Strictly Movie Night
Oct. 8th, 2017 09:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessI saw Friday’s ITT and really liked the feature where they’d asked the pros about their favourite dances from movies. They were quite revelatory. Cherisse, Astaire and Kelly got good coverage, predictably, and I think Pasha slayed us all by talking about the impact of Singin’ in the Rain on someone who’d grown up in Soviet Russia. There were some modern picks, and AJ went for Step Up 2, which made me cackle, although I do love the dancing in the film, have written fic for it, it’s Step Up 2: The Streets. Well, he’d have seen it at an impressionable age.
Rufus Hound told it like it is at some points during the panel.
But to the show proper!
I called them doing a La La Land routine. I expected Dianne and her red, red hair to be the featured dancer, but they went for several Mias. I loved it, I thought it was such a clever opening routine, weaving in much of the film and running with the behind the scenes/movie making idea. We saw parts of the studio we haven’t seen before, or not on the Saturday show, at least.
Tess went for gold and looked very nice. Claudia did her usual. Darcey was, in fact, in the weakest look, with sheer and an odd pattern in a wispy colour, while Shirley went for red and skin and impact. I liked that Craig and Bruno had both gone for white jackets.
Speaking of costumes (and yes, they’d gone to town), I loved Karen’s skirt as Jessie. I like Simon and Karen’s training room. Thought I’d get that in, because despite Liverpool, he can’t be staying for long. It wasn’t quick or stylish enough, and I uncharitably thought it was a good job he didn’t flub the ending.
Ruth is going for ‘unrecognisable’ lookswise, week by week. I screamed at Anton every time she was left on her own. Never easy to do the rumba this early or ever, and she was stiff and some bits looked wrong. I think lots of it was The Terror coming through. We had our first Anton talks back to the judges of the series.
What a weird song choice for an American Smooth for Mollie. I couldn’t get past it, or that ‘Maria’ was wearing an apron – this is at the point they’re running away from the Nazis. Basically, I did not connect with it. I liked the first lift, but there was some weird leg action from her in the middle of the second.
But then, came the camp classic that was Richard’s Flash Gordon paso. It was wonderful (as entertainment), while terrible (as a dance). But as Shirley said, you can’t fault his commitment.
I LOVED Debbie’s quickstep. Yes, I noticed the long section not in hold, and surely the pros will have noticed by now that the judges have decided to be strict about rules. But anyway, I loved the light and shade, by which I mean the changes in speed and style, and how she sold it. I was beaming throughout the routine, and thought they were undermarked. I forgive her for doing the whole ‘the clue is in the title’ line, which I loathe.
Post dance-off Scarecrow!Brian and slightly sexy Dorothy!Amy (why does she roll her Rs on his name but not on the other words? I’ve noticed she gets more Welsh when she’s exasperated) did a likeable American Smooth. The comedy bits were deft, and yes, as Darcey observed, the lifts were not challenging, but he came through it better than unscathed.
Gemma and Aljiaz’s Jungle Book Charleston was refreshing insofar as Charlestons go on this show. I thought she continued to show more confidence, as well as all that got praised. Aljiaz is really exuberant this season.
Charlotte was also on the comeback trail and I thought her tango started well, but got limper as it went on. She’s obviously happier in hold, so it turned out that this was somewhere between weeks 1 and 2. Brendan got into a spat with the judges. I don’t love that, but I don’t think it’s harmed him over the years.
Jonnie is so going for Strictly (see the VT, which like all of them was daft, and one of the ‘tenuous link to the theme of the dance’ variety). His mum pulled at our heartstrings (well, mine) and he wore guyliner. But I thought he was fortunate to be doing the paso in the same week as Richard, because that comparison would always flatter him. I didn’t love it as much as the judges, although I think probably got at the root cause of the problems i.e. his posture.
I squealed with delight at the whole girl rescues boy and ethos of the Wonder Woman samba Kevin had choreographed. Again, a camp classic. I mean it was so fast, you felt that Susan was rushing to keep up, but she’s a trier. Utterly entertaining.
Joe got on so much better with the Viennese Waltz than the tango. I liked his topline – I think he could extend things even more, so that it would be even more graceful. Katya chucked in some frenetic choreography at moments, but he’s back in the game.
Aston was very, very good, pace Craig. I’d lost sight of it being a cha cha (and did his look really top Pasha as Shrek, CLAUDIA?), but he obviously was the best on the night.
The song title, and, in fairness, her performance, demanded that you called Alexandra’s American Smooth lovely. I liked her lightness a lot, but – and yeah, this is a choreography point – the routine sort of deflated towards the end, and you’d think an AS would have more pizzazz. Still, it was good, and I think we all knew she was unlikely to recreate last week.
I enjoyed Davoud more than I have and I enjoyed the judges’ hysteria over the bit on their table (they will have to sneak in judges’ reaction shots from throughout the show on Not Len’s Lens), although I think it would be good for him to have a calmer dance next week.
Claudia’s bit about the mobile phone was funny because of how she sold it, not the material. I think that Tess’s corpsing at Bruno is slightly more genuine than Claudia collapsing at the chaos that ensues in her Clauditorium over terms and conditions and the voting lines being open. Although on the other hand, the pros are trying to make her laugh. Shirley’s scoring is still sometimes all over the place, and there were a couple of times when I thought Craig was harsh even for him, but I definitely thought Debbie was undermarked and so, yes, I caved and voted for the first time.
Rufus Hound told it like it is at some points during the panel.
But to the show proper!
I called them doing a La La Land routine. I expected Dianne and her red, red hair to be the featured dancer, but they went for several Mias. I loved it, I thought it was such a clever opening routine, weaving in much of the film and running with the behind the scenes/movie making idea. We saw parts of the studio we haven’t seen before, or not on the Saturday show, at least.
Tess went for gold and looked very nice. Claudia did her usual. Darcey was, in fact, in the weakest look, with sheer and an odd pattern in a wispy colour, while Shirley went for red and skin and impact. I liked that Craig and Bruno had both gone for white jackets.
Speaking of costumes (and yes, they’d gone to town), I loved Karen’s skirt as Jessie. I like Simon and Karen’s training room. Thought I’d get that in, because despite Liverpool, he can’t be staying for long. It wasn’t quick or stylish enough, and I uncharitably thought it was a good job he didn’t flub the ending.
Ruth is going for ‘unrecognisable’ lookswise, week by week. I screamed at Anton every time she was left on her own. Never easy to do the rumba this early or ever, and she was stiff and some bits looked wrong. I think lots of it was The Terror coming through. We had our first Anton talks back to the judges of the series.
What a weird song choice for an American Smooth for Mollie. I couldn’t get past it, or that ‘Maria’ was wearing an apron – this is at the point they’re running away from the Nazis. Basically, I did not connect with it. I liked the first lift, but there was some weird leg action from her in the middle of the second.
But then, came the camp classic that was Richard’s Flash Gordon paso. It was wonderful (as entertainment), while terrible (as a dance). But as Shirley said, you can’t fault his commitment.
I LOVED Debbie’s quickstep. Yes, I noticed the long section not in hold, and surely the pros will have noticed by now that the judges have decided to be strict about rules. But anyway, I loved the light and shade, by which I mean the changes in speed and style, and how she sold it. I was beaming throughout the routine, and thought they were undermarked. I forgive her for doing the whole ‘the clue is in the title’ line, which I loathe.
Post dance-off Scarecrow!Brian and slightly sexy Dorothy!Amy (why does she roll her Rs on his name but not on the other words? I’ve noticed she gets more Welsh when she’s exasperated) did a likeable American Smooth. The comedy bits were deft, and yes, as Darcey observed, the lifts were not challenging, but he came through it better than unscathed.
Gemma and Aljiaz’s Jungle Book Charleston was refreshing insofar as Charlestons go on this show. I thought she continued to show more confidence, as well as all that got praised. Aljiaz is really exuberant this season.
Charlotte was also on the comeback trail and I thought her tango started well, but got limper as it went on. She’s obviously happier in hold, so it turned out that this was somewhere between weeks 1 and 2. Brendan got into a spat with the judges. I don’t love that, but I don’t think it’s harmed him over the years.
Jonnie is so going for Strictly (see the VT, which like all of them was daft, and one of the ‘tenuous link to the theme of the dance’ variety). His mum pulled at our heartstrings (well, mine) and he wore guyliner. But I thought he was fortunate to be doing the paso in the same week as Richard, because that comparison would always flatter him. I didn’t love it as much as the judges, although I think probably got at the root cause of the problems i.e. his posture.
I squealed with delight at the whole girl rescues boy and ethos of the Wonder Woman samba Kevin had choreographed. Again, a camp classic. I mean it was so fast, you felt that Susan was rushing to keep up, but she’s a trier. Utterly entertaining.
Joe got on so much better with the Viennese Waltz than the tango. I liked his topline – I think he could extend things even more, so that it would be even more graceful. Katya chucked in some frenetic choreography at moments, but he’s back in the game.
Aston was very, very good, pace Craig. I’d lost sight of it being a cha cha (and did his look really top Pasha as Shrek, CLAUDIA?), but he obviously was the best on the night.
The song title, and, in fairness, her performance, demanded that you called Alexandra’s American Smooth lovely. I liked her lightness a lot, but – and yeah, this is a choreography point – the routine sort of deflated towards the end, and you’d think an AS would have more pizzazz. Still, it was good, and I think we all knew she was unlikely to recreate last week.
I enjoyed Davoud more than I have and I enjoyed the judges’ hysteria over the bit on their table (they will have to sneak in judges’ reaction shots from throughout the show on Not Len’s Lens), although I think it would be good for him to have a calmer dance next week.
Claudia’s bit about the mobile phone was funny because of how she sold it, not the material. I think that Tess’s corpsing at Bruno is slightly more genuine than Claudia collapsing at the chaos that ensues in her Clauditorium over terms and conditions and the voting lines being open. Although on the other hand, the pros are trying to make her laugh. Shirley’s scoring is still sometimes all over the place, and there were a couple of times when I thought Craig was harsh even for him, but I definitely thought Debbie was undermarked and so, yes, I caved and voted for the first time.
