A note on the RuPaul Recaps...

Since I am irreversibly behind, I will post new recaps after each new episode, and later go back to the episodes I have missed.  Mostly so when I do my rankings it doesn't look like I'm using what has already aired as a guideline.

My rankings going into tonight's episode:

1) Roxxxy Andrews - Making it into the Top 3 with ease over more deserving ones.  The judges like her.
2)  Ivy Winters - Glamorous, and now a win to back it up.
3)  Jinkx Monsoon - She's done pretty damn well, and I want her to make Top 3, but I worry about that Pandora Boxx comparison.
4)  Detox - Girl needs to step it up.  She has a win, but no other Top 3 finishes.
5)  Alaska - Maybe I have been overrating her?  She's easily my favorite (after Ivy), but somehow that isn't translating with RuPaul.
6)  Alyssa Edwards - I kind of feel like she peaked with the dancing challenge.
7)  Coco Montrese - Floundering, but could still pull it out.

Now, rankings aside, I have a very bad feeling about tonight's episode.  Last time I had this sort of worry, Sharon had to lip-sync and Willam was disqualified.  I worry for Alaska and Ivy.

Mini Reviews: The Haunting, Ratatouille, John Dies at the End, Warm Bodies

John Dies at the End:
Fun film with solid to good performances.  Great delivery especially from Chase Williamson.  Highly recommended, but be warned:  This is a weird movie.  Grade: B+

Warm Bodies:
Surprisingly sweet film, with great chemistry between the leads and solid supporting performances from Analeigh Tipton and Rob Corddry.  Grade:  A-

Ratatouille:
Entertaining, but I could never really get past the premise, even if I did enjoy the overall message.  Felt that there were too many subplots.  Grade:  B-

The Haunting:
(1963 version)  Still a good spine-tingler.  Deserved cult following, with strong performances from Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, and Russ Tamblyn.  Could have done with less voiceover, though.  Grade:  A-

RuPaul's Drag Race: S5, E3: I wish you WOULD grow up!

Gonna fly through this, since I am horrendously behind.

Mini Challenge:
Creating the boy-toys into pageant girls.  Order is how I'd rate them.

Alaska and Lineysha - Lil' Pound Cake

Was there any doubt that this was going to win?  "You're not my real dad and never will be!" sealed the deal.  And this was all Alaska - her prep moments with the doll were hilarious, and carried over into the presentation.  Lineysha was just kind of along for the ride (although her contribution to the actual dress might have been edited out).

Detox and Roxxxy - Vaxeline Androxxx Zoe

Not so much for the outfit (which I would say was only marginally better than the bottom duo), but for the presentation by Detox as Rachel Zoe.  "Because I am Rachel Zoe, we allow that," - Although I did get more Paris Hilton than Rachel Zoe.

Jinkx and Jade - Tina Lou Devereaux

Third best outfit, and third best presentation.  Jinkx's use of 'Murica had me rolling.  I kind of can't wait to see how she does in the 'reading' mini-challenge (which I hope she makes).

Ivy and Vivienne - Watermelon Sunshine

Second best outfit (behind Lil' Pound Cake), and nice details in the presentation, but overshadowed by the above three.  Ivy was 10 types of adorable while moving Watermelon down the runway though.

Alyssa and Honey - Savannah Lee

Kind of sad.  I couldn't tell if Alyssa was being satirical in her reading or if she was serious, and the outfit isn't so great (albeit, better than Detox and Roxxxy's)

Coco and Beverly - Patty Park Place

Easily the worst of the outfit, and Coco cared more about throwing shade during the presentation than she did about making it funny.  She should be glad that this was only a mini-challenge.

Main Challenge:

Doing a children's show, drag-style.  As challenge winners, Lineysha and Alaska got to pick the groups.

Now, I am going to refer to the teams by the hosts (Alaska and Jinkx) and break them down by what I thought were the best without breaking it up and doing the teams individually (does that make sense?  Sure hope so!).  I will go ahead and say that Alaska and Jinkx Monsoon were both easily the best of their respective teams, although I do not mind the eventual winner.

Team Alaska's Word of the Day

By far the best.  It helped that two of the stronger queens were in it.  Alaska got some grief for doing male drag, but I thought Ru and Michelle would have appreciated the obvious Pee Wee reference and gone with it.  Detox was a hoot, and really sold the character best of all the non-host participants.

Team Alaska's Educational Programming

Didn't work quite as well as the prior section, but still strong nonetheless.  Roxxxy was fun as Tasha Salad, and maybe should have been given more of the punchlines, as Vivienne was more of the straight-woman for this segment (a fact that Ru got onto her for, which I disagreed with - If everyone is a big character, you start to lose impact).

Team Jinkx's Educational Programming

Considering how terrible Lineysha was, I'm surprised I would put this as high as I have, but I think that speaks to the problem of the others.  Ivy was selling it (LOVED the outfit), but Lineysha just translated and nothing else.  There was no character there.

Team Jinkx's Word of the Day

The reason I give the edge to Alaska over Jinkx as host is that Alaska didn't completely blow up a segment.  By announcing the word of the day before Jade got out there, it forced Jade to improvise, which wasn't really her strong suit.  They came up with a few decent lines, but they never recovered from the screw-up at the start.

Team Alaska's Social Lesson

I give credit to Alyssa for not being bothered about being picked last, and for (wo)manning up and playing the part she didn't want to do.  If only it hadn't been in a scene with Monica, who couldn't get it together.  Part of me wonders if she has dyslexia or something similar given her troubles with lines even though they were in front of her.  Still, it hurt the scene tremendously.

Team Jinkx's Social Lesson

This.  Was.  Painful.  Coco wasn't in it even a little bit, and Honey lacks the personality to have saved it.  It wasn't even painfully funny, it was just uncomfortable to watch.

The Runway:

Order is how I'd rate their runway looks, without factoring in the main challenge.  The theme was "Pretty in Pink"

Detox

Loved this outfit.  It was kind of barely-pink, but the neckpiece mixed with the mesh and body worked really well.

Alaska

Wedding dress with a pink gun and pink blood-splatter?  Love it for the camp value alone.  The messy hair adds to the affect, and the outfit tells a macabre story.

Jinkx Monsoon

Nice meld of Glamour and Camp.  She's making me a believer as far as her contender status is concerned.  But she reminds me too much of Pandora Boxx, and I think she will meet the same downfall.

Alyssa Edwards

Very nice look, and she wasn't quite as weird on the runway this time.  Wish she had added some other color to the look though, as it comes across as matchy-matchy.

Ivy Winters

If only more of the showgirl looks had this type of polish.  However, it does come across as somewhat generic, especially when you compare it to her other looks.  Impressive tuck though.

Roxxxy Andrews

A nice look, but somewhat lacking in pizazz.  Something seems off about the makeup also, although I can't articulate what.

Monica Beverly Hillz

I actually really liked this look, I just thought it lacked a bit of polish.

Vivienne Pinay

This was fine, if lacking in pizazz (much like Roxxxy).

Jade Jolie

Did not care for this look at all.  Jade does a nice job of switching it up on the runway (the main reason I think she has avoided being in the bottom), but this looked ill-fitting and heavy.

Coco Montrese

What was she thinking?  This outfit made her look much older than she actually is, and isn't even that good to begin with.  It ended up working for her in the lip sync (which is why I think she wore this), but damn was it a bad choice.

Lineysha Sparx

This looked hand-crafted... in a bad way.  Maybe she didn't have anything else?  Not a good week for Lineysha by any stretch.

Honey Mahogany

I wonder how she avoided the bottom.  Between the terrible performance in the Kid show and the fact she wore a bedsheet on the runway, she should have been lip syncing.  And not against Monica.

My Top 3:  Alaska, Jinkx, Detox

Ru's Top 3:  Detox, Jinkx, Roxxxy

My Bottom 3:  Monica Beverly Hillz, Coco Montrese, Honey Mahogany

Ru's Bottom 3:  Vivienne Pinay, Coco Montrese, Monica Beverly Hillz

Lip Sync Song:  "I Want to Grow Up" by the Pussycat Dolls

Result:  Monica Beverly Hillz is sent packing, and Coco gets a much-deserved dressing down.  I think Ru put Vivienne in the bottom 3 over the more deserving Honey and Jade to snap her out of her complacency.

How I'd Rank the Remaining Queens:

1)  Detox - I still think this is hers to lose.

2)  Alaska - I think the reading about boy drag was more to get her more into the game, since she obviously has smarts to go far.

3)  Ivy Winters - Faded into the back a bit this week, but no one aside from Nina Flowers has managed to be in the top for every single challenge.

4)  Jinkx Monsoon - I'm starting to buy the Kool-Aide, but I still have reservations about a Camp Queen making it too the end.  We'll see how she handles the inevitable "I need more glamor!" from Michelle and Santino

5)  Roxxxy Andrews - I think it is noteworthy that RuPaul put her in the top group despite her lack of wow on the runway.

6)  Alyssa Edwards - Showed she is willing to play the unglamorous parts if she has too, and her runway is improving.

7)  Coco Montrese - Quite a tumble, will she recover?  A very bad week for her.

8)  Lineysha Sparx - But not as bad as Lineysha.  Totally bombed the challenge, and we know more performance-heavy challenges are coming.

9)  Vivienne Pinay - Hopefully being in the bottom will be a wake-up call for her to step up her game.

10)  Jade Jolie - Eventually, Ru will notice she isn't bringing anything to the challenges or the runway.

11)  Honey Mahogany - Go out in a bedsheet again.... I dare you.  Tick-tock, Honey.

What's that?

Oh Ivy, I need to catch up to the current episode!  Please don't be upset, I still think you are the bee's knees AND the cat's pajamas.  I will give you more love once I make it to the Snatch Game episode, I promise.

There's that smile!  Until next time!

Oscar Predictions

Getting this done a little early since I work all weekend (boo!)

Best Picture:  Argo
Best Director:  Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Best Actress:  Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Best Actor:  Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Best Supporting Actress:  Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Best Supporting Actor:  Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Original Screenplay:  Zero Dark Thirty
Adapted Screenplay:  Lincoln
Cinematography:  Skyfall
Costume Design:  Anna Karina
Production Design:  Lincoln
Film Editing:  Argo
Visual Effects:  Life of Pi
Makeup and Hair:  Les Miserables
Foreign Film:  Amour - Austria
Original Song:  "Skyfall" by Adele
Original Score:  Argo
Sound Editing: Zero Dark Thirty
Sound Mixing:  Skyfall
Animated Film:  ParaNorman
Documentary Feature:  How to Survive a Plague
Documentary Short:  Kings Point
Life Action Short:  Curfew
Animated Short:  Paperman

Probably should have given more than 3 wins to Argo, but I think this is going to be a rare year where the wealth is spread.  I have Lincoln with the most wins at 4, and that's assuming an upset in Best Director, so don't bet on these unless you like to live dangerously.

RuPaul's Drag Race: S5, E2: Transgend-her

Let's do this.

The Drama:
The two big pieces of drama this week were Monica's Confession and Everyone Hates Serena.

Turns out that Monica is in the process of transitioning to a woman.  I really don't understand why she was worried (this is a group of drag queens, I don't think they would judge) - maybe the rules prohibit those that are in the actual process of transitioning?  I know Carmen Carrera and Sonique have both transitioned, but this is a grey area as far as the rules are concerned.  The other queens didn't seem to mind, but I can't help but wonder if maybe other queens aren't quite as okay with it.  Maybe they look at is as not being a real drag queen?  I wish we had gotten more whichever it was.

My favorite storyline, however, was the second.

Everyone Hates Serena!

I love how openly Detox told Serena that she would have preferred Penny stay.  Now, given Serena's self-delusion, this didn't have much of an effect, but it was nice to see nonetheless.

There was also the forming of a super group - Rolaskatox (Roxxxy, Alaska, and Detox).  I didn't get a screenshot of it, but I did get something better.

I think we should all appreciate how cute Ivy looks out of drag with his bowtie.

I know, Ivy, I'm incorrigible.

Mini Challenge:

So.... the mini challenge.

Lipsyncing through a hole.....

With the winner getting RuPaul's lollipop.

I love this show.

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you, Ivy.  You're still my favorite thing about the show this season.

So the girls sang from behind the RuPaul not-a-glory-hole-at-all.

(Man Lineysha has really 'assumed the position' in this one, didn't she?)

And the winners (and team leaders) were Serena ChaCha (ugh), Detox (2 Mini Challenges in a row), and Ivy Winters (who I want to follow me around so I may pick up bleedover-fabulousness).

The Main Challenge:

Which led us to the main challenge:  Lipsyncing to famous Untucked moments from Seasons 2, 3, and 4 in viral videos.  The following are how I'd rank the lipsyncs.

Alaska as Phi Phi O'Hara and Detox as Sharon Needles

As far as the 'viral video' aspect, this is the hands-down winner.  While the lip-sync wasn't as strong on Alaska's part, the ending makeout session is what, to me, pushed this to the front of the pack.  However, it was the only one that really took the 'viral' half into account, and the team was prevented from winning by the albatross hanging around their collective neck in the form of Monica Beverly Hillz.

Honey Mahogany as Mystique Summers Madison and Ivy Winters as Morgan McMichaels

Nailed every last bit of the lip-sync.  Easily the tightest of all of the scenes (which is funny in that it features Morgan McMichaels) and both queens really brought it.  However, Lineysha was the worst type of irritating during the filming of it.

Vivienne Pinay as Tatianna and Lineysha Sparx as Tyra Sanchez

But she really brought it to her scene.  Vivienne had the tighter lip-sync (and really hit the Tatianna-isms) but Lineysha really performed as Tyra.  The lip-sync wasn't as tight, but damn did I feel like I was watching the actual Tyra in action.

Alyssa Edwards as Shangela, Jinkx Monsoon as Mimi Imfurst, and Roxxxy Andrews as Mariah

DAMN if Alyssa didn't nail the Shangelisms.  I realize that, as Shangela's Drag Mother, Alyssa had an edge, but she really proved her talent this challenge.  Jinkx was alright as Mimi (although a bit of a whiner during the filming) and Roxxxy kinda faded into the background as Mariah.

Monica Beverly Hillz as Jiggly Caliente and Coco Montrese as LaShauwn Beyond

Coco didn't really nail the mannerisms, but she brought the energy in a major way while also nailing the actual lip-sync.  Too bad Monica was a complete non-entity as Jiggly.  Coco probably would have been the winner had they ended up with a better performer.

Serena ChaCha as Raja and Jade Jolie as Delta Work

This was painful.  The second Serena started talking about how she viewed drag as an art (which is a perfectly valid belief, I should note) I knew this was going to be weird and terrible.  Talk about being up your own ass.  Serena's Raja was awful, and Jade didn't even try to save it with her Delta.  And I hated the lazy 'fat people eat' aspect that she used to portray Delta (Honey and Monica were also guilty of this).

The Runway:

So, then the runway happened.  I'll rank them by team, and within the team I will rank the individuals.

So, top team was easily Team Ivy, as they didn't have a Serena or Monica dragging them down.  RuPaul shared my opinion of the top team, if not the top individual.

Ivy Winters

Clear winner.  Between the tight lip-sync and the sheer showmanship of the stilts (not to mention a pretty fantastic look even without the stilts), I don't see how this went to anyone else.

 Lineysha Sparx (winner)

Really, Lineysha rocked the lip-sync challenge, but this was a boring look.  Just a swimsuit with a flow-y robe.  However, she was easily the second-best of the group as far as looks go though, so I can stomach this win.  But Ivy was way better.

Vivienne Pinay

Vivienne, I like you so far, but your looks haven't been that great.  Subtle doesn't win in drag, so you need to step that shit up.  You have talent, but you need to stand out more.

Honey Mahogany

Still, Vivienne is way better than Honey as far as runway goes.  At least the mess from the last episode stood out (albeit in a bad way).  This is boring.

I would follow Team Ivy with Team Detox.

Coco Montrese

My opinion of Coco has not improved, but I have to give credit to her for this look.  It is pretty awesome and stands out from the others on her team.  Easily would have been the winner had Team Detox come out ahead.  But I still don't like her.

Detox

Love the look, but it is kind of standard as far as drag goes.  Would prefer something a little more creative.  Still, it was a pretty good look (although I don't know where Kristen Johnston got the overconfident criticism from).

Alaska

A nice effort, but like Detox's, it doesn't really stand out that much.  She looks good, but I expect something with a bit more of her wit about it.

Monica Beverly Hillz

This is a pretty nice look, actually.  If not for her putrid performance in the lip-sync video, I would easily put her above Alaska and Detox.  But the video was there, so she deservedly ended up having to lip-sync for her life.

Bringing in the rear is Team Serena.

Jade Jolie

While she would easily have been bottom 3 based off her lip-sync performance, she turned out the best look amongst her team for the runway.  And a bit unexpected to, giving her Lisa Frank outlook on life.  But Juliette Lewis was totally on point when she said that you shouldn't being out a whip if you can't crack it.

Alyssa Edwards

This was a great look, which coupled with her lip-sync performance should have put her at the top for her team, but her exceptionally weird runway walk is a real hindrance in giving her the win.  But I still love the face.

Jinkx Monsoon

Like Detox and Alaska, this wasn't a bad look, but not terribly interesting.  The nose does look weird though.

Roxxxy Andrews

Like Jinkx, the nose looks off in some way.  And I hate the outfit (although it was nice to see Kristen tell Santino to shut up).  That said, she wasn't in any danger this week, even if she didn't have immunity.

Serena ChaCha

This actually wasn't a bad look, in a Miss Universe sort of way.  The flag was kind of stupid, but the look had a bit of wit about it.  Too bad when she walked away you saw this:

Given what happens in the Lip Sync For Your Life, I am going to call these the Granny Panties of Doom.  Seriously, Serena, what the fuck?

On the runway, Monica tearfully reveals her transgender status, but it doesn't save her from lip-syncing against Serena.  However - that was one HELL of a performance on Monica's part.

The song was Rihanna's "Only Girl (in the World)" and Monica gave quite possibly one of the best lip-sync performances ever on this show.  While Serena's was almost exactly the same as last week's, Monica channeled the song and freaking rocked it.

So Serena sashay'd away (thank God).

Seeing as how Ru didn't really do a top/bottom group, I will just give my picks.

My Top 3:  Ivy Winters, Coco Montrese, Lineysha Sparx
My Bottom 3:  Jade Jolie, Serena ChaCha, Monica Beverly Hillz

Rankings of the Remaining Girls:

1)  Detox - Has two Mini Challenge wins at this point, plus you know Ru took note of her performance in the video.

2)  Coco Montrese - Still infuriatingly competent.  In a way, Monica's terribly performance in the lip-sync challenge made her look that much better.

3)  Ivy Winters - She's been in the top for both Main Challenges so far, plus she has a Mini Challenge win to her credit.  If she can keep up the visually stunning looks, she'll go far.

4)  Lineysha Sparx - Won the Main Challenge after almost winning the last one - might we get our first Latin queen in the finals?

5)  Alaska - She has quite a bit of wit, but she still needs to step up the look and the performance if she wants to make the top 3.

6)  Roxxxy Andrews - She didn't really drop so much as others passed her.  She is obviously a contender, but it would be best not to sit back and wait for the lesser queens to eliminate themselves.  Far too many talented queens are already working it too hard.

7)  Alyssa Edwards - She convinced me that she could perform with the best of them, but can she do it consistently enough to knock off the six currently ahead of her?

8)  Jinkx Monsoon - She's already showing signs of strain.  She seems more capable of knocking out one of the top girls than Alyssa, but if she's already stressed, that doesn't bode well for her longevity.

9)  Vivienne Pinay - In certain other seasons, she would easily have been a contender.  But this season is bursting with talent, so girl needs to step it up.

10)  Jade Jolie - Like Vivienne, she needs to step it up.

11)  Honey Mahogany - She did great in the challenge, but her runway is going to be her downfall.

12)  Monica Beverly Hillz - Now that her main storyline has reached its conclusion, she seems to be on borrowed time.  Unless Ru decides to take care of Honey first.