Category Archives: Entertainment

MTV, OTV & LBC’s Sunday Programming: The Graduation Ceremony of the American University of Dubai

Graduation ceremonies are horrible. My AUB 2010 ceremony felt endless. Names upon names got called out as we sat there sweating like pigs under the June sun. I’d never do it again. But Lebanon’s TV stations felt it was a good idea to air a graduation ceremony all Sunday afternoon.

Except there was nothing Lebanese about the graduation. AUD, I had no idea you mattered to MTV, LBC & OTV this much. Let’s label this one big fat failure of TV programming. I don’t care what’s the reason behind those three TV stations airing the American University of Dubai’s graduation. There is no reason that can make this remotely acceptable – not when Lebanese universities have countless graduations every year which go unnoticed, unaired and, well, irrelevant. Not that graduation ceremonies should air on live TV anyway.

How empty is the Sunday afternoon slot on Lebanese TV exactly?

I bet those students of AUD feel nice to be appreciated. By Lebanese TV stations. Lebanese students, on the other hand, are not classy enough. Not even those who pay thousands of dollars to attend Lebanon’s brand of Ivy League campuses, let alone those whose university is – lowers voice into a barely audible whisper – free.

Update: Apparently this is the FIFTH year they air this. Hopefully it’s the last as well.

20130512-173452.jpg

20130512-173521.jpg

Anthony Touma Loses On France’s The Voice

After a successful run on the second season of France’s The Voice, the Lebanese candidate Anthony Touma lost in the show’s semi-final to Olympe.

Despite winning the public vote with a huge margin: 59.7% to 40.3%, Anthony Touma only got 15 points out of the 50 allocated to his coach, which seems fitting enough since 35 points was all it took for Olympe to beat out the Lebanese candidate by 0.6 points.

I find the way Anthony Touma lost to be quite fishy. It’s strange how all the other judges awarded their 50 points in a more balanced manner (26-24) except Jenifer who decided to go as lopsided as she did.  And it’s strange that, after having lost the public vote twice consecutively to Olympe, Anthony Touma would come back to win with such a wide margin.

It all feels very calculated and fishy. Perhaps they didn’t want a non-French to win the second season of France’s The Voice?

Either way, my Facebook friends are already on a witch hunt against Jenifer:

Jenifer The Voice The Bitch

I don’t think Anthony Touma is a talent that knows no match. I think he’s slightly overrated but I’m still immensely proud of what he’s accomplished. Good luck to him in his future endeavors though it seems he doesn’t need them. Pascal Nègre, CEO of Universal France, already wants him to sign a record deal.

This is Anthony Touma’s performance at the semi-finals with “Les Mots Bleus” with the results in question (link).

Trance [2013] – Movie Review

trance-poster-404x600

Trance is a movie fitting to take me back to movie reviews. I don’t hide being a fan of the movie’s director Danny Boyle. His previous offering: 127 Hours (review) was, in my opinion, the best movie of its year – one that included Inception. The movie that made him a household name, Slumdog Millionaire, was excellent as well. Who could forget Latika?

Trance continues in that vein, albeit it being potentially much less award-friendly than the other two. After all, this movie wants to be a blockbuster. It’s the story of Simon (James McAvoy), a worker at a London auction house who gets caught up in a heist of a Goya painting, suffering a blow to the head in the process making him forget where he placed the painting in question. To help him remember, the group of thieves, headed by Frank (Vincent Cassel) enlist the help of a hypnotist called Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) whose skills will be utilized to form a true mind twister of a movie.

For some, the plot that makes up Trance will be considered too complicated. Others might consider it a shallow attempt at a true thriller in the vein of Inception. I found Trance to be transfixing and couldn’t help not be taken into its world. It had been a while that a movie managed to captivate me the way Trance did. Be it Danny Boyle’s excellent camera work on the movie’s intricate scenes, to the twisted build-up that gives you bits and pieces of the story without them being necessarily in the order you prefer, to the pounding music score that goes well with how well Boyle edited his scenes.

In fact, you cannot not appreciate the intricate work that Danny Boyle does on Trance, regardless of what your opinion of the story might be. Those who think the story is too complicated will be thoroughly entertained by how fast-paced the movie is. Those annoyed by the plot will find the directing style lavish. Those, like yours truly, who were enthralled will find it to be the cherry on top of the cake – or it could be the cake itself.

James McAvoy is haunting as the man trying to pay off gambling debts by agreeing to the robbery, perfectly accommodating the changes that the revelations regarding his character demand. He is electrifying with Rosario Dawson who excels as the hypnotist trying to find a place for herself amidst all the men making up the squad of thieves. The duo generates enough heat – both literally and figuratively – to help drive the movie forward.

The more attention you give Trance, the more focused you are on what the characters are doing on the screen in front of you, the more you’ll get to enjoy it. The final climax may be over-reaching and the movie may feel too stuffed and complicated at times. The psychiatric aspect has been, in typical Hollywood fashion, dramatized for the sake of shock. But this remains one of the best offerings 2013 has to give us so far. Trance is a movie you should watch. Nay, Trance is a movie you want to watch. Trust me on this.

4/5

Middle Eastern Talent Show Overdose: Star Academy Is Back

Star Academy Arabia

Just when you thought saturation was reached with Arabs Got Talent, The Voice, X Factor Arabia and Arab Idol, Star Academy decides to return to the singing show scene after a two year hiatus, fully-rebranded as Star Academy Arabia.

Casting for the show has started in Jordan and will continue across countries of the region. Lebanon will have its share next week at Monroe Hotel. And to re-assert itself as the most popular of the bunch, its Facebook page – started less than a month ago – already has north of 50,000 likes (link).

A source has told me the show will start this coming October on a yet-to-be-chosen TV station although I think we can assume it won’t be MBC who should have its hands (and schedule) full with both The Voice and Arab Idol. Dutch company Endemol is currently at the helm.

Toni Qahwaji has been tipped off to direct the show. He was a regular when the show aired on LBC in 2011 and earlier.

So in case the other twenty three talent shows weren’t enough to satisfy this apparently incessant need among the public, another one will be launching yet another “winner” to forget about.

I, for one, had thought Star Academy decided to call it off – similar to what happened to the French version – after its last lackluster season. I figured people may have gotten tired of it. It seems I was extrapolating based on what I felt towards these shows now that I’m not thirteen anymore.

I bet these shows have lost track of the participants they can’t wait to make millions off then forget about the moment the season wraps.  I don’t know about you but I’ve lost track after Joseph Attieh.

Is Rihanna Coming to Lebanon for a Concert?

20130416-110919.jpg

Friends of mine who attended Eddie Griffin’s comedy show over the weekend were tweeting about something the comedian said:

Rihanna might be coming to Lebanon for a concert this summer.

Such prospects would make this the event of the summer. Sorry The Script. Has Lebanon ever had someone as currently popular as Rihanna come for a concert in recent times?

However, for the same reasons it’s improbable for bands such as Coldplay or Muse to hold concerts in Lebanon, does it even make sense for her to come here?

Would an artist who’s used to international sell-out tours that fill stadiums and bring millions of dollars in revenue come to a country where venues such as “Stade de France” do not exist and where, despite potentially inflated ticket prices, profit wouldn’t be substantial and long-term fan base building basically irrelevant?

Either way, if there’s any truth to this, prepare for an onslaught of Rihanna songs on the radio – worse than what we currently have – and people gushing over how important Lebanon has become. I, for one, don’t think there’s much to it though.