culinary Cause. Throughout the competition I’ve really enjoyed watching Justin because you can definitely see him as a young Alton Brown and can’t help but get excited about the possibilities of the two working together on a show. One potential pitfall I see for Justin is him being too weird for viewers. Some might also think he’s arrogant, a “culinary know it all” if you will. 

Last, but not least, we have Martie. As I mentioned she really rounded into shape as the competition went on and set herself up for a shot at becoming a Food Network Star by getting herself to the finals. Martie’s pilot was called Martie with the Party. Her culinary point of view is more or less helping you create a fun party environment featuring good food and accompaniments, all on a budget. Martie’s biggest problem will not be with her personality, but her point of view. Sure, the Food Network already has a charming Southern woman on their roster in Paula Deen, but more-so I think the  problem Martie will face is whether or not her point of view is unique enough for her to earn a spot as a Food Network Star. Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade has a similar theme, party planning that is easy and budget friendly. There’s also the problem of Martha Stewart. She’s not on Food Network, but how many ladies do we need to be taking party planning tips from? If the network is looking for someone to build a brand around, Martie is the clear choice. She’s got a great personality so you can rest assured she’ll have fans who’ll buy products bearing her name. The big question is whether or not fans are looking for someone to sell them cookware or who can teach them how to get the most out of the cookware they already have.

To quote Captain Planet, "The power is yours!!"

So who will win? The answer isn’t very simple I’m afraid. Based solely on the pilots, I would go with Michele. She cooked a clam dish. I’ve never really eaten clams, but the way she prepared them made me want to and made me believe I could easily do so. For me the Food Network is about making home cooks look like professionals. I think everyone wants something different from the network, but for me, it’s learning how to make food at home that is big on flavor, but small on complexity.

I must say I felt like Justin dropped the ball with his pilot. He took a traditional Caesar salad and jazzed it up with some fancy gelatin trickery. I appreciate thinking out of the box, but doing so on a salad seems like overkill. I’d rather Justin help me learn about exotic foods or use traditional foods in a new way than overly complicate classic dishes for the purpose of being different. It’s fun to watch, but difficult and time consuming to replicate. 

Yvan and Martie both turned in decent performances in their pilots, really showing their point of view, but not really “wowing” me. As I mentioned before I think Yvan might be saved by the poor economy. Families on a budget will be willing to watch his show to find out ways to cook good food without breaking the bank. Martie could also benefit from the down economy. She will be showing folks how to throw a party without spending too much time or money on things. Overall though, I think both of their pilots were pretty pedestrian. Michele had by far the best pilot in my opinion. 

Unfortunately for Michele, I believe the pilots alone won’t determine the winner. The fan vote decides the winner, so basically this thing boils down to a glorified popularity contest. Justin seems to have been winning the fan vote over the past few weeks. As mentioned above though, I think the big question is where the Martita vote goes. I could honestly see Yvan winning as some back away from Justin and his complicated Caesar salad and the Martita block votes for her Team Giada teammate. I’m actually going to predict Yvan in an upset. On a personal level though, I want Justin to win. I loved Good Eats because it taught me about food while teaching me how to prepare good food. Justin, working with Alton Brown as producer, could recapture this magic and teach America how to use exotic ingredients in fun and interesting, yet practical ways. We’ll find out tomorrow night!!