American Idol "Top 4" Review: It's a Phillip Phillip Phillips' World

If nothing else, last week's Hollie-surgence all the way to the top of my chart showed how closely-packed the three legitimate singers left in this competition are. With only three weeks left in the season after Wednesday night, it was time for Hollie, Jessica and Joshua to give their very best and deliver a couple surprises to keep us talking about them over the Phillip-hatred cacophony that's rapidly engulfing what was a fabulous season.

The marks:

Phillip Phillips (Have You Ever Seen the Rain): Part of me wants to stop grading Phillip's performances out of protest - the way you might avoid discussing season six of 24 when recapping its remarkable run - but, like the Bauer Power Hour, AI has been so good for so long that I'll tough it out and hope for better next time, a distinct possibility given the absurdly good top three he performs around (and is destined to prevent). To Phillip's credit, he left his guitar behind and focused on putting his full effort into the vocal despite the fact that he clearly didn't understand what the sound was about. It still sounded like a stroke victim bleating over a P.A. system, but God bless him for trying. Moving on... 25   

Hollie Cavanagh (Faithfully): Hollie's drifting perilously into ballads-only territory, a somber place where I trade drinks with Anoop Desai, Elliot Yamin and Clay Aiken and lament their Idol fortunes. Nonetheless, this was a deftly executed missionary position ballad. Hollie broke away from the wind-swept, stationary delivery only in lacking a prom dress, and ultimately this performance felt well-executed but unremarkable. Not at all bad, but not life-changing either. 65

Joshua Ledet (You Raise Me Up): Garbled delivery, tears in the eyes and a choked voice, while showing a great deal of passion, do not a good performance make. (Neither does raising him up on a literal platform, continually on-the-nose producers.) The inevitable key change felt completely unearned and alienated me further from the first ordinary stinker of Joshua's Idol run. At least he surprised me. 25

Jessica Sanchez (Steal Away): I completely dug the vibe and delivery of this performance, which normally spells legendary status with Jessica. Again, though, I was surprised; Season 11's most consistently technically-sound performer completely butchered the melody of this song and missed several notes along the way. Yikes. 40

Joshua Ledet and Phillip Phillips (This Love): After one of my favorite (cheesy) songs carried Joshua and Phillip to a perfectly mediocre duet despite less chemistry than me and gym equipment, another favorite didn't repeat the trick. The completely disconnected delivery bled into a uninspired vocal that left me longing for it to be over. Forget last week, Idolsphere. This is the worst duet in Idol history. 5

Hollie Cavanagh and Jessica Sanchez (Eternal Flame): Did Idol hire Blue Man Group to help arrange its staging? I can't think of any other explanation for the bizarre cloth swings that made this staid performance even less interesting. A mid-song tempo change generated a little excitement, and their harmony was sublime - these are the two best competitors standing, remember - but overall forgettable. 55

Phillip Phillips (Volcano): A brilliantly-staged, understated performance - I'm a sucker for a cello - that reminded me how Phillip earned a spot in the finals in the first place. I'm still never going to love Phillip's complete lack of tone, but I think this is as close as it gets. 70

Hollie Cavanagh (I Can't Make You Love Me): Hollie apparently missed the memo that this song is now property: Allison Iraheta, but I'm glad to hear it nonetheless. Again, I love the orchestral arrangement, and it was a fine vocal, but lacked any excitement whatsoever. Could last week's #1 already go home? 60

Joshua Ledet (It's a Man's Man's Man's World): Absolutely love the staging; well-done with violins; yet another overbaked vocal from the second-most perplexing performer of the season. I've avoided invoking Jacob Lusk with Joshua the last couple weeks, but this performance had crying faces and stank all over it. No. Just no. 30

Jessica Sanchez (And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going): Speaking of stepping on hallowed ground, Jessica ignored the "J-Hud" label on this song - granted, she was eight years old when that happened -  and proceeded to nail it with just enough attitude to make a real connection and be tuneful at the same time, the defining dichotomy of this ever-stranger season. I'm not fully on board with this being the Idol Moment the producers seem to want it to be - too much blandness in the middle before an unbelievable finish - but a very good way to wrap up a lackluster, uneven show. 80

The top four power poll, complete this week with prediction! (I'd forgotten what it felt like to actually handicap an elimination.)

4. Phillip Phillips

Yes, he sucks. No, he's not going anywhere. Will he win? I still doubt it - the love for Jessica is too strong, and still growing - but he's more than popular enough to stay through the finale and put his distasteful mark on every show this season. If anything could squander a solid season ten and a spectacular season 11 top ten, it's a black star winner like Phillip. Forget Danny Gokey; we're entering the Taylor Hicks zone of inexplicable Idol atrocity.

3. Joshua Ledet

2. Hollie Cavanagh

Joshua. like his competition for the second slot, is up and down, but it's becoming rapidly clear that all other things equal I'm going to enjoy Hollie's more. Neither was especially good this week, but given the love for Joshua's ridiculousness I have to pick the joyously resurgent Hollie to leave tonight. Thank God for...

1. Jessica Sanchez

It's hard to believe in a season this talented I'm bracing myself for a final three in which I'll hate two, but Jessica's continued brilliance is more than enough to keep me watching no matter how bad her competitors are. It's hard to believe the hormone-throttled power voters behind Phillip-squared could block her from the crown, but nonetheless Jessica has placed herself in the Idol pantheon and has an excellent shot at ending the tween-fueled white-guy-with-guitar reign of Idol's recent past. I might even consider voting.

That's all for top four. Allow me to check tonight's results...

Not surprisingly, Hollie rides off into the sunset. After spending so many weeks rooting for Elise against Hollie in the punching-bag derby, I was stunned how quickly and how much I enjoyed Hollie's last couple weeks, and I look forward to finding out what niche she plans to carve in a radio world increasingly disinterested in wholesome pop singers.

Idol has yet to release a top three theme, although based on previous years it's likely to be contestant's choice, judge's choice and producer's choice to accompany hometown visits. Here's hoping Jessica gets great material, Joshua receives some solid guidance and they tag-team Phillip back home next Thursday.

American Idol "Top 5" Review: Talent Deep, Songbook Shallow

(The introduction to this piece was written last week while I was still waiting for American Idol's YouTube page to post performances, which it finally did Tuesday. What the hell, Fox.)

After last week's depressing but utterly predictable elimination, it's time to move out of the midcard and get down to the business of choosing the next American Idol. Each contestant remaining has a legitimate shot, so it's up to the next five weeks of performances to determine which will inherit Scotty McCreery's throne. (As is de rigeur for these recaps, yes, I'm aware it won't be our favorite AI11 Country diva.)

The final five tackled that challenge with another dual theme: British music and hits of the 1960's. While neither especially lights my fire, I'm excited to see which finalists will distinguish themselves from the pack and gain favorite status in the home stretch.

(It doesn't fit into the recap, but allow me to rage against Idol stopping its full-season precedent of uploading performances to YouTube the next day and instead putting them only on americanidol.com, where they're accompanied by intrusive advertising and a stripped-down, featureless player. What's more, they've stopped showing any lenience to YouTube uploaders as they did in seasons past. EXPLETIVES DELETED) 

The performances:

Hollie Cavanagh (River Deep Mountain High): The swaying, crowd-leading open to this performance was dangerously cheesy, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't dig the hell out of it. I had difficulty getting Pia Toscano out of my head during this performance, but Hollie knocked it out of the park and rearranged it enough to feel distinct. I still don't love the song, but this is a star-making version. 80

Phillip Phillips (The Letter): Forget Skylar: here's Scotty McCreery 2.0. Maybe it's not fair to blame Phillip for the hackneyed letter-writing background, but it perfectly reflected his performance: baffling, irritating and just too much. Not the worst performance ever - probably not of the season, and possibly not even Phillip's worst of the season - but another strike against my most-hated finalist. 20

Skylar Laine (Fortunate Son): I felt a familiar wave of county-affirmation disgust at this performance, but Skylar rocked it nonetheless. It's southern rock, but it's still a pleasure to see her tackle material that's not strictly country. Sad to see her go, but contributes to a developing trend: delivering an amazing performance on the way out, and on a song I love no less. This is destined for the season-end mix. 75

Joshua and Phillip (You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling): Every now and then Phillip shows potential like this that just irritates the living hell out of me. He's got a wonderful instrument and absolutely no idea how to use it. Speaking of which, Joshua verged yet again into just-too-muchery here, but overall I dug it. Note to the producers: please stop making people duet with Phillip. No one likes to work with the slow kid, and he's not getting any faster. I'm a sucker for this kind of cheese - hello, Top Gun - but enough already. We're in the finals. 40

Jessica Sanchez (Proud Mary): Jessica trotted out her best Tina impersonation, but as with most Tina covers it simply made me miss the original. It even made me miss Syesha Mercado's version; she clearly understood the song, which Jessica, despite her wailing, never quite convinced me of. Plus 10 for the dress and the shimmy, another few points for a proficient vocal. but can't be a Hall of Famer without more resonance. 65

Joshua Ledet (Ain't Too Proud to Beg): Another song I'm not wild about from Joshua, and with his typical overselling that's a recipe for a low rating. Never connected with the song, never tried anything unusual, never mind. 40

Hollie Cavanagh (Bleeding Love): The producers did their best to sabotage Hollie's beautifully understated performance with an over-the-top heart graphic at the top, but every succulency-pared note afterward was perfection. Lacked a defining instant to make it an Idol Moment, but an outstanding performance that continues Hollie's unlikely resurgence in style. 75

Phillip Phillips (Time of the Season): While "The Letter" was unpleasant, this was a certified trainwreck. Between the bland, almost apologetic vocal and lethargic pace, this performance seemed to last forever. Or is that me projecting how I feel about P-squared's Idol run? 5

Hollie, Jessica and Skylar (Higher and Higher): Just when I started thinking Hollie could threaten Jessica, this performance proved it. Skylar retreated to her usual schtick while the two heavyweights duked it out for the top of the power poll. Oh, the performance? Blah. Whatever. Can we stop with the group B.S. now? 30

Skylar Laine (You Don't Have to Say You Love Me): Skylar borrowed two unfortunate tactics from the Lauren Alaina playbook here: the dreadfully boring classic ballad and the billowy prom dress that flares out over the legs for no discernable reason. She deviated by completely overpowering the song and making me wish it would end. Okay. maybe that elimination makes a little more sense now. 40

Jessica Sanchez (You Are So Beautiful): Jessica brought all her vulnerability for this song, which gave what's generally a staid, bland choice an intriguing edge. She predictably sang the daylights out of it, and the recast - which she actually seemed to understand - made it an entirely new song, which she of course now owns. 80

Joshua Ledet (To Love Somebody): I applaud Joshua for personally connecting to every song, but it leads him more often into the heart of Shreakville with no way out. As soon as I saw the tears well up I knew Joshua was in trouble, and this was if anything more outrageous than his previous ventures into overexertion. Sigh. 30

The new power poll:

4. Phillip Phillips

I'm out of things to say. You wished this on yourselves, teenyboppers. For the rest of us, you've Danny Gokey-ed the season - like S8, any discussion of S11's crazy talented finalists will begin with a gigantic asterisk. I've said it before, but if this hack wins I'm probably done with the show.

3. Joshua Ledet

Joshua's obscene talent is harnessed more frequently than Phillip's, but he's still too unpredictable to forecast for the finals. Does nobody coach these kids? I'm going to blame the judges. Okay, I feel better now.

2. Jessica Sanchez

1. Hollie Cavanagh

After several weeks hanging on to frontrunner status despite a couple glaring flaws, Jessica finally gave it up to an increasingly complete performer who's putting on an unbelievable charge to the finish that could make her Idol's most unlikely feel-good winner since Kris Allen. Rock on, Hollie. You're probably going to end up more Haley than Kris, but I'll be damned if I don't root for you until the moment it's over.

Overall a decent week that handicapped a very talented group of performers with truly terrible songs. Hopefully next week (this week) is better with California songs and tunes they wish they wrote. Given the dubious artistic choices these finalists make week to week, I'm afraid already.

Anime Central 2012, Day Four+: What's Next?

A little over a week after my first convention, I can't stop thinking about my second.

While I made it clear in my Day Three post that I'll be returning for Anime Central 2013, I'm rapidly beginning to think that's not good enough. I went into ACen expecting it to be Penny Arcade Expo practice and my only convention of 2012. The former remains in the distance - I can't afford to go to Seattle this fall, and all the badges sold out in 48 hours anyway - but the latter has become almost unthinkable. ACen 2013 is still over a year away! Derek want more dork time!

Should I take the plunge on another convention close to home, there are three obvious options:

Geek.Kon 2012, a convention in Madison that Tim and I were pitched at ACen Friday and may still go to Sep. 7-9 even though it drew a record attendance last year of 1,625;

Chicago Comic-Con, an Aug. 8-11 gala at my now-familiar stomping grounds in Rosemont that appears larger (70,000 by the Tribune's count in 2010) and more mainstream than ACen but, comparing its site to ACen's, seems to come with a sickly corporate culture;

and Gen Con, an Indianapolis institution running Aug. 16-19 that would be the leader in the clubhouse if I didn't have to persuade my friends to come to Indiana.

(Mercifully, I've already missed C2E2 and, as mentioned above, both PAX's. An insane part of me wants to visit the granddaddy of them all, San Diego Comic-Con, but it's also sold out.)

Regardless, I'll carry to my second and all future conventions the hard-won lessons of ACen 2012. I made several great calls and some awful ones throughout the weekend, and they show exactly how I can improve my performance and avoid a sophomore slump.

GOOD IDEA: Buying a badge in advance

Simply dedicating myself to going to ACen early and throwing down the money for a badge saved me at least two hours in line Friday and $10. I ended up waiting in line with other people anyway, but jumping early and grabbing the best deal and peace of mind was my first great call of the weekend.

BAD IDEA: Agonizing over my weekend schedule

The most laughable part of my ACen experience was the gigantic amount of panels I penciled in to my schedule after I ordered my badge and needed more things to plan. Aside from the Exhibit Hall and other distractions I wouldn't think of missing next time, I forgot that going to panels requires waiting in line and being in the right place at the right time. Next year I'll pick about four panels each day to consider attending and leave it at that.

GOOD IDEA: Bringing an iOS device

The Guidebook app was a lifesaver not only in customizing my panel schedule - right - but also in helping me find particular booths in the Exhibit Hall and telling me operating hours for each section of the convention. Frequent updates throughout the weekend kept me up to date as those who relied on the physical book got a steadily more hilarious array of printed inserts each morning.

BAD IDEA: Not reading the physical guide first thing anyway

Despite the immense amount of information in the Guidebook, the physical guide featured more detailed schedules, including the exact timing of Friday's Assassin's Creed wedding. On the other hand, that goof allowed Tim and me to get acquainted with some fellow congoers, adjust to the Hyatt and produce this deleted scene:

GOOD IDEA: Spending a lot of time at the Exhibit Hall

I very much enjoyed the panels I did get to, whether they blew my mind or not, but around those isolated moments of awesome were cosplayers, artists and exhibitors that served as vital connecting tissue. Exhibit Hall isn't the headline of ACen, but it's the backbone, and it's the single part I'm looking forward to most for 2013.

BAD IDEA: Walking like crazy

The unfortunate result of my Exhibit Hall fixation was absolutely murdering my legs; I was limping right along with Forsuk Sunday, so next year will require less travelling on foot or a much healthier, fitter me. Stay tuned.

GOOD IDEA: Tormenting my friends until they agreed to come too

I'm not proud of my methods, but two solid months of teleharassment resulted in a varied, omnipresent cast of friends - one of whom had never attended a convention and another who hadn't visited ACen - making my weekend one not only to remember but to reminisce about as well. With any luck they'll invite their friends and pack the convention even more full of awesome next spring.

BAD IDEA: Refusing go to panels alone or wait in long lines

This was partially because I hosted that revolving door of friends, with whom I waited in line and did about five total circuits of the Exhibit Hall, but of the plethora of panels that interested me at ACen I made it to only six. I missed Oregon Trail, Anime Hell, the Masquerade (which was cancelled anyway), Soap Bubble and a variety of topic panels including Halo, Ren Faire and Pokemon. I'm sure I still would have missed some, but flatly saying "I will not go alone or wait in line longer than 30 minutes" instantly ruled out a lot of things that might have been worth the effort.

GOOD IDEA: Making time for the little things

While I fell well short of my panel projections, it was more than worth it to test Dance Central 2, discover Wits and Wagers and generally soak up the atmosphere at my first convention. I didn't even mention playing Metal Slug with Jack or watching a friendly Wii player rock the first level of Resident Evil 4. I'll come back to ACen sharper, more focused and ready to accomplish concrete goals, but taking a laid-back approach paid major dividends this year.

BAD IDEA: Showing up early

As much as I wanted to squeeze every last moment out of ACen, the action didn't ramp up until about noon each day, and on Sunday in particular I wasted a lot of time waiting for things to happen. Since I still managed to be exhausted around midnight each day despite my iron will, a noon to 2 a.m. schedule is closer to ideal.

GOOD IDEA: Staying at a hotel

As tired as I was by the end of the weekend, it would have been ten times worse had I cheaped out and driven to and from my dad's in Peotone each day rather than bunking at the DoubleTree in Schaumburg. I may stay at an on-site hotel next year, but if they're booked early or too expensive, Schaumburg is a fantastic Plan B.

BAD IDEA: Eating spoiled food

You'd really think, at 23, I'd know this by now. Let's just move on.

Finally, I should credit a few folks not mentioned in my posts who made ACen amazing: my coworkers, Matt Troutman and Mishele Wright, who picked up the reporting load Friday while I took a vacation day; a few friendly cosplayers whom I saw repeatedly all weekend and came to refer to as "frequent fliers," including a very shapely Lara Croft, a woman with Toad on her head, a Naked Snake with a box over his torso, both varieties of Yuna and a pretty poor Capt. Falcon (other entertaining cosplays included Adam West Batman, Domo Kun, Jesus, several Links, Missing No., Undertaker and crossplaying Yuna); and my former Chronicle-Tribune compatriot Melissa Vogt, from whom I shamelessly ripped off the title of my aforementioned Day Three post.

Feel free to send me any questions you have about ACen either in the comments here, at facebook.com/derek.beigh or on Twitter @zorak9379. I'd love to convert another couple friends to attend future conventions.

With that said, good night from Anime Central 2012. I can't wait to continue this series in 2013.

Anime Central 2012, Day Three: Dazed and Enthused

Between his knee injury, my food poisoning and a 7 a.m. wakeup call to get Megan to Union Station for her return train to Champaign, Forsuk and I were weary voyagers when we returned to the Hyatt in Rosemont Sunday morning. We soldiered on, however, for we knew one critical fact:

Anime Central waits for no man.

What Anime Central does wait for, however, is 10 a.m., which is how we found ourselves at 9 wandering around aimlessly, eating day-old Giordano's and wandering by screening rooms showing bizarre and occasionally frightening anime. I double-checked the Guidebook app and discovered that one part was already open: card and role-playing games at the Hilton. Given my long-gestating curiosity about Magic: The Gathering, it was one of the few ACen goals I hadn't yet fulfilled.

After voyaging to the second floor of the hotel, however, I was reminded powerfully of why I wanted to go to the Penny Arcade Expo rather than ACen in the first place. Rather than a thriving meeting space, ACen's card gaming room was a couple lonely guys trying in vain to get a single game of Magic: The Gathering together, and a nearby room was searching wanly for participants to play an RPG I'd never head of. Perhaps I shouldn't pass judgment on a gathering for lacking tabletop and card players on a separate floor of a side hotel at 9 a.m. Sunday, but that moment more than any other kept my PAX fire burning.

We returned to the Hyatt to camp out for "Who Wants to be a Voice Actor?" next to a virtual reality game named Battletech that looked moderately cool but extremely intimidating - think Steel Battalion on steroids, and you're halfway there - and watched giant mechs kill each other for a half hour until the panel began. In between we nearly followed one of the panelists into the room, started a line on our own and waited, also in vain, for a couple volunteers to show up and check badges. Way to have your shit together, ACen.

The panel, like most of Sunday, was subdued; only about 30 people came to a room that would have comfortably seated 1,000, although we filled it with noise as one of two panelists led us in vocal and role-playing exercises that ranged from chattering excitedly about a party to recoiling in horror at a giant monster invading our fair imaginary city. I miss improv.

Despite the quality of the voice acting panel, we left about a half hour into the voice acting panel to line up for the simply-named Video Game Orchestra, Sunday's main event and the biggest reason I didn't take off Sunday morning and take Megan back to Champaign myself. There was no line yet, so we sat in on the majority of Samurai Dan's noon panel, which was way more entertaining than Friday - maybe I was just more in the mood for moderately suggestive schtick and rambling convention anecdotes - and left me wanting to see more of him next year.

When Samurai Dan was finished, we returned to the lobby and the VGO line already in progress. We weren't waiting long before we were ushered in and took our seats for the most memorable of my six ACen programs.

While the concert began in baffling fashion with the opener, IMERAUT, playing three songs and leaving without any explanation, VGO's performance was sublime. I screamed my head off during the unbelievable "Big Blue" guitar/bass battle below.

(Note: These videos are from PAX East 2012 April 9 in Boston, but apparently VGO played the same set at both conventions.)



I felt familiar Freeman-esque feelings of home when VGO played a Metal Gear Solid 2 theme tag after "Snake Eater" that made me tear up with joy.

The closer was, somewhat predictably, everybody's favorite insane-robot theme song, which nonetheless turned into a rollicking clap-and-singalong that left me smiling from ear to ear.

VGO was quick to note their CD was available only at the convention for $10, and I was ready to pony up the dough until I spied the line for their booth. It seemed longer than the line for the concert. Maybe the Internet actually does serve a purpose, VGO.

With family waiting in Illinois, real life calling in Indiana and a major sense of post-coital fatigue overtaking me, Sunday didn't last long after VGO. Forsuk and I accompanied a couple of his friends back to the still-buzzing exhibit hall, where I ordered Megan's birthday present - now I'll know if she actually reads these posts! - and passed on buying a badge for ACen 2013 because of the line at registration. After waiting with Tim, Jack and Megan, that line and I were more than well-acquainted.

After two and a half days trekking around geek heaven, my friends had gone home, my legs ached, my stomach growled and my soul was sated. It was time to head home and leave my next Anime Central antics for May 17-19, 2013.

So long, Bryn Mawr and River Road. I'll see you again next year.

Anime Central 2012, Day Two: Rad Bromance

Despite the smashing success of my first day at Anime Central 2012, returning to the convention Saturday morning was a challenge.

After a minor food poisoning incident (my fault; don't ask), I spent about an hour overnight in the fetal position on the floor of the hotel bathroom hoping to fall asleep, or vomit, or die, anything to placate my stomach. I eventually got about five hours of sleep, rallied and drove Jack from Schaumburg back to Rosemont for more cosplay, panels and games.

Our first stop was the Exhibit Hall, which I covered thoroughly Friday but Jack had yet to see. While many of Saturday's cosplays weren't as inspired or personally resonant to me as the day before - I heard tell of a Freakazoid but never found him - we still found a couple more than worth photoing as soon as we came through the door.

The Happy Mask Salesman

Big Daddy, complete with rotating, bloody drill

After a brief circuit, we decided to wait on dropping any cash - a poster of Pokemon playing poker was tempting, but it could wait - and adjourned to the video game freeplay at the Hilton, which was far less crowded at 11 a.m. Saturday than the previous afternoon. A healthy amount of fighting gamers were already hunkered down for the day, but Jack and I had the run of an Xbox 360 with Kinect, and we threw caution (and shame) to the wind for three rounds of Dance Central 2.

Not really, but trust me: You're better off not seeing this.

Despite some initial sluggishness - we had no idea what the game wanted and started out too close together and doing very subdued motions - Jack and I got loose, had fun and, dare I say, busted a move. I enjoyed it so much, in fact, I'm considering actually buying a Kinect. (I promise this desire has almost nothing to do with a stunningly erotic performance of "Venus" that Jack and I watched after we gave up the dance floor. Seriously, almost nothing.)

The most interesting dance for Jack and me was our final routine, a bafflingly strange choreography to "Bad Romance," which I watched back and realized only true bros are willing to looking that stupid together in public.

It bears mentioning that theatre gave us a large head start looking like idiots in public.

After that bonding experience, we had lunch at the Expoteria - yay $11 burgers and fries! - and returned to the attached Exhibit Hall to do our consumerly duty and spend. On the way we spied the line for Saturday badges, which we were able to avoid but Megan would have to go through when she arrived that afternoon.

At the hall we ran briefly into the amazing Katy, cosplaying something I don't remember but didn't understand at the time, before we returned to the booths. Jack picked up the first issue of a comic called "Flipside" and a couple shirts, while I bought an "I don't blame you" Portal 2 button for Megan and a "Link to the Future" t-shirt for myself. I also picked up a Serenity poster and GameCube controller for Tim, who may or may not have a clinically diagnosable obsession with Super Smash Bros. by now.

On the way to our booths of choice, we saw more cosplay and the single strangest sight of my weekend.

Another Kiki, Sonic, Chihiro and Ghostface. See, I do know some Japanese things!

I wanted badly to get video of this man, who had a bra with dog-toy squeakers in each breast and was merrily squeezing away. Oh, ACen.

After that sight, we returned to the car to reorient ourselves with the outside world and drop our purchases in my trunk.We'd just wandered over to the Hyatt when I got a text from Megan that said she'd be in Rosemont momentarily, so Jack waited with me while I jumpstarted her effort to get through a mercifully-shorter registration line.

Catbus at the Hyatt

While we were in line, I interviewed Jack about the weekend. If it's true your career should be what you'd do anyway, this seems to show journalism was a good call.

Once Megan arrived I cut the interview short and bade a brief goodbye to Jack as he headed to a Persona 4 panel while I slung Megan's backpack onto my shoulder and we waited for a grand total of 2.5 hours for her badge. Given the 5 I was quoted that morning, I could live with that, especially with a group of clowns streaming hits like "Time Warp" and "You Give Love a Bad Name" through an iPhone and bullhorn.

After a bout of freedom-induced energy, I realized the backpack and morning were weighing on me, so I sat down on one side of the hall while Jack and Megan roamed. I felt my heart plummet as my friend Jason called and told me Derrick Rose tore his ACL, but the sight of my favorite cosplayers of the weekend reminded me why I came to ACen in the first place.

Nice work, Chiefs, but not quite.

That's more like it.

I reunited with Jack and Megan shortly after, and we decided it was time for dinner. Our only stop on the trip to Giordano's (my second of the weekend, but first for both of them) was to hear a pitch from a very excited Aperture Science recruiter.

One of his prior subjects was on hand to give testimonials.

We were accompanied for the walk by an excitable gentleman cosplaying another Japanese character I didn't recognize - shocking, I know - who couldn't wait to share his plans to get a degree and teach English in Japan. I still don't know your name, but good luck, wayward traveler.

I also took photos of Megan and Jack for my contacts, which oddly became the most-liked pictures from my ACen album on Facebook. 

She's really cute, yeah, I get that...

But this guy, Facebook? Do I need to show you Darth Vader puttin' on the Ritz again?

We were seated and eating when I got my second odd call of the day. It was Forsuk, our long-lost fourth traveler, who was in a panel at the Hyatt when he believed a panicked staff member pulled the fire alarm because the room was over capacity. There's some debate over the exact circumstances, but the building was evacuated immediately. 

Since we were at dinner I didn't really miss anything, but I found out the next week the Masquerade, in which the best cosplays are honored, was cancelled as a result, while Soap Bubble, a booty-bumping rave, still went on later in the same room. WTF, ACen?

That scare inspired the three of us, after leaving the leftover pizza in my trunk, to return to video game freeplay at the Hilton. I was excited to see Megan try Dance Central 2 (in more ways than one), but the room had filled substantially, and it was not to be. Maybe best to do that sort of thing in private anyway.

We trekked to the reopened Hyatt to bust out Wits and Wagers in the tabletop room, but we quickly ran up against the steampunk panel at the DoubleTree that Megan was set on attending. We made a few minutes for Megan and Katy to catch up, which totally made sense since they live a whole 1000 feet apart on campus.

It also gave me a chance to get a photo of Jack's favorite cosplay of the weekend.

Bug Catcher with Caterpie

After the steampunk panel, a mixed bag that featured a lot of cool pictures, some interesting discussion and an off-putting amount of self-congratulation, we decided to head back to the hotel. We stopped to pick up Forsuk at McDonald's and drop his ex-girlfriend Amber back at the Hyatt, which was cool because I finally got to see her again but sad because she's moving across the country. The Lord giveth...

Back in Schaumburg we said goodbye to Jack, who hopped on the highway to Lockport and ended our bromantic day together. With Megan scheduled for an 8:15 train at Union Station, Sunday would be all about Forsuk and I finally banding together to wring the last drops of awesome out of a weekend full to bursting with it.

Concluded in Anime Central 2012, Day Three: Dazed and Enthused

Anime Central 2012, Day One: Follow Freeman

In the weeks leading up to my first convention, I got progressively more psyched. In the back of my head, however, niggling questions lingered. Anime isn't my thing; I'm decently off financially, but not amazingly; and it's almost impossible for anything to measure up to the years of built-up hype I have for PAX. Would a whole weekend in Rosemont, hotel and travel prove worth it?

That all vanished when I saw Gordon Freeman.

The significance of this moment has almost nothing to do with the event itself; yes, I'm a big Half-Life 2 fan, and yes, it's a rad Freeman cosplay, but neither of those things surprised me. I was stunned by how happy I was to see him, how ready to be transported out of my daily routine and into a place of nerdy communion.

Ultimately, that instant hit on two perfect metaphors: like Half-Life 2, Anime Central 2012 would prove to be awesome, but it would be nothing like what I expected. And I enjoyed it most when I forgot my carefully planned schedule, ignored the dwindling contents of my wallet, checked my expectations and let myself be free. I needed to follow inner Freeman.

Of course, meeting Gordon wasn't literally my first stop at ACen. It followed driving around the convention center area four times trying to decide if a cement mixer was really blocking the only parking garage - it was, although I discovered Saturday it has multiple entrances - waiting in the registration line with Tim, my Friday buddy and cameraman for Freeman and several other cosplays, and staring at a map to find my most-anticipated event of the weekend: an honest-to-God wedding with costumes lifted directly out of Assassin's Creed.

While Tim and I waited for the nuptials to commence - the guidebook app for iPhone listed the wedding beginning at 10, while the program guide accurately said the ceremony began at 11, the first of many scheduling snafus over the weekend - we set over/unders for the number of five particular cosplays we would see that day. Take your best guess, then highlight to see how many we counted.

4.5 Knights 5

9.5 Master Chiefs 7

14.5 Cloud Strifes 7

32.5 Assassins 18

49.5 Pikachus 51

At 11, the waiting paid off handsomely. We clapped, hollered and got a little misty as a man and a woman joined in holy matrimony flanked by their friends and family in the pointed, flowing robes of the assassin.





Given how long he'd waited, I couldn't even blame Tim for inadvertently photo-bombing these lovely courtesans while refilling his water bottle.

Who's that random guy next to the water cooler ruining sexy lady time?

After the wedding we returned to the Exhibit Hall, where we found more cosplayers waiting. The most elaborate costumes were still a day away, but for originality the hardcore Friday crowd could not be beat.

Megan was the first person I showed the photo of this sweet Yu-Gi-Oh card cosplay.

Who knew there would be a human being at ACen?

Around noon we returned to the Hyatt to find the friend who convinced me to attend ACen, the inimitable Forsuk. Tim and I weren't enamored of his panel of choice, "Samurai Dan Presents the History of Sharp, Shiny, Pointy Things," so we retired to the nearby arcade and watched some seriously good Dance Dance Revolution players. Afterward we met up with Forsuk, compared plans and agreed he and Tim would later meet in the video game freeplay room for the Super Smash Bros. Jackass bout of the century. (I kid. Mostly.)

Tim and I returned to the hall to buy things - I picked a glass with a Half-Life logo on it from 8bit Classics, and he two replica Nintendo 64 controllers from VideoGamesNewYork - and of course saw more cosplay.

Team Fortress 2

Megan: "I hope I am still nerdy when I'm old."

At the Hyatt we randomly ran into Kelley, who with her boyfriend Eric cosplayed Kiki's Delivery Service.

All together, now: "Awwwwwww"

The four of us waited in line for a Video Game Orchestra concert for an interminably long half hour, during which Tim and I found comfort in each other's warm embrace, before we found out it had been delayed by from 2 to 4:30. ACen scheduling screw-up number two.

What, no "Awwwwwww"?

Upon reuniting with Forsuk, we decided it was time for gaming. Forsuk and I weren't thrilled with the selection, so we left Tim behind playing Super Smash Bros. 64 for 90 minutes while we checked out the hall. We also ran into John, a classmate of mine in at least two University of Illinois English classes who I didn't recognize because he lost so much weight. If you're reading this, John, good on you, and I'm sorry we didn't meet again in Rosemont.

Of course, there was more cosplay:

For the life of me, I cannot identify either of these costumes.

I accuse you of half-assing your L cosplay!

After Forsuk and I tried and failed to line up in time for a 5 p.m. Murder Mystery at the Hyatt, we rejoined Tim to share a pepperoni stuffed crust pizza at Giordano's. As we were walking back to the convention center, Forsuk split, and Tim and I received a call from our good buddy Jack, off work and ready for ACen.  

Because he arrived just after 7, Jack had to wait until Saturday to see the hall, but he did see a bit of cosplay at the Hyatt on our way to the tabletop gaming area.

Edward Scissorhands

There we played Wits and Wagers - a totally awesome, addictive game, just as the Totally Rad Show warned me - with another con-goer who only identified himself by his cosplay, Neku. From what? Couldn't tell you. Such is the magic of ACen.

Halfway through our second game, we paused just long enough for me to freak out and get a picture with the best cosplay of the day.

Me and Marty McFly. I can now die happy.

After Forsuk rejoined us just long enough to explain that he hurt his knee, lead us to the DoubleTree and shout for a Dr. House cosplayer to give him his cane, Jack, Tim and I attended our final event of the day: Scott Pilgrim Vs. Anime Central, in which a lonely panelist whose friends bailed on him led an illuminating discussion of the manga, movie and video game. He also interviewed several Scott and Ramona cosplayers.

Around 12:30 we three ACen warriors retired to my room at the DoubleTree - not the one in Rosemont, the one in Schaumburg that's 20 minutes away and half the cost during the convention - to grab a few precious hours of sleep. While Tim would depart Saturday morning to see Florence and the Machine in Wisconsin that evening, Jack and I were just getting started in Rosemont.

Continued in Anime Central 2012, Day Two: Rad Bromance

Summer Movie Wager

One of my favorite annual traditions is my two favorite podcasts coming together for their Summer Movie Wager, a Totally Rad Show tradition that made its way to Slashfilm three years ago.

I decided a couple years ago to start playing myself, and there have been memorable ups (predicting Toy Story 3 would rule 2010 and that Harry Potter and Transformers would do the same in 2011) and downs (guessing Prince of Persia would be 2010's runner-up and that Super 8 would take fourth in 2010).

Nonetheless, I've done more than well enough to convince me to square off with the Rad Guys and Slashfilmers for another season. I haven't yet read their picks - I'll do so and respond to them at the end of this post - so here's my unaltered take on the top 10 for 2012.

Dark Horses: Madagascar 3, Prometheus, What to Expect When You're Expecting 

This category is where I put movies that could be great and under-appreciated or appeal directly to a limited fanbase. Madagascar could find enough children's ears to be a success (Cars 2); Prometheus could cross over from geeks to the mainstream (Inception); and What to Expect could be this year's big date movie (Sex and the City). I'm not predicting any of those things will happen, but they're likely enough to take a flier at the bottom of my chart.

10. G.I. Joe: Retaliation

It's not a good sign when the director implores you to give his big, dumb action sequel a shot, but it hardly matters: as much as critics disliked Rise of the Cobra (34% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), it made $150 million domestically and $300 million worldwide. Throw some action stars in a blender with a solid franchise, pop the popcorn and watch the money pour in, Paramount.

9. The Expendables 2    

Speaking of big, dumb action movies, they don't come any bigger or dumber than Sly Stallone's latest. The first Expendables was a modest success, and the sequel has more stars, a higher budget and the backing of a name the public knows.

8. Snow White and the Huntsman

Universal and I are both counting on the the Twilight audience to follow Kristen Stewart to another violent, vaguely-sci-fi romance. This movie is the first I've had no confidence placing: it could be a colossal hit or a John Carter-level debacle. Sadly, I'm betting on mediocrity carrying the day.

7. Battleship

It's passe by now to compare this to Transformers, but it's clearly the influence Universal has drawn from, and I think they'll be rewarded for their pandering. This whole bottom rung is depressing me; let's just move on.

6. Brave

Here's a movie I can get behind! I personally don't think Brave will be great - How to Train Your Dragon has been to this same place recently and spectacularly, and a great rather than good Pixar movie is a surprise at this point - but it will be moderately intelligent and encourage people to aspire to things. (That used to be Pixar standard as well. *sigh* I'm glaring at you, Cars 2.)

5. Men in Black 3

As much as I'd like to see Sony pay for needlessly reviving a franchise no one really missed with a suspect sequel premise and more than a few critical warning signs, a few powerful indicators point to commercial success: nostalgia, originality and Will Smith. Franchise fans will see it and probably hate it; sci-fi fans will see it and probably hate it; Smith fans will see it, swoon and forget about it the next day.

4. The Bourne Legacy

I tend to be provincial when predicting things - my countless NCAA brackets ruined by Illinois and American Idol dreams wrecked by Elise Testone say hi - and this wager has been no exception, as last year's top ten was full of movies I wanted to see do well (by and large they did). This summer, however, is structured so the first movie I'm legitimately excited about is Bourne at #4. After The Town and MI4, I'll watch Jeremy Renner do anything, and the first trailer did nothing to dampen my enthusiasm. Hopefully the public will agree.

3. The Amazing Spider-Man

Had I gone truly biased, this would be my #1 grosser of the year. The director of 500 Days of Summer. The stars of The Social Network, Zombieland and The West Wing. And, of course, my favorite superhero of all time. My excitement for this movie could not be higher (despite an irritatingly spoilerific trailer), and I think America will get on board as well. Just not as much as they will with the two true superhero pillars of the summer.

2. The Dark Knight Rises   

In the years I've been predicting summer movies, there has never been a tougher decision than The Dark Knight Rises versus my #1 prediction. There's no doubt it belongs near the top: after The Dark Knight shattered records on its way to number one and Inception placed fourth, it's time to stop doubting Christopher Nolan. The movie itself, however, may not be mind-blowing - I thought for sure it would not until this week's final trailer - and I think it will lose repeat viewership. I'm sure, though, it will still do more than well enough to give Nolan carte blanche on his next project as he had with Inception. See, Hollywood can be good!

1. The Avengers

Speaking of Hollywood goodness, I was stunned and thrilled a major movie studio would hand a film of this stature to Joss Whedon. The man is a genius, of course, but a misunderstood one, and I never imagined I'd get to see his version of The Avengers. It's possible I'm lost in the hype, but I'll be disappointed if this isn't not only my favorite movie of the year but one of my top 25 all-time. Regardless, it checks off all the financial boxes: sequel, action movie, big stars, perfect release window and likely to be seen by nuts like me five or six times. Welcome to the A list, Joss. Don't forget I liked you before it was cool.

As for the TRS and Slashfilm predictions, I'm frightened that Peter, the canniest bettor, believes heavily in my hardest omissions: Ice Age 4, a children's movie sequel that will likely be awful but make a ton anyway (how many times am I going to need mention Cars 2?!), and Ted, which could ride the Family Guy audience to hit status or be a giant flop.

Regardless, many of us will have egg on our faces by September, and I can't wait to find out what disappoints, what surprises and what rules in the 2012 summer movie season.

(LTTP) TRS-Slashfilm Summer Movie Wager results: @slashfilm 47, @dannytrs 51, @jeffcannata 56, @alexalbrecht 60. @zorak9379: 55

— Derek Beigh (@zorak9379) September 23, 2012

American Idol "Top 6" Review: Bold as Elise Love

After a dramatically uneven two-theme week in Top 7 Part Deux, I came into this week fully expecting another polarizing set of performances. This week's "Then" theme held far more promise than last week, however; how wrong could the Top 6 go with Queen on their side? If they could just pick a few decent songs themselves, Idol was set up for a very good show.

I wasn't disappointed.

The performances:

Jessica Sanchez (Bohemian Rhapsody): Despite being Queen's biggest hit, this song excerpts exceedingly poorly, and this performance smartly addressed that in the beginning by trimming a very small portion that included one common theme. Jessica predictably rocked it, although a couple pitch problems marred the pared-down, gentle arrangement. The rock interlude that followed made the performance completely polar and ruined its flow, however. We know she's a great vocalist; when is artist Jessica going to arrive and blow us all away? 60

Skylar Laine (The Show Must Go On): Skylar was treading on thin ice aping the best performance by one of my favorite Idols of all time - the criminally underrated Carly Smithson - but she pulled it off with enough strength to make me overlook it. It's a treat to see Skylar, who reads more and more like a young Reba McEntire, taking on non-country material, and if she continues to perform like this she might even knock Phillip-squared out of the Top 2 and give us not just our first female winner since Jordin Sparks but the first femme finale since the epic Fantasia Barrino-Diana DeGarmo duel that got me interested in Idol in the first place. 75

Joshua Ledet (Crazy Little Thing Called Love): A pleasant, fun, completely forgettable performance, which is the last thing I expected from the always-polarizing Joshua, especially this late in the competition. He's got the pipes to seize the title, but I'll need to see more adventure in his song choices than this. 50

Elise Testone (I Want It All): Only a bizarre tambourine marred a strong, strong bounceback from Elise after her "Then" choice last week was less "Get it On" than "Get it Out." (Yes, I know she was eliminated Thursday.) Seemed to excerpt poorly and lacked the kind of flow of an Idol Moment, but an interesting, well-delivered choice to put Elise back in my best graces. 65

Phillip Phillips (Fat-Bottomed Girls): As the intro built up, all kinds of crazy ideas danced in my head: can Phillip actually sing tunefully? Is gravel not a prerequisite for him? Might I actually like Phillip? Alas, no; as soon as that interlude ended, he degenerated back to his old habits, and as much as I enjoyed when it came back for the chorus, being inconsistent isn't much better than consistently bad for a Top 5 finalist. One of Phillip's best efforts, but P2 really needs to get gone. 55

Hollie Cavanagh (Save Me): Halfway through typing in the WhatNotToSing address to compare its ratings to mine for the previous five performances, I realized I was completely ignoring a perfectly decent performance from Hollie, which says all you need to know about this. Move along; no top 4 finalist to see here. 40

Jessica Sanchez (Dance With My Father): Jessica's finest performance since her Top 13 "I Will Always Love You," this ballad hit every note, literally and metaphorically: a pitch-perfect, subdued, heartfelt vocal; interesting, appropriate, vulnerable staging, complete with beuatiful dress and blowing wind; and a logical, coherent excerpt to boot. Every now and then I think Grantland's Jay Caspian Kang is spitting on Idol's history by saying Jessica's the best contestant ever - she's far too inconsistent to top Adam Lambert, Pia Toscano, Crystal Bowersox, David Cook or Melinda Doolittle, to name just a few - but performances like this make me think she's just as talented, and she picked a perfect time to turn it on and build a few weeks' momentum before taking the crown. 80

Skylar Laine (Tattoos on This Town): Skylar did her best to save one of the worst, blandest, most inexplicable country hits of the last five years, but the material dragged her down too far to make this anything but vaguely unpleasant. Then again, vaguely unpleasant country performances with a guitar won it all last year, so maybe she's smarter than all of us. 30

Joshua Ledet (Ready for Love): Joshua's all about love this week, and I felt the stirrings of it in this performance. I was pushed back into the "really good" zone by classic Ledet/Lusk overvocalizing, but nonetheless, this was just the kind of tender, evocative performance Joshua needs alongside "Runaway Baby" to compete. If only he could be as good at both in the same week... 70

Elise Testone (Bold as Love): In her bid to be the new Haley Reinhart, Elise uncorked a Hall of Fame performance on her way out the door. From the sparse arrangment to the bursts of power vocals to the syncopated rhythms, this pushed all my buttons and added another to my playlist of Elise performances that could dominate the Season 11 mix CD when it's all said and done. So long, lover; until we meet again. 85

Phillip Phillips (The Stone): The lyric, "find some way to show them I'm not what they see" rang in my head through this entire performance. I was on the verge of loving Phillip in the intro of Fat-Bottomed Girls, and this is exactly the vocal I wanted that to be. A unique, well-arranged, vocally proficient performance that fell well short of the Hall, but that's more than enough for Phillip to please me. 70

Hollie Cavanagh (The Climb): Hollie repeated the classic young person's mistake that accompanies choice themes: she chose a song she loves rather than one that's actually well-written. Hollie's more talented than Miley Cyrus, and it showed in her delivery, but choosing this sort of treacle is exactly what got her to the bottom three consistently, and decent is not cutting it in the Top 5, especially this season. 50

Overall, an extremely strong week that showed us how great this season has become, and it's a treat every time I actually find an hour or so to recap it. I'm sad to see Elise go, and like a fresh widow I don't expect to ever love again, but I said the same after Casey Abrams bit the dust in Top 6 last year. Here's hoping another underdog can capture my heart and carry me even into the finale. (I'm looking at you, Skylar.)

The Top 5 power poll:

5. Phillip Phillips
4. Joshua Ledet

P2 fought hard to not go back to the cellar this week, and he and his four fellows are too closely bunched to say with any kind of authority who will do best, but my lingering bitterness over his inconsistency, dislike of melodies and legions of tween voters put him there again after Joshua submitted one very good and one okay performance this week. Joshua, on the other hand, clearly has the talent to win but can't find the control to harness it 100 percent of the time. Each of the final five is insanely talented; it's their ability to harness it week to week that will win the day, and Joshua and Phillip have verged into ear-bleeding territory too often to move up.

3. Hollie Cavanagh

Hollie dodged death even more frequently than Elise this season, and she's used the time just as well in a spectacular bounceback from mediocrity. (Elise was better, but she would be #2 if she were still on this list, so there it is.) Hollie's clearly taken a level in ballad; if she can up her game on up-tempo material as well, a spot next to our #1 favorite at the not-Kodak in late May could be hers.

2. Skylar Laine

Unlike certain people (*cough*MichaelSlezak), I don't buy Skylar as a legitimate threat to win, but she's improved enough and started good enough to unexpectedly rise above her inconsistency-plagued but more spectacular comrades. Skylar, like Scotty, seems likely to advance far but not produce any Hall of Fame performances. Whether that's faint praise is up to you.

1. Jessica Sanchez

Was there any doubt? She stepped boldly into the national consciousness with "I Will Always Love You," spent the intervening weeks testing her limits and honing her up-tempo credentials and stepped back into the spotlight with a stunning "Dance With My Father." Her connection to material is still suspect, and her up-tempo game isn't perfect, but her growth and considerable natural talent are more than enough to earn her the 2012 title.

Back later in the week as the Top 5 perform the music of Britain, a theme Simon Cowell would have loved had he not orchestrated his own irrelevance after Season 9.

Until Thursday.