Interesting that Joshua was my early favourite and yet I feel somehow disappointed by his win. I guess because it was so predictable. But he always seemed like a genuinely good guy and he obviously loves to dance so yay for him. It’s nice to see a hip-hop dancer win even though I call bullshit on him being “untrained”, which Nigel pointed out about every two point five seconds. On the SYTYCD site Josh cites his training. But maybe it’s a matter of degree, or it’s relative or something? Certainly he was never trained to the degree Will clearly was. But still, it bugged that everyone went on and on about him being “street” and “untrained” and then they’d show pics of him as a kid in dance class. Whatevs, show.

I’m glad Katee got a little something for her troubles for being top girl because even though my alliance began in the Josh camp, towards the end I started rooting for Katee to take the crown. Dunno why. I guess a combination of her being a superb dancer and yet not being super annoying. Not that any of the other dancers were particularly annoying but sometimes I find a lot of them ham it up for the cameras and go overboard trying to show their personalities. (Seriously Twitch, I love you but TAKE OFF THE FUCKING GLASSES!) With Katee it always seemed real, and slightly self-conscious and always humble, down to earth and good natured.

The popping battle was cool but I actually prefer both of those dudes on their own. I didn’t like the competitive aspect of it. Or maybe it was the improvised aspect I didn’t like. I guess I just prefer routines that are choreographed. Nice to see Muraine in that Ikea commercial, even though he is drastically underutilized in it.

All in all it was a fun finale and I enjoyed seeing Mary and Nigel dance because it gave them some cred. Proof that they belong on the judges’ table. Also proof that no matter how good you are, eventually time takes its toll and once you old, you turn to suck. I mean, relatively speaking. Because even though Mary looked great and danced well she didn’t have the energy of any of the young whipper-snappers. To think that even in my youth I couldn’t do any of that shit. I figure I have about ten years left in me and then my bones will all disintegrate and I’ll turn to dust.

But speaking of energy those kids really do impress me. The top four had to memorize five new dances this week (their solos, and then they each had to dance with the other three in all the possible combinations and they had to learn the number that opened the finale ep). Plus they had to remember how to do all the “judges’ favourite” dances. Shit. That is A LOT to do. Katee in particular was stretched to the limit. She had to do four of those “fave” dances. No wonder she looked somewhat subdued this week. She was probably suffering from severe exhaustion and sleep deprivation. And yet she still rocked it. What a trooper!

So I guess the summer is winding down then. All the summer shows are ending. Good, ’cause Fall TV is better and coming soon is SYTYCD Canada! I wonder what the Canadian equivalent of the hot tamale train will be.

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I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before but I’m consistenly annoyed with movies that rely on style over substance. Hellboy II is extremely stylish, presenting a troll/faery world that is a feast for the eyes and impressive creature design displayed with good quality CGI. But there is also a genuinely compelling story to go along with the cool aesthetics! I will even go so far as to say that I prefer this movie over the first Hellboy film. Helps that the first Hellboy was nothing special but still, sequels rarely improve upon their predecessors. The first Hellboy was an origin story and focused mostly on the titular character, which is fine except that his sidekicks weren’t given much to do. No such problem here. The aqua guy has a proper little story arc of his own and the fire girl in particular becomes much more relevant this time around.

But for me, the best part of Hellboy II is the bad guy. I love, love, love stories that make me sympathise with the villain. And it’s not what you’re thinking. I don’t like villains because I’m evil and want to see the world destroyed (although…), I like villains that aren’t really bad, they’re just drawn that way. They are not evil for the sake of being evil, they have a cause and it makes sense and even though it doesn’t jive with predominant cultural norms it is still righteous in its own way. Now Hellboy’s Prince Pastyface isn’t nearly as cool as the Joker from Batman (in fact the main baddy is sort of meh) but the race he represents is highly interesting and I found myself rooting for them in earnest. In fact my only complaint with the film is that I don’t think any of the characters showed enough sympathy for the supposed villains.

There were a few cliches at play in Hellboy II but nothing to piss me off. And if a film manages to not anger or offend me, then it’s a success. But when it also leaves me enjoying myself and hoping for more (I eagerly await Part III) then it earns a 4 niquehead rating. [rating:40]

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Ahhhhh!!! My ovaries are bursting! Cute little kid break dancing! Whoo!

That is all.

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