Best Movies of the Decade

What's that you ask? My favorite movies of this here past decade? Well, I'm glad you asked. You will be, too.

10. The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Who can resist a good Disney princess movie? Who can resist Disney's first black princess? The return to hand animation is so nostalgic that you can't help but smile your way through this thoroughly green flick. *Ribbit*

9. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

The only thing that could have made this indie film better was if they had actually paid their child actors.

7.&8.Finding Nemo (2003)/Up (2009)

It's a tie for these two animated Pixar films. Who knew that cartoons could have a heart? If you make it out of these two movies without crying at least once, check your pulse.

6. Amelie (2001)

French films have the reputation for being boring and pretentious, and to be honest, that is what I was expecting from Amelie. It's anything but. This film also served as the visual inspiration for the short-lived television show Pushing Daisies.

5. Big Fish (2003)

Tim Burton is a genius. Enough has been said.

4. Moulin Rouge (2001)

The problem that most people have with musicals is that they don't know the words to any of the songs. Moulin Rouge found the answer. Along with ground breaking cinematography, songs from every genre imaginable are incorporated into the plot. Rent. Right. Away.

3. Juno (2007)

A comedy about a pregnant teenager giving up her baby to a couple that is having marital problems. You'd think it would be an utterly offensive train wreck. You'd be wrong.

2. Walk the Line (2005)

The '00s were definitely the golden age of the biopic. Nowhere is this more evident than in Walk the Line, based on the life of the late Johnny Cash starring Joaquin Pheonix (of the Letterman freak out variety) and Reese Witherspoon.

1. 500 Days of Summer (2009)

This one barely made it in the decade, but thank goodness it did! Non-sequencially, this film chronicles the 500 day relationship between a love obsessed boy and a quirky non believer girl named Summer.

Love 'em? Hate 'em? Tell me your top 10.

5 Best Things to Come out of the '00s

Goodbye to the 00's- Hello teens! A lot of bad has happened in the past 10 years. Let's take a look back at some of the better.

5. Barack Obama

Finally, America has moved ahead. We have a long way to go, but having an African American President is a huge step forward. And after our last president, just having a new one is a huge step forward too, right?

4. Wonderfalls

In 2004, Fox aired 4 episodes of this critically acclaimed gem (out of order and in inconsistent timeslots, no less) before canning it. Wonderfalls tells the story of Jaye Tyler, overeducated and unemployable, to whom God speaks through inanimate objects. The 13 episodes which were released on DVD after a campaign by fans make this list of the best things to come out of the decade.

3. Kristin Chenoweth

While she technically burst into the Broadway scene in the later part of the last decade, Kristin Chenoweth burst into my heart in the earlier part of this one. Standing at 4'11", hearing her go from a betty boop-like speaking voice into her operatic soprano makes her one of the best things to come out of this decade.

2. Wicked

While some hardcore musical fans consider Wicked to be too mainstream, there is not doubt that Wicked is an absolute delight. The special effects are top notch, and the story is one that the whole family will enjoy, as everyone will recognize the witty references to the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz.

1. Pushing Daisies

As I mentioned in my review, I think that Pushing Daisies is one of the best things to come out of America in the past few decades, let alone this single decade. A whimsical television show which was billed as a 'forensic fairytale', Pushing Daisies is visual Xanax.

So, what are your top 5?

The Parody of a Decade

The Decade of the 00's can be described as ten years that redefined celebrity. No longer did you need actual talent to be in the public eye. Youtube, Reality Television, and blogging gives ordinary people a chance to reach millions. This set about a terrible cycle in which the country was bombarded with the likes of Balloon boy, the Kardashians, the Salahis, the Numa Numa guy... It goes on.

Enter Mirandasings08.

At first, she appears to be yet another talentless youtube sensation. As described on her youtube profile, she lives in Tacoma WA and is told by everyone that she has "the best voice of all their friends". She plans to get discovered and star in Wicked, Rent, and Spring Awakening, while modeling on the side. She currently spends her days making videos of herself singing and telling "haters" to back off, because they're "just jealous".

Warning: If you do not want to be spoiled as to the true identity of Miranda, read no further.

Miranda, a.k.a. Colleen Ballinger is actually an accomplished Musical Theatre Performer. She started making parodies of the countless teenage youtubers under the name Miranda, and the character eventually evolved into an over-the-top "4th threat", as Miranda says. The irony is beautiful. America's finest form of entertainer, the broadway star, manages to convince millions upon millions of fame hungry girls that she is genuine in her attempts.

When scrolling through the comments on her videos, click on some of the "haters" profiles. The same people writing "YOU SUCK MIRANDA! OMG I H8 U!!!!" are posting videos of themselves saying "Hey guys, its me (insert name). I'm singing Defying Gravity. Hope ya like eht."

Happy New Year to everyone, and I hope that we can all learn from Miranda and "Back off" of the hunt for meaningless fame.

The Facts Were These: Pushing Daisies Review

Pushing Daisies: The latest of creation from the wonderful Bryan Fuller. (You may remember him from other cancelled-too-soon shows such as Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me) Let me start out by saying that this review is completely biased. From the moment I saw Pushing Daisies I knew that it was wonderfully different from anything I'd ever seen before, and it remains my favorite television show of all time. Seriously, right up there with Bewitched, and I Love Lucy.

The story revolves around Ned (Lee Pace), a man with a gift. He can touch dead things back to life. Of course, this gift comes with a few restrictions, to keep things interesting. One touch to a dead thing, and it springs back to life. A second touch, and it goes right back to being dead. This time, for good. Finally, if Ned leaves something "alive-again" for more than 60 seconds, something else has to die, restoring the universal balance of life and death.

Ned makes his living baking pies with "alive-again" fruit in a bakery shaped like a giant pie (called The Pie Hole- what else?), until one day when PI Emerson Cod (Chi McBride) stumbles upon Ned's talent and offers him a job. Ned touches murder victims, asks who killed them, and collects the reward. And thus, a quirky procedural is born!

Things go smoothly until Ned discovers that his childhood sweetheart, Charlotte Charles a.k.a Chuck, was murdered on a cruise ship. He touches her back to life and, at the funeral director's expense, keeps her alive. The childhood romance quickly rekindles despite the fact that they can never ever touch. If they do, Chuck is dead forever.

Adding to the mix, Broadway Baby Kristin Chenoweth plays Olive Snook, a pint sized pie waitress who continually pines over Ned, occasionally bursting into song to express her unrequited love.

Along with a fascinating and magical premise, Pushing Daisies serves up a visual feast, borrowing the artistic style of Amelie and even films by Tim Burton. Each week we are met with a colorful new case of murder. From a fiery explosion by scratch-and-sniff to a chef deep fried in his own batter, each death is beautiful, and never gory. The sets are of such quality that many times you will have difficulty believing that it did indeed air on network television. Quick paced dialogue filled with alliteration and quirky references to pop culture adds to this heightened reality.




The first season was cut short due to the writers strike, and unfortunately ABC seemed to decline advertising as heavily as it did for the first season when the second season finally aired 10 months later. Due to this, many thought the show had already been cancelled and missed the entire second run. The show was cancelled in November of 2008, and finished airing in June 2009 after a series of time changes by ABC. Despite its unexpected ending, the last episode wraps most plot lines up satisfactorily for fans. It brings the series full circle from the pilot and ends just as beautifully as it began.


Bryan Fuller has penned a "third season" of the show in comic book form, due out in Spring 2010. Both seasons are available on Amazon.com for purchase. Highly recommended!


My score: 5 stars/5 stars

I Just Love New Beginnings

Greetings to everyone in the Bloggerverse.

My name is Jake Watkin, and I am an aspiring Musical Theatre Performer. I thought I'd put together a blog where I can share my thoughts in more than 140 characters. (Whether Theatre related or not)

I think I'll leave it short and sweet for my first blog, but I'm looking forward to posting reviews, thoughts, interesting articles, etc!