DAM NATION Year End List: 10 Worst Movies of 2012

Of course, we have to take a good look at the other side of the spectrum after the Best Movies list of 2012 no? To be honest though, there's nothing more fun than trashing a really, really bad movie. Haha.

And just like my "best" list, it’s not physically and financially possible for me to go and watch ALL films that were released this year. Oh, and instead of a snippet of my reviews, which I'm seriously lacking, I've decided to just quote critics giving praises to the movies I have selected.

On my fifth year now, I give to you the 10 Worst Movies of 2012..

DAM NATION Year End List: 20 Best Movies of 2012

Compared to previous years (2011 and 2010) my movie watching this year - or maybe just the reviewing - sucked. Haha. 2012 was the year I started incorporating a DAM NATION Movie Pool that worked fine until my blog got deleted - for reasons I explained before - and everything just went chaotic. So yeah, I somehow stopped writing reviews and the Movie Review segment of this blog collapsed.

But just the same - and maybe to start 2013 right - I'm still putting up my year-end list of the 20 Best Movies of 2012. Instead of a snippet of my reviews, which I'm seriously lacking, I've decided to just quote critics giving praises to the movies I have selected.

Oh, and since I'm not particularly fond of independent films - just my personal preference. Sue me! - so better not bash me for not including most of them in this list. Also, it’s not physically and financially possible for me to go and watch ALL films that were released this year, so just chill. Haha. This is just for fun.

So, without further ado, DAM NATION presents the 20 Best Movies of 2012..

DAM NATION Year End List: 25 Songs of 2012

In 2012, we all declared that we are young, we shined bright like a diamond and we've decided to give our hearts a break as we're never ever getting back together. Like, ever. Haha. But seriously, there is no way to sum up another spectacular year for mainstream pop music, so let's have the songs do it for us instead.

So, like every year, these are my picks for the 25 Songs of 2012: odes to bittersweet heartbreaks, songs about loving for a thousand years, and even tunes about a chemical element. They're all important as this definitely "moved" me at some point over the past 12 months.

Of course, this is admittedly a subjective list based on my personal judgments and preferences, but this list should also be a great conversation starter and feel free to agree or disagree. Either way there is a lot of great mainstream music - again, take note - to be found here.

Enjoy!

The Voice Season 4: Promo with Usher and Shakira

Here's a cute sneak peek at next season's The Voice sans Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera (thank God!) and will be temporarily replaced by Usher and Shakira.

I mentioned before that to be able to make the show fresh, The Voice should just have a complete overhaul of the panel for the Spring edition of the show. That said, I'm going to miss Cee Lo just because he's a terrible song picker for his contestants and his craziness adds value to the show. As for Christina, she's obnoxious and it's always about her all the time, so I'm glad she's off the show. I'm interested to see how Usher and Shakira will do.

X Factor US 2 Wrap-Up: 20 Best Performances

Just like with American Idol and The Voice, my series review of the  season wouldn't be complete without the obligatory wrap-up! Again, this will be VERY subjective, but it's fun to take a look back at some of the best live performances of this season's X Factor US. There were a couple of standouts and that's something I didn't expect really after the crap that was last year.

So, who made the list?

X Factor US 2: Finale Results Show

After The Voice's unpredictable results two days ago, The X Factor US gave us possibly the most shocking result on reality singing competition EVER. Haha. Of course, I'm kidding. The result was annoyingly predictable - thanks to the weekly announcement of the rankings of acts. I admit, I have zero emotional investment on this show all season - it never actually mattered to me who won or lost - but just the same, I was hoping something fresh and new to come out of this show.

To be honest, I had high hopes for this season of X Factor. After last season's trainwreck with Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger on the panel and countless shocking eliminations, I figured that the show could NEVER get worse. Instead, we got Khloe Kardashan who's seriously more clueless in hosting than Britney Spear's judging. Haha. Speaking of Britney, she was interesting the first few weeks, but then became repetitive with a couple of shining moments especially last week's results show with her EPIC facial expressions. Haha.

Good thing, Demi Lovato was an upgrade from last season's judges. She maybe a little annoying at times - even childish - but that gives the show a sense of  fun next to the emotionless Spears and boring Reid. Simon Cowell was, well, Simon Cowell. Haha.

Anyway, let's cut to the chase! And the winner of The X Factor Season 2 is..

RESULTS after the jump!! 

X Factor US 2: Finale

This Finale was a major flop and completely underwhelming. I mean, Carly got paired with a strangely off pitch artist, Fifth Harmony performed two songs that they have already done and Tate was, well, Tate. Haha.

I don't know. At this point, I was expecting someone to kill it, but no one stepped up their game. Fifth Harmony was consistent, but the song choices may hurt them. Oh well. 

Let's get on with the rankings, shall we?

The Voice 3 Wrap-Up: 20 Best Performances

3 months. 32 episodes. 100 blind auditions. 32 battle round matches. 40 knockout battles. 20 live playoffs. 46 live performances. Yes, The Voice Season 3 finally crowned Jermaine Paul's successor, Cassadee Pope. And now that a new winner has emerged, it’s about time to recognize the best live performances this season.

It’s a pretty interesting batch with a couple of polarizing personalities and vocals. But I was fairly impressed with the performances in general. I wasn’t really expecting much from this season, but I really thought they were able to deliver – safe to say more than last season. It was tough finalizing the list, but here we go..

Now, we pay tribute to the performances that made this season worth watching - and reviewing!

The Voice 3: Finale Results Show

One of the most unpredictable Finale results shows EVER! Not. Haha. To be honest, I'd rather have a predictable winner than something like Jermaine Paul's win last season, which completely shocked almost everyone - of course, except for people who did vote for him.

 I find it interesting though that two out of three winners of this show are people who came into it after already establishing a name for themselves in the industry, and having relatively small, but solid fanbases. Yes, the black soulful guy winner trend has ended after Trevin Hunte got eliminated last week, but I guess this is what the show is about - giving a second chance to has beens artists.

Anyway, the show had lots of fillers, but I enjoyed the performances of the eliminated contestants - especially from Amanda Brown, Melanie Martinez and Dez Duron - and other performances from Rihanna, the incredible Bruno Mars and the very talented Kelly Clarkson. Plus, I LOVE the sort of "goodbye" performance of the judges as Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green will exit the show for next season. 

But let's cut to the chase! And the winner of The Voice Season 3 is..

RESULTS after the jump!! 

The Voice 3: Finale

Why did I find this episode utterly boring? Was it because I still can't seem to move on after Amanda Brown and Melanie Martinez's eliminations two weeks ago? Or maybe because the results tomorrow will be as Terry McDermott's repertoire? Or because Cassadee and Terry stayed 100% in their comfort zone tonight and only Nicholas took a massive chance - thought not completely successful. Haha.

I don't know. I guess, this season was just WAY too long that I lost interest after Amanda and Melanie got eliminated. Plus, there was nothing exciting about the performances this week - despite this being a Finale week. How I wish they would have done original songs like the finalists did in Season 1, but whatever.

Without further ado, for the last time this season, recap after the jump!

X Factor US 2: Top 4 Results Show

It's semifinals week and one more act got axed just before the three-way Finale next week. I admit, the results, to me, was shocking, but I'm not complaining. The eliminated act was possibly the worst of the four and turned in a couple of mediocre performances since the live shows started.

Oh, and an unknown girl performed tonight and Bruno Mars. So, there's that. Plus, wait for Britney Spears' EPIC reactions as the results were announced. TELEVISION GOLD. Haha.

RESULTS after the jump!!

X Factor US 2: Top 4

One act shockingly chocked. One act was still bland. One act was terrible. One act stepped up. Yes, that's how this episode went. With one exception, I didn't feel like the acts performed at their best tonight. Heck, one frontrunner even gave probably the most underwhelming performances all season long.

I'm now interested as to how things will pan out tomorrow. Will the underdogs prevail? Or will there be a shocking boot? Can't. Wait. Haha.

Anyway, on to the rankings!

The Voice 3: Top 4 Results Show

Somehow, The Voice changed their format and suddenly eliminated one more before the actual Finale. Were they trying to end the season the same week X Factor US scheduled theirs? I don't really care. I personally think the show's Top 4 is more talented, but less interesting than X Factor US' Final 4. I mean, an Amanda-Melanie-Cassadee-Nicholas Top 4 would've been A LOT better no? But whatever.

RESULTS after the jump!! 

The Voice 3: Top 4

Voice keeps changing the rules as we go. Three person Finale? 

Well, I felt like this episode lacked interesting material this week. I don't know, but the whole show was boring. Was it because Melanie and Amanda are already gone? Clearly, the two ladies who got eliminated last week brought a LOT of their own brand of entertainment to the show and they were sorely missed in this episode. I just know Melanie would've came up with some wild and interesting idea and Amanda would've figuratively exploded on stage. But, I digress.

Anyway, recap after the jump!  

Movie Review: Rise Of The Guardians

Rise of the Guardians was an utterly charming animation that set out to be highly imaginative and thoroughly heartfelt. Yes, the storytelling was a bit messy in parts with too many action set pieces, but I thought the writing was well-balanced and didn't come across as too childish for adults or too confusingly sophisticated for kids. The visuals were brilliant, the animation was amazing, the characters were endearing and the landscape were beautifully rendered. Oh, and the voice acting were pretty good especially Hugh Jackman. Not exactly the best animated film I've seen this year, but it did succeed in it's main purpose: to entertain!

X Factor US 2: Top 6 Results Show

Hopefully the last double elimination for this season? I don't know, but this season seemed way too fast. They're suddenly down to 4 and in a matter of two weeks, we'll have a new X Factor winner. As for the elimination, I got it my predictions right.

Oh, and Cece Frey Ke$ha and last year's X Factor Winner - can you name her? Haha. - performed tonight.

RESULTS after the jump!!

X Factor US 2: Top 6

.. and suddenly, most of them performed shockingly well this week. Was it the song choices? Personally, this was probably one of the more enjoyable live shows of X Factor this season. Sure, there were a couple of trainwrecks, but that's something I'd expect from this show. Haha.

Also, there judges were pretty brutal. Demi Lovato, in particular, was mostly on point with her critiques and pretty fearless. She's competent, intelligent, sober and fiesty. Some of the bickering with Simon was a little obnoxious, but I digress.

Oh, and the audience were doubly annoying. Haha.

Anyway, on to the rankings! 

The Voice 3: Top 6 Results Show

The Voice axed two more people to finally have their Final 4 who will all perform in next week's finale. But am I the only one who's not entirely excited after this week's elimination? Personally, I don't think these two people deserved the boot. They are probably the most interesting singers in the bunch. It's funny that this is the most boring Final 4 I could picture out of an exciting Top 12. Haha.

RESULTS after the jump!! 

The Voice 3: Top 6

Possibly the strongest Top 6 on The Voice EVER. I do appreciate the talent level of this group, even if some of them showed some wear and tear at this stage. I think they all have their strengths, but we will see how things will pan out at the end.

Now, have I ever mentioned how Christina Aguilera is absolutely insufferable in every feasible way? Yes, she gives valid criticisms, but there's a vibe she gives off when she doesn't really like someone. I mean, Adam Levine gives criticisms too but he does it in a way that doesn't seem condescending. I loved how Christina got slighted by Melanie to be honest. This is the same reason why I am happy Shakira will be in that seat next season. I'm over this b*tchy crap. Haha.

Anyway, recap after the jump! 

X Factor 2: Top 8 Results Show

Another double elimination week? Well, with a few more weeks until the Finale, I expect more of this. Haha. Last night was a better week for almost everyone, but who ultimately got the ax? One things for sure, I'm not happy so far.

Oh, and Alicia Keys and Josh Krajcik - you know, Melanie Amaro's (X Factor Winner, just in case you're not aware) runner up. Haha.

RESULTS after the jump!!

X Factor US 2: Top 8

Tonight was better than last week, but I wish they had better songs to perform. I was seriously hoping for something more current, but instead we got the usual stuff. This show was hilarious, most of the time, unintentionally. Haha.

As for Demi Lovato, just quit the show. Simon was treating her worse than Paula and the interaction between them got really uncomfortable to watch. What was that all about? Oh, and Britney Spears is turning out to be a good judge. Very nice.

Anyway, on to the rankings!

The Voice 3: Top 8 Results Show

.. and then they're down to 6 as two more contestants got axed tonight. I admit, I expected a different result, but I knew that it could go either way for the two eliminated people. I didn't think the other one deserved it after gaining good momentum from last week, but I digress. I just feel like the show got less diverse with the elimination of these two people.

RESULTS after the jump!! 

The Voice 3: Top 8

While the performances this week weren't as fantastic as last episode, I thought some of them got to deliver some decent performances with NO legitimate train wrecks - boring maybe? Oh, and I generally like the contestants as a group this season compared to Season 1 and Season 2. While inconsistent, the group is pretty diverse with massive potential.

Anyway, recap after the jump! 

X Factor US 2: Top 10 Results Show

Can't we eliminate half of them already? Last night's performances were so horrible, I want this season to end. Haha. Plus, it's Thanksgiving! Again, two acts will be eliminated tonight to whittle down the finalists to eight.

As for the results, nothing shocking although I would've liked a different result based on the sing-off. But one mentor losing two acts in one night is kind of entertaining to watch. Haha. But can we - for the love of God - eliminate Khloe Kardashan? She's like the WORST host ever with ZERO compassion whatsoever.

Oh, and Cher Lloyd performed - she didn't mind because she's British anyway. Haha.

RESULTS after the jump!!

X Factor US 2: Top 10

Was the theme "SONGS THAT WILL MAKE YOU CRY UNCONTROLLABLY"? This episode was annoying emotional with full of tears and sob stories. I don't understand! Anyway, the performances were ranging from strange to good, but that's about it. I'm completely changing my opinion on these talent shows and suddenly backing up The Voice than this show for one reason that can be described as: TALENT. Haha.

Anyway, on to the rankings!

The Voice 3: Top 10 Results Show

Two more people got eliminated tonight. I must say, I was a bit shocked with the other elimination - I didn't see that one coming - but the other one was totally expected. I don't know. I wouldn't say I was bummed out by it, but in hindsight and given the level of performances last night, maybe his performance was a little forgettable and got lost in the mix.

RESULTS after the jump!! 

The Voice 3: Top 10

Look at what a week can do at my overall impression of all these singing shows. Haha. Yes, I'm suddenly on board with The Voice and somehow loathing The X Factor even more. There were a couple of terrible performances, but most of them were pretty spectacular. I thought four of them were quite impressive and interchangeable as far as I'm concerned. Show them how it's done no?

Anyway, recap after the jump! 

Movie Review: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2

It's done. The Twilight Saga, arguably one of the most polarizing movie series in recent memory, reached it's final installment and, dare I say, on a high note. Breaking Dawn Part 2 wasn't perfect by any means, but it was a satisfying conclusion and undoubtedly the best of the series. I liked that it didn't pretend to be anything profound. No complex plots to follow. No intricate twists. No need to go full Inception on it. Haha. I found the scoring exceptional and the soundtrack stunning. The direction was good and the acting performances were actually relatively better. Kristen Stewart, in particular, was quite impressive given how she portrayed the character in previous films. The clumsy and awkward mannerisms were suddenly gone and there's a fierce mean streak in her performance that was surprisingly believable. True, there was still no strong narrative to the film, the editing was a little frenetic and the visual effects were a bit disappointing in parts, but I decidedly and stubbornly overlooked all its shortcomings - if only for that fight sequence that would probably go down as one of the BEST overall scenes of any movie this year. I sometimes tend to lapse into hyperbole and those crazy superlatives, but I'm not kidding. I really wanted to shed a tear just from the clever execution of that one scene. It's nothing groundbreaking really, but it rocked my brain out of my skull. Haha. It was too much to handle. Breaking Dawn Part 2 may still not convert non-Twilight fans, but if you just want to take a little escape from reality with cheese on top, I guess this is the movie to enjoy. Goodbye, Twilight.

X Factor 2: Top 12 Results Show

DOUBLE ELIMINATION! Well, they're running out of time for their scheduled Finale and they still have 12 more finalists left, so I expect more double eliminations in the next coming weeks. As for the results, I got one right and totally didn't see the other one coming. Who knew this person will be leaving the competition this early?

Oh, and Taylor Swift performed. Yeah, that happened.

RESULTS after the jump!!

X Factor US 2: Top 12

The Voice had a pretty rough week this week, but somehow X Factor US made a dumb decision to follow suit. Haha. This was the first time I didn't feel compelled re-watching the performances for some reason. Almost everyone were annoyingly mediocre and I'm actually stunned at how bad this episode was. If you like bad song choices, cheesy staging and the worst mentoring that one could imagine, then this is the right episode for you. Haha.

Never thought I would say this, but this season is looking like it's going to be worse than last year. Shocker. To be fair though, I loved Britney Spears' sass tonight and easily her best night. Oh, and they will eliminate two people tomorrow! 

Anyway, on to the rankings!

The Voice 3: Top 12 Results Show

Tonight, The Voice eliminated another 2 contestants whittling them down to the Top 10. Well, the results were rather expected - I actually called it in my Top 12 performance review. Wonder if the next people to go are the last 2 saved contestants. Haha.

RESULTS after the jump!! 

The Voice 3: Top 12

Wow. There was such a thin margin of suck between all of them that there's possibly not even any point in trying to single out a best or worst. Haha. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but this episode seriously killed the momentum of the show.

To be honest, none of these Top 12 strick me as having much X Factor - pun intended. Haha. Plus, everyone kind of blur together. Oh, and after last week, I thought I had it ALL figured out, but some of the performances tonight have made this wide open. So yes, I don't know really have a clue yet again.

Anyway, recap after the jump! 

The Voice 3: Ranking The Top 12

Finally! We're down to the Final 12 and on our way to naming the successor of the highly visible, Jermaine Paul. Umm, he's last year's winner. Haha.

Oh, and one should know though that after last week's Live Playoffs, the teams don't matter anymore as the two lowest vote getters, regardless of what team they are, will be eliminated. It's about time no?

Let's get on with the rankings, shall we?

X Factor US 2: Top 13 Results Show

Another X Factor US hopeful got eliminated this week. Who got the shaft? Well, I can say that I absolutely got it right from the Bottom 2 to the person leaving. So, if you've read my review of last night's performances, you'd know my prediction.

The interesting part of the show - aside from the performances of One Direction - was the fact that they actually revealed the ranking of everyone from last night's votes. I wonder if this voting order reveal is gonna be a weekly thing because if I'm being honest, that order was all jacked up. I have a funny feeling Simon did this with a specific motive and that is to push the fans of those people who are in the bottom tier.

Anyway, One Direction performed and the girls in the audience were, as expected, ridiculously loud.  I thought their performance of Live While We're Young was fun, but Little Things was a pretty spectacular. Very nice.

RESULTS after the jump!!

The Voice 3: Live Playoffs Results Show

The Voice Season 3 Top 20 was cut into a Top 12 with America voting two of their favorites in each team and another one by the mentor's choice. So, who got through to this Season's Top 12? Well, read at your own risk. All I can say is that, I'm sort of good with the results. A couple of weird choices, but I digress.

Oh, and Jermaine Paul got to perform his debut single. Jermaine Paul who? Well, he's last season's winner. HAHA. 

RESULTS after the jump!! 

The Voice 3: Live Playoffs Part 2

Why was I SO bored watching this show the entire time? The Voice, arguably, has more great vocalists compared to X Factor US, but I was more interested in watching the other show than this. I don't know. Somehow, the format of this show made me less attached with anyone that I didn't care who performed well and who sucked.

Oh, and I honestly thought that TEAM BLAKE and TEAM ADAM had more intriguing contestants than this group. No one sucked, but I almost didn't care. I digress.

Without further ado, recap after the jump! 

X Factor US 2: Top 13

Compared to last week, this one seemed as though they got the sound figured out. Most of them sounded and performed A LOT better than last week, where pretty much everyone sucked. I don't know if it was the theme: Movie Night, but I really enjoyed almost everyone that I had a hard time ranking the upper tier.

As for the judges/mentors, they obviously have chemistry and I particularly like how Simon and Demi got into each other's throats - though the latter got a bit annoying towards the end. Haha. Somehow, Britney Spears got better with mentoring her acts and also from her judging. Demi, on the other hand, is a better judge than a mentor. But, I digress.

Oh, and someone's back! A wildcard contestant again!

On to the rankings!

Music Premiere: Where We Came From - Phillip Phillips

Here's a track from Phillip Phillips' upcoming album, Where We Came From, off his debut album, The World from the Side of the Moon, which will be released on November 19, 2012. At first, I figured it's his follow up single after Home, but Phillip himself confirmed that this is just an instant gratification track.

As for the song, I think is a grower. Not as catchy as Home, but it has a nice chorus, decent melody and a mildly memorable hook. That said, the verse and chorus don't sound like they are in the same song and slightly suffers from a multiple personality disorder. Haha. At least, it's not generic.

Listen to the song after the jump!

Glee Music 4: The Role You Were Born To Play (Episode 5)

After almost a month of Glee hiatus, they are back this week with it's fifth episode The Role You Were Born To Play, which is sort of the casting for the Grease production. The music are a bit of a mixed bag and two of them are included in the Glease soundtrack - I will review this once the actual soundtrack has been released.

Blow Me (One Last Kiss)

JUST. NO. This was awful. I'm a fan of Marley's full and warm voice, and Unique is actually growing on me, but I hated their version of this. It seems like their harmonies were mixed incorrectly. Unique sounds WAY higher during the chorus, which makes his voice annoyingly shrill and Melissa sounds like she was barely there. Individually, they sound fine, but when they hit the chorus, it's just ridiculously messy. Blech. 3/10

Everybody Talks

Fun. Catchy. Full of energy. I love the original, but I think Jake and Kitty sound good together. I've been a fan of Jake's voice since Never Say Never, but Kitty surprised me. I know she's a Broadway actress in real life, but to tackle a pop song that's believable is kind of impressive. To me, they actually breathe new life to the song. Very nice. 7.5/10

Juke Box Hero

This Finn and Ryder (Blake Jenner, The Glee Project 2 Winner) duet sounds really good. Not exactly a fan of old school rock songs, but I think they sort of pulled it all off. I'm just having a hard time telling them apart. It's like the song is a duet for a person. Haha. 7/10

The Voice 3: Live Playoffs Part 1

Finally! We're here at the live shows, but everyone will be competing, yet again, with the people on their own team. Shocker. Haha. As much as I don't want to compare, I think the talent on this show is better than The X Factor US, but I find them less interesting.

The stage looked nice, Christina Millian was still annoying as heck and the judges were decent. But wait, does Cee Lo actually look at himself in the mirror when he dresses like that and say, "Damn! I look good!"? HAHA. I digress.

Without further ado, recap after the jump!

Music Premiere: Little Things - One Direction

Here's One Direction's new single written by the talented Ed Sheeran, Little Things, which is part of their upcoming sophomore album Take Me Home.

I'm actually torn between my love for anything Ed Sheeran related, and my general dislike for Cowell-manufactured groups. Haha. I'm kidding, of course. Not going to lie, One Direction had some seriously catchy songs and it's surprising to hear something more serious from them. This has a nice sound to it with just their vocals and subtle background music, but it's like an extension of their other song, What Makes You Beautiful. I guess, they are the boyfriend band for girls with low self-esteem? Haha. I can't believe we're critiquing a One Direction song. At this point, as long as they remain young and cute, take off their shirts from time to time, talk about their crushes, and prevent the next boyband from getting too hot, they can release Mary Had A Little Lamb and it would go platinum. Enjoy!

Listen to the song after the jump!

Music Premiere: Don't Rush - Kelly Clarkson (ft. Vince Gill)

Look, it's Kelly Clarkson trying to go country with country star Vince Gill. She has had a couple of successful songs in that genre from the remakes of her hit songs Because of You with Reba McIntire and the country version of Mr. Know It All. But her duet with Jason Aldean, Don't You Wanna Stay, had the biggest splash, I think.

Don't Rush is a complete departure from Kelly Clarkson's anthemic sound from her previous album and even her latest single from her Greatest Hits compilation, Catch My Breath. Not sure if this is country exactly, but I love that it has an old school vibe to it. It's definitely a little throwback, but it's soulful, bluesy and I like the more mellow style of it than some of the things we've heard from her recently. Plus, it's refreshing to hear such a laid back vocal from the original American Idol. This makes me happy.

Listen to the song after the jump!

Movie Review: Skyfall

Not only was Skyfall easily the best James Bond film in recent memory - or at least with Daniel Craig as Bond - this was also one of the more grounded plots in its whole franchise. Yes, the story was quite basic, but it was written extremely well and it felt the most personal to the series. The acting performances were also superb from Judi Dench's more intimate take on her character to Javier Bardem's deliciously creepy and insane portrayal of Silva - not the most iconic Bond villain, but one of the more unpredictable and interestingly tragic antagonists. Daniel Craig, meanwhile, brought a surprisingly vulnerable side to his character with a more thoughtful and nuanced performance. The action sequences were artfully directed, the soundtrack and scoring were gorgeous and the direction was fantastic. Oh, and visually, this was undoubtedly the most beautifully shot movie I have seen this year. The cinematography was just epic! Seriously. I've NEVER been hugely passionate about the James Bond franchise, but Skyfall, I dare say, was one of the best action films this year.

Movie Review: Wreck-It Ralph

Wreck-It Ralph is like a lovechild of Tron and Toy Story. Haha. No, it didn't have the same emotional pull as the latter and the storytelling sort of drifted towards the conventional, but on it's own merit, this was surprisingly one of the best animated features this year. It had a chock-full of fun visuals with strangely delightful and genuine characters and a sense of humor that pulled even the slightest chuckle from me. The writing was clever, the voice work was top notch and there's a strong sense of nostalgic amusement, if not sheer delight, throughout the whole film. Simply put, an absolutely great animated film.

X Factor US 2: Top 16 Results Show

.. and just like that, X Factor's Top 16 is now down to Top 12, where each judge eliminated one act from their group. So, who got the shaft? I'm not going to spoil anyone - not unless you click the READ MORE button below. Haha - but I must say that for the most part, the mentors got it right.

One thing though, Khloe Karadashan was ridiculously hilarious - but not in a good way. Haha. She can't even fake being compassionate towards the people who left and she was hosting like she's trying to perform a dramatic monologue. She's SO bad that it's actually entertaining. Haha. 

RESULTS after the jump!!

X Factor US 2: Top 16

I'm exhausted just watching all those performances in one night. If this show somehow managed to become a hotter mess than it is now, it would burst into flames and homeless people could use it to warm themselves at night. Haha. Of course, I'm kidding. One thing I love about X Factor - the wacky outfits and extravagant production set. They'd NEVER do that on my beloved American Idol. Haha.

I guess, I've accepted the fact that to be able to enjoy X Factor as a show, I should not take this as a pure singing competition. This is NOT about finding the best vocalists, but the next pop star who'd be able to sell millions of records. Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Katy Perry are not exactly the greatest singers in the world, but they've sold more records than some of the better singers.

Now, the first live show this season was a little underwhelming, but that's expected since the contestants are still warming up to the whole thing. Still, I'm pretty optimistic about this season's Top 16. What I'm not so sure about this season though is Britney Spears. She's more useless than last year's host. She contributed NOTHING other than the word "true star" and "amazing". Those words are not going to cut it as her sole accolade all season.

On the other hand, I thought Demi Lovato was the one who put a lot of effort into mentoring her group. Even if the outcome might not be the best, she did work with these contestants. As a judge her comments were pretty accurate too and she didn't hold back with her constructive criticisms. Very nice.

Anyway, let's get on with the review!

The Voice 3: Knockout Rounds Part 2

After this week,  I think it's pretty clear that the judges have their own favorites and have done the best they could to ensure that those people will go far unimpeded. I mean, a LOT of talented contestants got the shaft in favor of lesser talented singers, in my opinion. Kayla, Nicole, Caitlin, Aquile, MarissaAnn, Suzanna and so on. Instead, we have a clusterfuck from MacKenzie to Devyn, to Julio to Sylvia and so on. Oh well.

Anyway, recap after the jump!

The Voice 3: Knockout Rounds Part 1

It's the BATTLE ROUNDS sequel. Haha. I seriously don't understand why they have to pair them yet again because I rather have ALL of them perform at once and then have their coach decide which ones to take to the live shows. For drama? Because conflict is good TV? But still.

That said, the editing in this episode was amazing. It was quick and to the point, which was better than how they did the Battle Rounds, which took SO long to finish no?

Anyway, here's the recap!