2007 Diva Cup Awards: Best Diva

And the nominees are...

Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth in Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Diva Moment: Slapping Abbie Cornish around for getting married without her permission
Diva Line: "My bitches wear my collar!"

Nicole Kidman as Margot in Margot at the Wedding
Diva Moment: Betraying her sister's confidence...multiple times.
Diva Line: "He's not ugly. He's completely unattractive."

Peter O'Toole as Anton Ego in Ratatouille
Diva Moment: His verbal assault of the waiters
Diva Line: "Finally Chef Gusteau has found his rightful place in history alongside another equally famous chef - Monsieur Boyardee."

Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray
Diva Moment: Any time she rolls her eyes...Pfeiffer turned that into an art in Hairspray
Diva Line: "You'll stop traffic!"

Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay Evans in High School Musical 2
Diva Moment: Requesting exit music when she leaves the room
Diva Line: "I want fabulous/Is that too much?"

If Only There Were Six: Taraji P. Henson as Vernell Watson in Talk to Me Loud outfits and an even louder personality; the perfect match for Don Cheadle

Rest of the Top 10: Julia Roberts, Charlie Wilson's War...Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose...Rodrigo Santoro, 300...Joan Allen, The Bourne Ultimatum

BRONZE
Nicole Kidman

SILVER
Michelle Pfeiffer

GOLD
La Tisdale

Top 5 Albums of 2007

5. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black
All you need to do is listen to Winehouse on "Rehab" and you'll understand what makes the rest of the CD work.

4. Mark Ronson, Version
Normally I hate concept albums, but something about Mark Ronson's sophomore album Version really connected with me. From the sublime cover of Britney's "Toxic" to the double shot of Ronson's muses Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen on "Valerie" and "Oh My God" respectively, nearly every song is a weird amalgamation of electro, soul and hip-hop that somehow blends together and works.

3. Various Artists, Hairspray Soundtrack
Forgive my initial bitching about it- it often takes me many listens for me to truly love an album- because the Hairspray Soundtrack is one of the strongest of the year. Everyone brings their A-game and no song is completely butchered (the only meh song- "You're Timeless to Me"- is still listenable): John Travolta grew on me, his little idiosyncrasies becoming more tolerable and even loveable; James Marsden makes the insignificant role of Corny Collins all the more important with his fantastic and smooth voice; Michelle Pfeiffer lays into "Miss Baltimore Crabs" with all the divaliciousness she can muster; Elijah Kelly hits all the highs and lows in "Run and Tell That"; and newcomer Nikki Blonsky makes such a splash on this album that it's not blasphemy to compare her to J. Hud last year on the Dreamgirls Soundtrack.

2. Britney Spears, Blackout
How in the hell, amid public meltdowns, a high profile divorce, a bitter child custody battle and that horrid VMA performance, did Britney manage to pull of an album every bit as amazing as Blackout? I guess we'll never know the answer to that one, but what we do know is that Blackout is, hands down, Britney's best album to date.

1. Kelly Clarkson, My December
Why is Kelly Clarkson's My December the best album of the year? Because even though it's not compulsively listenable like Britney's Blackout, Kelly Clarkson took risks, pissed people off, alienated fans of Breakaway and American Idol and delivered the most all-around impressive album of the year. All of the songs compliment each other so well that you almost have to listen to the album in track order to get the most out of it.

Monday Movie Memory: Batman Returns

Before I came to college last fall, I went to the movie theater so infrequently that it was always a special treat. No matter how sucky the film was (and boy did I see some stinkers), I had a ton of fun with my friends, family and reveling in the experience with all the wonderful people out there in the dark. So, for my first entry in this brand new series, I'm going back to the first film I can remember ever seeing in a movie theater...

Batman Returns (Tim Burton, 1992)

Needless to say, this entry is going to be pretty short because I was only four when it came out and the film is really fuzzy in my mind. Here's what I do remember:

1. For some reason, it was just my dad and I who went to see it (I have no idea where my mother and younger brother were).
2. Danny DeVito was freakishly short. And kinda creepy.
3. Catwoman. In fact, Michelle Pfeiffer is only thing I really remember about this movie. That scene where she first puts on that rubber suit and then drinks milk off the bowl on the floor...wow. Looking at this transformation 15 years later still really impresses me (Note to self: Watch this movie again).

Meow indeed...