SNL Season 43: Natalie Portman

SNL capped off a 4-week run leading into their olympic break. Onto the review.

Fox & Friends Cold Open: This felt a little weird from the start. I was so used to the old fox & friends casting of Taran Killam, Vanessa Bayer and Bobby Moynihan. This just fell flat...from glitchy camera work with Cecily Strong as Hope Hicks, to a lackadaisical Alec Baldwin appearance as Trump in bed. Its time for SNL to move on from Alec's trump. (4.5)


Monologue: With monologues, you usually get a cast member interaction, stand-up, or a song/dance. So I was pleasantly surprised when they branched out to something new here with an Olympic style breakdown, featuring slo-mo replay and all. (7.9)
Revolutionary War: It can be tough to come up with a good super-bowl themed sketch, but SNL was able to pull it off here. Boston and Philadelphia led factions square off and who's better, featuring alumni Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey. And may I just say, living in Connecticut, shoutout to Luke Null for his CT inclusion of New England. (7.7) 
Stranger Things 3: (7.0)


Natalie's Rap 2 (short): Something as highly anticipated as this could have fell off the mark...but this picked it up where the original left off. Natalie brought her 'A' game for this, with a terrific line about the Star Wars prequels dressed up as Queen Amidala herself. It was kind of fascinating to see how SNL digital shorts have come since the original rap. (8.5)

(Dua Lipa): (7.0)


Weekend Update: The first guest saw a pair of french actresses portrayed by Cecily and Kate with their critiques of the #MeToo movement. These characters were fairly forgettable.


Pete Davidson appeared with an interesting narrative on filming a super bowl commercial.

Finally, Kenan appeared as Willie. This is far from my favorite Kenan character, but he has good chemistry with Michael Che. (7.5)


Alien Lover: (6.0)


Nickeloden Kids Choice Awards Orange Carpet: It was interesting that they did another sketch about the KCA's. Unlike the last one, which was about timing, this one focused on Natalie losing her voice. While not as good as that original sketch, Natalie's voice-loss acting was terrific. (7.0)

First Lady: (6.4)


(Dua Lipa): (7.3)


Bunny: This sketch was driven by Aidy Bryant. I don't know how she came up with this character, but she really owned it. While everyone rightfully focuses on Kate McKinnon's character work, don't overlook Aidy's. (7.5)

This episode was a mixed bag. There were some bizarre concepts, but a decent amount of material that worked. With a debuting host, this show could have gotten into muddy territory, but Natalie Portman was able to work it. While currently the lowest scoring, its still leagues over some bottom-dwelling episodes from last season. (7.03)


 Will Ferrell: 8.02
Chance The Rapper: 7.83
Ryan Gosling: 7.63
Sam Rockwell: 7.55
Kumali Nanjiani: 7.48
James Franco: 7.28
Kevin Hart: 7.20
Saoirse Ronan: 7.16
Tiffany Haddish: 7.15
Larry David: 7.14
Jessica Chastain: 7.11
Gal Gadot: 7.08 
Natalie Portman: 7.03        

Top 10: Justin Timberlake

10) "Filthy"
From Man Of The Woods (2018)
(sidenote: Yes, while experimental sounding, I'll admit I like the beat behind it)




 9) "Rock Your Body"
From Justified (2003)




 8) "Cry Me A River"
From Justified (2002)




7) "My Love" ft/TI
From FutureSex/Lovesounds (2006)




 6) "Can't Stop The Feeling"
From Trolls Soundtrack (2016)




 5) "Suit + Tie" ft/ Jay-Z
From The 20/20 Experience (2013)





4) "Sexyback" ft/Timbaland
From Futuresex/Lovesounds  (2006)




3) "Drink You Away"
From The 20/20 Experience - 2 of 2 (2015)




2) "Say Something" ft/Chris Stapleton
From Man Of The Woods (2018)




1) "Mirrors"
From The 20/20 Experience (2013)

Super Bowl 52 Preview

The New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles will face off Sunday for the ultimate title. Who has the advantages and will come out ahead? In this preview, I'll do a positional break-down to see who has the edge and where, followed by my own prediction.

QB

Patriots: Tom Brady

16G/S, 66.3 compl%, 4,577yds, 32TDs/8INTs

Eagles: Nick Foles

 7G/3S, 56.4compl%, 537yds, 5TDs/2INTs

There isn't much of a discussion here. While Foles played like the former pro bowl version of himself in the NFC Championship Game, Tom Brady is still Tom Brady. With another high caliber season, Brady clearly gets the edge here.

Advantage: New England

RB1

Patriots: Dion Lewis

 16G/8S, 180att/896yds, 6TDs. 32rec/214yds, 3TDs

Eagles: LeGarrete Blount

16G/11S, 173att/766yds, 2TDs. 8rec/50yds, 1TD

While Blount gives you that power back type, Dion Lewis is more of an all-around guy, rushing and receiving.

Advantage: New England

RB2

Patriots: James White

  14G/4S, 43att/171yds. 56rec/429yds, 3TDs

Eagles: Jay Ajayi

 14G/8S, 208att/873yds, 1TD. 24rec/158yds, 1TD

The roles are flipped here as compared to RB1. White hasn't been asked to do much on the ground, while Ajayi has provided a spark for the Eagles offense.

Advantage: Philadelphia

OL

Patriots: Nate Solder, Joe Thuney, David Andrews, Shaq Mason, Cameron Fleming

 250 career starts, 448att/1,889yds, 4.2avg, 35scks/84hits

Eagles: Halapoulivvati Vaitai, Stefen Wisniewski, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson

 343career starts, 473att/2,115yds, 4.5avg, 36scks/107hits

In terms of the running game, both lines are fairly even. However, the Patriots allowed less hits on Brady, which is important given his status as a pocket passer.

Advantage: New England

WR

Patriots: Brandin Cooks

  16G/15S, 65rec/1,082yds, 7TDs

Chris Hogan

  9G/7S, 34rec/439yds, 5TDs

Eagles: Alshon Jeffery

  16G/S, 57rec/789yds, 9TDs

Nelson Agholor

  16G/10S, 62rec/768yds, 8TDs

Torrey Smith

  16G/14S, 36rec/430yds, 2TDs

As prolific of a season as Cooks had, the Eagles have more depth overall with Jeffery, Agholor and Smith.

Advantage: Philadelphia

TE

Patriots: Rob Gronkowski

 14G/S, 69rec/1,084yds, 8TDs

Eagles: Zach Ertz

 14G/13S, 74rec/824yds, 8TDs

Ertz is a solid TE and should be a favorite target of Foles's, but Gronk causes defenses to have to scheme more. He's coming off a concussion, but he should be good to go.

Advantage: New England

 DE

Patriots: Eric Lee

  6G/5S, 10tckls/3.5scks, 1sfty, 1INT, 2PD

Trey Flowers

 14G/S, 45tckls/6.5scks, 3PD

Eagles: Vinny Curry

 16G/S, 25tckls/3scks, 1FF

Brandon Graham

 15G/S, 33tckls/9.5scks, 2FF, 1FR/1TD, 3PD

As solid as Flowers was, the Eagles got more overall production from their defensive ends, especially Graham.

Advantage: Philadelphia

DT

Patriots: Lawrence Guy

 16G/15S, 34tckls/1sck, 1PD

Malcom Brown

 13G/12S, 29tckls/2.5scks

Eagles: Tim Jernigan

 15G/S, 16tckls/2.5scks

Fletcher Cox

 14G/S, 15tckls/5.5scks, 1FF, 2FR/1TD, 1PD

The Patriots duo produced more stops, but the Eagles saw more sacks and takeaways. In this instance, I'm calling it even.

Advantage: Even

LB

Patriots: Kyle Van Noy

 13G/12S, 58tckls/5.5scks, 1FF, 2FR/1TD, 1PD

Elandon Roberts

 15G/14S, 44tckls/2scks, 1FR, 1PD

Eagles: Mychal Kendricks

 15G/13S, 51tckls/2scks, 6PD

Dannell Ellerbe

 3G/2S, 6tckls

Nigel Bradham

 15G/S, 61tckls/1sck, 1FF, 1FR, 8PD

The Patriots LB corps were more productive tackling and getting to the QB, but the Eagles unit were better in coverage. 

Advantage: Even

CB

Patriots: Stephon Gilmore

 13G/S, 47tckls, 2INTs, 9PD

Malcolm Butler

 16G/15S, 55tckls/1sck, 3FF, 2INTs, 12PD

Eagles: Jalen Mills

 15G/S, 51tckls, 3INTs/1TD, 14PD

Ronald Darby

 8G/7S, 30tckls, 3INTs, 9PD

The Patriots have a decent group of cornerbacks, but the Eagles pair of Mills and Darby were more productive. Just look at what Darby was able to put up in a shortened season.

Advantage: Philadelphia

S

Patriots: Patrick Chung

 16G/11S, 67tckls, 2FR, 1INT, 9PD

Devin McCourty

 16G/S, 77tckls/1sck, 1FR, 1INT, 5PD

Duron Harmon

 16G/3S, 16tckls, 4INTs, 7PD

Eagles: Rodney McLeod

 14G/S, 35tckls, 1FF, 2FR, 3INTs, 6PD

Malcolm Jenkins

 16G/S, 57tckls/1sck, 1FF, 1FR, 8PD

Another matchup that looks fairly even in terms of takeaways, but the Patriots produced more tackles, with Harmon leading this group in INTs.

Advantage:New England

K

Patriots: Stephen Gostkowski

 16G, 92.5fg% (37/40), 62lng, 95.7xp% (45/47)

Eagles: Jake Elliot

 15G, 83.9fg% (26/31), 61lng, 92.9xp% (39/42)

Gostkowski has since long gotten out from under Adam Vinateri's shadow. 

Advantage: New England

P

Patriots: Ryan Allen

 16G, 58pnts/2,515yds, 60lng, 43.4avg

Eagles: Donnie Jones

 16G, 67pnts/3,033yds, 62lng, 45.3avg

Advantage: Philadelphia 

 

And now for my main prediction. This will all come down to whether the Eagles will be able to disrupt Brady, and if Foles can put up a similar performance which we know he's capable of. I think this will be another close game, going down to the wire. I was planning on trying to avoid "jinxing" the Eagles' underdog status and go ahead and pick the Patriots....but I'm going to pick the Eagles. They've shown to have faith in Foles during these playoffs, which is a huge factor. But what I think will be the deciding factor is a different adjustment the Eagles made during the season.....Jay Ajayi. That combo of Ajayi and Blount should be able to produce a good 1-2 combo, opening up that passing game.

SNL Season 43: Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell returned for a much anticipated hosting gig. Did it live up to the hype? Onto the review


George W. Bush Returns Cold Open: They could have easily just slapped a Ferrell Bush piece together, but this cold open was well done. Remarking on his rising approval numbers, Bush here reminds us just how bad of a president he was; from entering into two wars, to crashing the economy. This was a nice reminder that while those times may seem quaint now, things were still quite bad...just in different ways. (8.7)
 
Monologue: (8.4)

Fighter Pilots: Who knew you could create a sketch centered around one phrase......"clown penis". The sketch lost its edge after a while, but Ferrell's calm demeanor kept it afloat. (7.2)

The House (short): Kyle and Beck returned with their recurring "The House", an MTV styled reality show. These just never get old. (7.5)
Commercial Shoot: For a sketch based on an old viral video (in terms of how fast they spread), who knew that we needed a parody of it. Kate McKinnon and Will Ferrell felt totally natural working together, almost like when Will would frequently team up with Ana Gasteyer. (8.0)
Flight Attendants: This sketch really played up Will's character acting. While Aidy and Chris are trying to perform a fun pre-flight routine, Will makes sure his atheist ideas are included. He just played it up perfectly. (8.5)
Next: For Men (ad): SNL continued to react to the #MeToo movement with this deodorant ad, for men who are about to be found out. (8.1)
(Chris Stapleton): (9.1)

 Weekend Update: Besides Bush, the only other character Will brought back was "Jacob Silj", an economic adviser with "voice modulation syndrome". In my book, this character of Will's is really underrated.
Heidi Gardner brought it again with a new character, teen YouTube star Bailey, to talk about the Oscar nominations. Her mannerisms really make this character shine. Heidi could quickly become a breakout star. (8.5)
Reality Stars: (7.0)

Dinner Discussion: Its cliche to call a sketch "important"....but that's what this was. A group during dinner starts discussing about Aziz Ansari and the intricacies of abuse/consent. It really hits home how the awkward the conversation turns out to be, with each person not wanting to cross that line, and just wanting to move on to something else. But to really build on this current movement, these are the tough conversations that are needed. (9.2)

 (Chris Stapleton): (8.5)
Office Breakroom: (6.7)

Chucky Lee Byrd: (6.9)


Will Ferrell brought it this week, showing why he's among the best of the best among former SNL cast-members. While I like his established characters, he was able to roll out the new material he was given. (8.02)


Will Ferrell: 8.02
Chance The Rapper: 7.83
Ryan Gosling: 7.63
Sam Rockwell: 7.55
Kumali Nanjiani: 7.48
James Franco: 7.28
Kevin Hart: 7.20
Saoirse Ronan: 7.16
Tiffany Haddish: 7.15
Larry David: 7.14
Jessica Chastain: 7.11
Gal Gadot: 7.08          

2018 Grammy's Predictions

 

With the Grammy's coming up, I thought I'd take a crack at some predictions. Now usually when it comes to the Grammy awards, I go by my own preference, so I'm just going to be open about that. If you're looking for totally accurate calls, then this post probably isn't for you. With that being said, here's what I think/hope happens.

Best Pop Solo Performance:

"Love So Soft" - Kelly Clarkson

"Praying" - Kesha

"Million Reasons" - Lady Gaga

"What About Us" - Pink

"Shape Of You" - Ed Sheeran

Talk about a loaded field. As much as I'd love a Kelly Clarkson win, I'm going with "Praying" by Kesha. Its just such a powerful song, especially in context of this current environment.

Best Country Solo Performance:

"Body Like A Back Road" - Sam Hunt

"Losing You" - Alison Krauss

"Tin Man" - Miranda Lambert

"I Could Use A Love Song" - Maren Morris

"Either Way" - Chris Stapleton

One of those categories where I'm not familiar with most of these tracks, but I'd like to see a Chris Stapleton win.

Best Pop Vocal Album:

Kaleidoscope EP - Coldplay

Lust For Life - Lana Del Rey

Evolve - Imagine Dragons

Rainbow - Kesha

Joanne - Lady Gaga

 ÷ - Ed Sheeran

Much was made about Ed Sheeran not appearing in the album of the year field, so I think he takes this award.

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:

"Something Just Like This" - The Chainsmokers & Coldplay

"Despacito" - Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft/ Justin Bieber

"Thunder" - Imagine Dragons

"Feel It Still" - Portugal. The Man

"Stay" - Zedd & Alessia Cara

It was such a huge global hit, I'm going with "Despacito". 

Best Rock Album:

Emperor Of Sand - Mastodon

Hardwired... to Self-Destruct - Metallica

The Stories We Tell Ourselves - Nothing More

Villains - Queens of the Stone Age

A Deeper Understanding - The War on Drugs

Now this is pure guesswork on my part, but I'm going with The War on Drugs.

Best Urban Contemporary Album:

Free 6lack - 6lack

Awaken, My Love! - Childish Gambino

American Teen - Khalid

Ctrl - Sza

Starboy - The Weeknd

I went back and forth between Khalid or Sza....but I'm going with Sza.

Best Rap Album:

4:44 - Jay-Z

Damn  - Kendrick Lamar

Culture - Migos

Laila's Wisdom - Rapsody

Flower Boy - Tyler, the Creator

Call it hedging my bets for later on, but I'm going with Jay Z's 4:44.

Best Country Album:

Cosmic Hallelujah - Kenny Chesney

Heart Break - Lady Antebellum

The Breaker - Little Big Town

Life Changes - Thomas Rhett

From A Room: Volume 1 - Chris Stapleton

As I stated earlier, I'm a big Chris Stapleton fan, so I'm going with From A Room: Volume 1.

Best New Artist:

Alessia Cara

Khalid

Lil Uzi Vert

Julia Michaels

Sza

I'd love for Alessia Cara to take this, but I'm leaning towards Sza. She broke out in a big way this past year.

Song Of The Year:

"Despacito" - (Luis Fonsi & daddy Yankee ft/ Justin Bieber)

"4:44" - (Jay-Z)

"Issues" - (Julia Michaels)

"1-800-273-8255" - (Logic ft/ Alessia Cara & Khalid)

"That's What I Like" - (Bruno Mars)

A tough field to choose from. I'd be good with any of these winning, but for the message that it conveys, I'm picking "1-800-273-8255".

Record Of The Year:

"Redbone" - Childish Gambino

"Despacito" - Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft/ Justin Bieber

"The Story of O.J." - Jay-Z

"Humble" - Kendrick Lamar

"24K Magic" - Bruno Mars

I'm going with Kendrick Lamar's "Humble". Words can't really describe just how good that track was.

Album Of The Year:

Awaken, My Love! - Childish Gambino

4:44 - Jay-Z

Damn - Kendrick Lamar

Melodrama - Lorde

24K Magic - Bruno Mars

In years past, I've reviewed all the album of the year nominees. Now while I didn't do that, I did listen to a majority of them. It could be anyone's game, but I'm going with Damn by Kendrick Lamar. Its just such a complete album top to bottom.