X Factor: Er, Haven't We Seen You Before?

Has the X Factor exhausted the talent pool for contestants? We ask this question because the amount of returnees to the X Factor in 2013 seems to be huge. In the three weeks of being back on our screens there has been countless occasions where it has been reminded to us that a particular singer had already auditioned.

Amy Motram, Jade Richards, Melanie McCabe, Stephanie Woods, Dolly Rockers, all hopefuls for 2013 and all names that have sang in front of those judges before. But have they really gone away and perfected their performance or are the X Factor's producers now just scraping the barrel of talent?

Perhaps before casting aspersions though it should be a case of looking on an individual basis. Take Stephanie Woods for example, she was just 14 when when she first auditioned, perhaps too young to be in such a competition, but first time round she did make it to the Judges' House stage of the competition. Now 20 though, she's back and wowing the judges, receiving a unanimous "yes" to put her through to the arena auditions. She even reduced former mentor Sharon Osbourne to tears! Perhaps Stephanie summed up her return to the competition best, she told the judges "I've said if I don't get through today or this year then it's not meant to be but I want it so bad now, I'm so ready".

But on the other hand let's look at Jade Richards. Now 23, and four stone lighter, Jade is hoping for third time lucky in 2013. But what with her weight loss, does Jade think that it was her image that was the cause of her failure in 2011 and 2012?

Biography for Xavier Samuel

Xavier Samuel is an Australian actor who was born in Hamilton, Victoria, although he grew up in Adelaide, South Australia. Xavier's parents are Clifford and Maree Samuel. He has an older sister named Bridget and a younger brother named Benedict. Bridget is a stage manager, and Benedict is an actor, producer, and writer.

He completed his high-school years at Rostrevor College and graduated from that institution in 2001. He played Tom Snout in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in his final year at Rostrevor. Samuel enrolled at Christian Brothers College in 2001, studying drama under the guidance of Amanda Portus. He also began attending Flinders University Drama Centre in 2005, playing Hamlet in his graduate production. He studied under Professor Julie Holledge, a well-known acting teacher at Flinders.

He is best known for his role as Riley Biers in the 2010 movie "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse." He has also played leading roles in "A Few Best Men,""Further We Search," "Newcastle," "The Loved Ones," and "September." Samuel's professional acting debut was in the role of Jason in 2003 on the Australian television show "McLeod's Daughters." He also played Belvile in "The Rover," a 2005 CBC production. His professional stage performances include the role of Colin in the Windmill Performing Arts production of "Two Weeks with the Queen" in 2006. He also performed in "Osama the Hero" at The Old Fitzroy Theatre in 2006. Samuel's next stage role was in "Mercury Fur" at the Griffin Theatre.

He has primarily acted in movies since 2006. He played Theo in "2:37" and Will Turner in "Angela's Decision," which were both released in 2006. His next movie was the 2007 production "September," in which he played Ed Anderson. Samuel played the part of Fergus in the movie "Newcastle" and Boyd in "Dream Life," both of which were released in 2008.

Samuel starred in three productions during 2009. The first was a short work entitled "Drowning," in which he appeared as Dan. "Drowning" was directed by Craig Boreham and also starred Miles Szanto, star of "Elephant Princess." His next film was the horror/thriller "The Loved Ones," appearing in the lead role of Brent. "The Loved Ones" received several nominations for awards, although it failed to win any. Samuel also played Age in the 2009 feature "Further We Search."

Thanks for Sharing - Movie Review

Sex addiction seems to be Hollywood's newest obsession with the dramatic comedy "Thanks for Sharing," the drama "Shame," the comedy "Don Jon," and television's "Californication." Although writer-director Stuart Blumberg surely had good intentions for his film "Thanks for Sharing," its focus is too broad to satisfy most movie goers. Perhaps that's the secret of success for those other productions about sex addiction: a narrowed focus on one person and one addiction.

Thanks for Sharing (which gets its name from the meeting mantra expressed by recovering addicts) explores three men in a sex addiction recovery group and to a lesser extent one woman. The film looks briefly at their romantic relationships, families, friendships with each other, symptoms, temptations, and the overall group dynamics. That's a lot to cover in 112 minutes - too much, in fact.

The Story of Three Addicts

Mark Ruffalo stars as Adam, a recovering sex addict who is five years "sober." He's embarking on a new romance with Phoebe (Gwyneth Paltrow), a beautiful cancer-surviving over-achiever. She immediately reveals her breasts are fake because the old ones tried to kill her. However, Adam gives an evasive half-truth when she asks him if he's an alcoholic because she wants to avoid addicts like her ex-boyfriend. His initial secret will obviously surface later at the most inconvenient time possible. We learn almost nothing about Phoebe's history or why she consistently attracts addicts into her life, nor does Adam share the story of how his addiction originated.

His sponsor, Mike (Tim Robbins, whose performance is exceptionally strong here), gave his wife (Joely Richardson) a disease through his former sex addiction (now 12 years sober) and deals ineffectively with his grown son (Patrick Fugit), who has an ongoing drug addiction. While Mike remains the 12-Step guru at their daily meetings, he's often out of control with his family. The hints of family dysfunction could be a movie entirely by themselves.