路顺风!

I found a web site that says the above means bon voyage in Mandarin (apologies if it's wrong and says something offensive instead). This is my way of saying I am off to China for a two week journey (meet me Tuesday at the wall!) but I will be back the week of April 27th so tune back in then!

The Unusuals: Watch what you steal from The Wire

Stealing the photocopier lie detector test was just ridiculous (and made no sense in the context of the show) but stealing Duqie is always OK by me (and indeed relieved some of the stress I've been carrying around since I last saw him doing drugs in an alley).

Wire steals aside, I have to say that I enjoyed the first episode of the Unusuals. Adam Goldberg did his perfect angry man schtick although I think Harold Perrineau was a bit misused as his death-fearing partner (just a bit too neurotic). The chemistry between Amber Tamblyn and her new partner (who they point out, used to play for the Yankees - yay!) worked for me and I am excited to watch Tamblyn probe the depths of corruption in the precinct (keep your eye on the Bible guy). I'm now planning to give this show a spot on the rotation and hopefully I will continue to enjoy it (until ABC cancels it that is - bets? May 1st anyone?)

Anyone else watch and/or enjoy the show?

Sugar: Donde esta I-A?

Now I admit that I am a sucker for baseball movies, but Sugar is not like any baseball movie I have seen before. It is about the search for the American dream more than baseball itself and it is definitely, definitely worth seeing. The film follows a Dominican pitcher, nicknamed Sugar as he makes his way from the DR to the minor leagues and then, well see for yourself. I will say that there are parts which are hilarious (hope you like french toast) and parts which are heartbreaking and although I thought it had lost me two-thirds of the way through, boy did the end bring me back. The film is only playing in New York and L.A. right now but keep your eyes peeled - it will hopefully be rolling out in more places soon. Until you can catch it, whet your appetite with the trailer:

Lost: The Smoke Monster Walks Like an Egyptian?

So Ben can't kill mothers (presumably because he has a complex from his mother dying giving birth to him) but he did indirectly kill his daughter. He would have liked to kill Widmore's daughter, since Widmore is also a daughter killer and would be mother killer (a la his plan to kill Rousseau) but since Widmore's daughter is now a mother, that plan's out the window. So instead, all he can do is go back to the island to stick it in Widmore's face that he can go back so easily but while he's there, Locke may as well force him into atoning for being a daughter killer. Actually, it was hard for me to tell whether Ben really intended to seek out the smoke monster or not. Here he says he does:



but then later Locke has to drag him to the temple to do it (oh gosh darn, I summoned him but he didn't come, ho hum. What's that? You know where he is. Oh, um, yippee.) Which would seem to make the above scene a front which would mean that Ben is also genuinely surprised to see Locke watching over him and did indeed want him morally, ethically, spiritually, physically, positively, absolutely, undeniably and reliably dead. And this heart of hearts wish leads to his punishment for being a daughter killer - Locke is his new master (which he perhaps should have been all along had history been written differently but since it can't be rewritten is this a course correction?)

Asides: Ben and Widmore did have really bad hair (as suggested by Jeff Jensen no relation at EW) but at least now we know a little more about their personal beef although why would one be banished for fathering a child (Penny) off the island?

I'm not quite sure why Sun has to be dragged around the island for the Locke/Ben showdown. What on earth could be the point in that for her? And how the heck will Locke be able to help her get back to good old 1977?

So Hydra Island has now officially gone Lord of the Flies? If Caesar is dead, I will be pissed because I was excited for Said Taghmaoui to join the show. Also, what kind of password riddle is what lies in the shadow of the statue? I would ask that the show explain this but I'm not sure that I care. There are enough people to worry about and things going on to see how Lapidus gets out of a jam with some random extras.

Going forward, I am excited about the prospect of a Miles-centric episode (as next week looks to be). Ironically, my sister and I said before we saw the episode that we wanted more explanation about Miles and his I see dead people powers and our wish apparently is their command. Too bad I have to hold out over two weeks to see it since I will be out of town. Think they have Lost in China?

Rescue Me premiere: Back with a Bang

The season 5 premiere episode of Rescue Me featured just about everything I love about the show. And if you haven't seen the premiere yet (Merri) stop reading now.

The firehouse banter is back in full force as are the dramatic fires that they fight - the image at the end with Tommy looking up at the figure in the high-rise window that he can't save from the flames was really moving, particularly with the haunting music in the background. Mikey and Sean have cooked up a fabulous let's open a bar scheme and Franco is perfectly relishing each moment, waiting for the scheme to fail. My absolute favorite aspect of the show, Tommy's relationship with his family, was also back with a vengeance. This scene of the family watching old home movies just killed me - Leary, as always, does angry truth so perfectly:



The only aspect of the show that sagged was the part that always sags a bit for me - Tommy and his women. I feel like he is particularly ill-matched with Gina Gershon, who is adding nothing in the way of humor so I hope that relationship ends quickly. His relationship with Janet also drags on as he is jealous of her new boyfriend Michael J. Fox. Fox had a great but brief scene in the episode, here's hoping he gets a lot more time in the next few episodes!

Fame the Remake Teaser Trailer

So while I am glad they seem to be using some of the same songs as the original film, and while I wasn't completely turned off by the cover of one of my all time favorites "Out Here On My Own," I'm still on the fence as to whether or not I, as a lifetime Fame worshipper, will be able to make it through a remake or not. I think this is not enough information to decide - let's see how I feel when a longer trailer comes out. In the meantime, see what you think:

Rescue Me Comes Back Tonight!

For 22 weeks!! I can barely contain my excitement!!!

For those of you who have somehow missed this show, you have to give it a try. It is hilariously funny, heartbreakingly sad, angry, twisted and topical all at the same time. Denis Leary, Steven Pasquale, Daniel Sunjata and the entire cast are hysterical and the way the show presents the gamut of emotions and issues Denis Leary's firefighter Tommy Gavin goes through is just perfect. You can catch promotions for the new season as well as lots of behind the scenes type videos on FX's web site http://vod.fxnetworks.com/fod/play.php?sh=rescueme#.

Please, please, please watch tonight and come back tomorrow so we can discuss the premiere!

Almodovar Will Return with Broken Embraces - Mark November 20th in your calendars now!

I've been hearing about the new Pedro Almodovar film Los Brazos Rotos (translating as Broken Embraces) but I didn't allow myself to get truly excited until I saw this:

Teaser Trailer- Pedro Almodovar’s Broken Embraces - _Film
by sinemaestro

A longer trailer (in Spanish only - I regret giving up lessons) is available on the film's official site http://www.losabrazosrotos.com/. According to imdb.com, the film will hit the U.S. in "limited release" (AKA my local arthouse theater) on November 20th and I am now counting the days. C'mon it's Almodovar and Penelopse Cruz with lots of embracing men - anyone else with me?

Here Comes Bruno

Now while I found parts of Borat hilarious, I would say parts of it went too far for my tastes so I would not call myself an enthralled fan. I feel pretty much the same about this preview for Sasha Baron Cohen's Bruno (coming in July) although something tells me I'll still be heading out to see it when it hits theaters. Watch the trailer and let me know - funny or too much? BTW, it's a Rated R trailer so you need to type in your birthday to watch.

Can't Shake That Tune!

Perhaps it's because I tend to see this commercial right before I go to bed but this song has been stuck in my head all week. I finally had to look up last night who's singing this cover of Major Tom (answer: Shiny Toy Guns) but I still can't shake it. And since it's such a short snippet, it keeps running over and over on a loop in my head. Please, someone start humming something else.

Life on Mars: Um, guys, I don't think that was supposed to be literal

So ABC cancelled Life on Mars but they still had time to get in a finale - the most bizarre, non-sensical finale I've seen in quite some time. Accepting that they were under the gun to slap together some kind of ending, what they came up with was still so ludicrous and hokey at the same time that I wish I had just watched a rerun of the British ending instead. If you somehow managed to make it through the U.S. show and were left scratching your head last night, please, please find a way to check out the British version of Life on Mars (or at the very least tune in to its sequel series Ashes to Ashes which is currently airing on Saturday nights on BBC America).

Green Porno is back!

As I heard her promise a year ago, Isabella Rossellini has made a new Green Porno series focused on the reproductive habits of marine creatures (the whale, barnacle, limpet, anglefish and starfish). While they're not quite as bizarre as the first Green Porno insect series, they're still plenty informative and fun. You can watch them all (marine and insect life) on the Sundance Channel's web site http://www.sundancechannel.com/greenporno/video/

Lost: What's in That Temple?

I have to say I was fairly disappointed with the episode this week which was fairly low on revelations. Kate did Sawyer his whispered favored which, as expected, was going to visit his daughter. She also, as expected, left Aaron with his grandmother although I didn't quite expect the spontaneous, conveniently timed change of heart prompted by nothing more than Aaron getting lost in a supermarket. I was hoping for something a little more Lost-like like a visit from Claire or Charlie or any other of the free floating spirits. Oh well.

Also, as expected, Ben can't die because we all know he lives to torture our heroes another day but the motivation of Juliet, Kate and Sawyer to save the life of a child no matter what it takes is the possible cause of Ben becoming an other and living life on the dark side. So if I get this straight, although our heroes think they're making independent decisions in their present, all they are doing is playing out the past that has to happen so we can get the future we know, right guys?



[That had to be hands down my favorite part of the episode. Love that Hurley - he's always good for a scene steal.]

So if only Jack had said yes and saved Ben at the Dharma camp, he might not have become one of the others but Jack has to say no so that the future can play out as it needs to right? He says no of course because he says no and that's the way it's written in history and it can't be changed, right?

I am very excited to see just what's happening in that temple (which looks like will be part of next week's episode) - let's get back to a little Island magic action and leave the woes of the boring lovelorn behind (I'm so over the Kate and Sawyer thing already!)

Congratulations to “The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-Milligram Containers of Fromage Frais”!

This article in today's Times about this year's winner of the Diagram Prize for oddest book title of the year had me laughing out loud http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/books/28contest.html?_r=1&hp. Enjoy and happy Friday!

Lost: So If the Past Can't be Changed...

then has Sayid inadvertently started the war that will lead to the purge? Too bad Faraday wasn't around to share his time travel theories. I correctly predicted that Sayid would think his purpose was to kill Ben but I'm guessing that Ben the child is not dead and will only be further inspired to his future evil ways. I also think that since the Dharma group will think they have yet again been directly attacked by the Hostiles, war is inevitable. This means that our band of main characters is in the 1970s to cause the historical events we have heard so much about rather than alter them - Right? But why would the island need them to set those events in motion? And why does it need some of them but not others?

Beyond the ending, there were a few more pieces of information dished out. Sayid fell out with Ben because out of the clear night sky, Ben declared their assassination scheme to be complete without any regard for Sayid and his sense of vengeance. Ben's attempt to lure him back into L.A. worked because he said Hurley was in danger but Sayid never had any attention of getting into bed with Ben again and was dragged on to the plane by a seductive bounty hunter. It seems to me that although she claimed to have been hired by the family of the golf course casualty, Ben likely engineered the "arrest" as a way to get Sayid on the plane. Which Ben knew was necessary because if Sayid didn't get on the plane then he wouldn't be back in the 1970s to try to kill Ben which Ben must remember and oy, my head hurts.

We also got a little time with our other buddies trapped in the 70s. Juliet is warning off Kate who is looking wistfully at Sawyer even though she could fall back with Jack if she wanted to. Sawyer is taking his head of security job very seriously and actually votes to kill Sayid (WTF?) rather than cross his boss. Sayid spilled the entire true story to the Dharma people but they of course didn't believe a word (no seriously, we're from the future!) Poor Jin gets knocked out in the jungle so Sayid can alter/enact the course of history. And Hurley is a cook - those waffles did look good.

So all in all, I was with them right up until Sayid said you were right about me. Hopefully next week the effect of the time travelers' actions will be clarified a bit.

In the meantime, this week's episode of ABC's Lost Untangled puts things in a humorous perspective (even if I wish they would go easy on the whole love rectangle thing). Dude!

God of Carnage: Havoc Wrought Through Hilarity

God of Carnage is certainly the funniest play I've seen on Broadway in quite some time and may be the most fun I've had with a Broadway show in the past year. It's only an hour and a half and it flies by but it's worth every penny for every moment. The cast is just so well-matched - Marcia Gay Harden and James Gandolfini start by negotiating with Jeff Daniels and Hope Davis over an incident between their sons but allegiances start changing and constantly jump around throughout the show. James Gandolfini in particular starts out as such a polite, sweet concerned father that I was amazed how un-Sopranoish his character was but as the politeness begins to crack, solely that Tony sensibility starts to seep through. The play itself touches on what lurks beneath social civility but does not dig too deep into the characters and their motivations. Despite this lack of a strong, deep message, the play crackles with some witty dialogue, expertly delivered, and some quite surprising moments. I can't imagine the stamina the actors require to keep up the pace night after night because it is quite the tour de force.

The show's web site features a short video where you can see some stage shots and hear the actors talk about the play. Check it out at http://www.godofcarnage.com/home.php and definitely use that discount offer to check it out!

Duplicity and I Love You, Man: Bring Back the Fun Movies

Yes it's that time of year where spring starts to peek its head out (although not in cold New York today) and the movies start to entertain again. After a dark winter, here we are with two new, fun movies: Duplicity and I Love You, Man.

Duplicity, which combines romantic comedy with a snappy espionage caper, kept me entertained all the way through. The cast seemed to be having fun which allows the audience to have fun as well. Julia Roberts and Clive Owen were well-matched and their scenes were well-scripted and nicely, quickly paced, as in this brief example:



Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson were also both great as warring, rival corporate executives (their "fight" in the opening credits is particularly hilarious). There were plenty of little twists and turns and a perfect ending that I did not see coming. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a smart, entertaining film.

I Love You, Man in contrast may not be for everyone but I thought it was hilarious. There are a few gross-out scenes but the rapport between Paul Rudd and Jason Segal was just so perfect that I let the little things slide. The movie takes a little while to get going but once Rudd meets Segal, it really takes off. There are some really great lines that I think I will be quoting for awhile and while I don't want to ruin any of them I have to say that I agree that Chocolat is delightful. While Segal steals most of the scenes he is in, Rudd is just so likeable that you can't help but smile every time he goofs around. There is a very funny running gag where he keeps trying to make up nicknames and slang with mixed results. Here are some outtakes where Rudd riffs on these, enjoy and please go watch the movie!

The End of Flight of the Conchords

The episode started out on such a cheerful note, you knew something evil had to be lurking. After getting through the song on cannibalism (I'm not a fan of anything cannibalism related), we got this very sad, unsatisfying ending in which Bret and Jemaine must return to their shepherd roots:



Although they seem happy, I'm just depressed. This is a show that has surely ended too soon.

Lost: Namaste and Welcome to 1977!

Right off the bat, my favorite thing about last night's episode had to be Jack's bemusement with finding himself as a Dharma janitor in 1977 - the smirk on his face, the way he looked in his cute seventies polo (as pictured), the way he just seemed to be having fun was such a nice change. He's been so serious and so angry for so long, that it's nice to see a little time travel loosen him up. He didn't try to debate Sawyer's critique of his leadership skills, he didn't fight to be in charge, he didn't struggle for answers to what was happening - he just sat back, explored and began to enjoy the ride. Jack seems like he will be content to let Sawyer take the reins and figure out how to get them back to the future although I am sure his bossy streak will poke its head up eventually.

That said, I am pretty confused as to what is happening and why. How come Jack, Hurley, Kate and Sayid get to take the ride through time with Sawyer and Jin but Sun has to stay in the present? How come non-Oceanics like Juliet, Miles and Faraday get to jump around the record but Lapidus has to escort Sun? I am speculating that the island must have destinies and reasons for each character and thus it may need some people and not others but it is a bit puzzling. I also was very disappointed that Jin and Sun are still thirty years apart - I was really geared up for their reunion. [A tiny little piece of me was also still hoping for Rose and Bernard info but the dearth continues - ].

I am also confused as to what effect this time travel is having on the present. Jack's dad pointed Sun and Lapidus to a 1977 recruit photo featuring Jack, Kate and Hurley but when did they pop into that photo? As EW's Jeff Jensen no relation put it was it hanging there all this time and no one ever noticed it or was it somehow Back to the Future effected when the future revealed itself? Are the characters fulfilling a preordained destiny that made the future possible or are they affecting what the future will be?

For instance, in the attractions for next week, Sayid hinted that he knew why "I am here." My guess would be that he thinks he has to get rid of future evildoer Ben in child form in order to change the evil that is perpetrated in his adult wake. Could this really be done or do the time travelers do things which lead to the coming events such as the purge? Oy, too confusing.

I also don't quite understand all the small details such as Ethan being born on the island in 1977 - according to imdb.com, the actor who played adult Ethan, William Mapother, is twelve years older than that. Also, is child Ethan somehow saved or recruited by Ben into working for the others?

Finally, most cryptically but most likely to be explained soon, Sawyer said that Faraday is no longer a part of their little time traveler group. Now I assume that has to do with his work at the Orchid station we saw in the first episode but it will be interesting to find out what caused his separation. I'm guessing that we will soon be returned to the battle between Locke and Ben, the explorations of Sun and Lapidus, life at the 1977 Dharma compound but I'm kind of hoping that we get back to Faraday first since his involvement in all of this as well as his time travel theories is what I feel is really missing from the show right now.

From this promo though, it looks like next week is going to be about those at the 1977 compound including Sayid's new mission and the romantic tension between our love quadrangle SawJulKatJack. I am of the opinion (and I think Jeff Jensen no relation support this) that the person you've been with for three years is the person you should stick by and you should not be jilting them for people you pined over for a few weeks/months. Let's hope that Sawyer and Juliet stick together and Kate goes back to Jack or finds herself a new Dharma man:

It's Thursday, Let's Tango

The next installment in my ongoing oh so popular series about famous dance sequences involves the art of the tango. There are many tango moments on screen (including an entire dedicated film) but to brighten up a rainy Thursday (at least here in New York), let's count down my favorites:

#3: This is a cheat because it's really from a musical but here is the film version of the Tango Maureen - even though one learned to dance the tango with the rabbi's daughter and the other with the French ambassador's daughter, they mesh quite nicely:



#2: In Baz Luhrmann's sprawling pop amalgam that is the fabulous Moulin Rouge, the Argentinian tango version of the Police's Roxanne is quite breathtaking and keeps me glued to the screen every time:



#1: The on screen tango will never get any better than Jack Lemmon and Joe E. Brown in Some Like It Hot. Their serious demeanors and the little details like the flower transfer are priceless:

Remembering Natasha Richardson

What an absolutely horrible tragedy. From her Tony award winning performance in 1998's Cabaret which I had the pleasure of seeing:

America's Next Top Riot

I find this scene from over the weekend of would be hopeful candidates for the next edition of the reality show America's Next Top Model to be a horribly depressing statement on our society's misplaced sense of the importance of "fame" and how far some people will go in their desperate quest to achieve instant "stardom." It is also so sad that the producers of the show did so little to create order and organization - how hard would it have been to set up clearer lines and not just let a mob develop? Whatever led up to this moment, it is certainly a scary thing to watch:

Flight of the Conchords Song of the Week

Not only do I love, love, love that this week's episode began with one of the showcase musical numbers but this song was just absolutely hilarious. Keep your ears peeled for such lines she was like Shakespeare's Juliet/thirteen? and she reminded me of a morning in winter/what, frigid? - I'm still smiling today thinking about it:

Brighten Up Your Day - Watch Ricky Gervais and Elmo!

I just saw this over on Popwatch and I think I may have to watch it many more times - it's outtakes of Ricky Gervais' appearance on Sesame Street and it is hilarious:

The Completely Unnecessary File: Why Remake 2007's Death at a Funeral?

I just noticed this article on imdb.com:

Rock Gathers Stars For Funeral
9 March 2009 9:15 AM, PDT


Chris Rock is assembling an all-star comedy cast for his forthcoming movie Death At A Funeral - both Martin Lawrence and Tracy Morgan have signed on to the project.

The film, a remake of a 2007 British movie of the same name, revolves around a dysfunctional family which comes together for the patriarch's funeral, only to be rocked by gay revelations from the deceased's alleged former lover.

Lethal Weapon star Danny Glover, Regina Hall, Zoe Saldana, Columbus Short and James Marsden are also on board for the comedy, which will be co-written and produced by Rock and directed by Neil Labute.

Filming is due to begin this spring, reports Variety.

Now I have no idea how Neil Labute got in on this project but I really don't understand the point of it in the first place. Frank Oz's hilarious Death at a Funeral just came out in 2007, had a full run in U.S. theaters and even featured one or two actors familiar to U.S. viewers. I saw it in the theater with my dad and he was falling out of his chair laughing the entire film. It was so perfectly timed, so perfectly outrageous and I can't imagine anyone doing a better job - especially so soon! I see that there may be a different spin on things by transferring the story from a British to a mostly African-American cast but just do yourselves a favor - rent this movie on DVD and skip any imitations:

Paris 36 at the new Alice Tully Hall

I attended the screening of Paris 36 (Faubourg 36) the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema series at the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall on Thursday night. I got the sense that perhaps this movie had been chosen as the opening night film because it had the right combination of sound and visuals to show off the high quality of the new venue. The film focuses on a theater in an unnamed neighborhood of Paris in 1930s Paris and all the people that love it and try and keep it going. The movie starts out slow and is fairly predictable but really hit its high points towards the end when there are lots of fun, classic musical numbers. In particular, newcomer Nora Arnezeder was wonderful as a young singer who comes to the theater - she had a beautiful voice which was showcased well in her musical pieces. Although her signature song is one about Paris (which Arnezeder sang live and unaccompanied for the audience before the screening), my favorite of her numbers is a more emotional piece which is featured in the middle of the trailer:



All in all, I would not say Paris 36 is a great film but it was a perfectly pleasant way to pass an evening and it certainly showed off the new projection and sound equipment at Alice Tully.

As a postscript, I also note that I attended a chamber music concert at Alice Tully yesterday and the acoustics for that were wonderful as well. It is nice to have the hall with all its improvements back.

It Was Thursday, Let's Tap

My whole Thursday dance plan is off to a bit of a rocky start but I've had a crazy week. Although it's one day late, let's celebrate the art of old school tap with some truly classic tap film moments. My first favorite classic tap film moments (and yes there are many) would have to be Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor in Singin' in the Rain (one of my favorite movies of all time):



Next would have to be Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers tap dancing on roller skates in Shall We Dance - it's not really tap dancing I know but it's still damn impressive (and I love this movie as well):



Hopefully these clips put a smile on your face for the weekend!

Things That Make Me Happy: Johnny Depp Edition

Specifically, seeing Depp finally star in a movie clean shaven and with no crazy make-up. I could watch him in this trailer over and over and over again . Oh, and the movie looks like fun too:

Lost: A Name is Manly if It's Creole

To: Carlton Cuse; Damon Lindelof
From: Heather Jensen
Subject: Please Have Mercy

Dear Mr. Cuse and Mr. Lindelof:

I am writing to ask that you have mercy on all the Rose and Bernard fans and finally tell us what has happened to them. I don't see how they could have survived alone on the island for three years and it seems unlikely they are with Richard Alpert and the others. Please end the agony and just be up front about whether they are dead. I promise, I can take it - at this point, I've lost hope anyway.

Sincerely,
Heather Jensen

Oh wait, there's no send button so I must be in blogger rather than in gmail. Apologies - I'll send that e-mail later.

Let's turn to blogging about last night's episode instead. So I have to admit I was pretty upset that Jin, Sawyer, Juliet, Miles and Daniel (and R&B?) have had to endure three years trapped in the seventies with the Dharma initiative waiting for the Oceanic escapees to return. I originally thought Locke would have stopped the time shifts when he turned the wheel but when the survivors got sucked in to what looked like a time jump I thought otherwise. My brain wouldn't allow me to think that those left behind would have to pass the same three years stuck on the island - I preferred to hope they would just jump a few more days and magically coincide with the returning buddies. Of course I see now that they would have had to pass the same time and I know that I shouldn't feel too bad for Juliet and Sawyer who seem to be having a grand old time but a part of me wept for Jin searching every day for three years with no hope of seeing Sun and Daniel mourning Charlotte (who Jeff Jensen no relation rightly points out would have been born after the three year period we saw last night - oh well). At least they're all keeping themselves nice and employed - Sawyer as head of security with Jin and Miles as his minions. Who knew Juliet knew how to fix a bus? And I assume that Daniel is working in the orchid station where we saw him in the first episode of the season although was not clear last night.

I have to say that Juliet and Sawyer make a very cute, domestic couple in their little house with their Dharma wine (and Sawyer's clean shave and glasses). Even though Sawyer got a misty look when he saw Kate return, surely after three years he is more involved with Juliet and she with Jack - I guess we'll see but I hope they don't go monkeying around with those couples too much. I can't imagine how Jin, Miles and Daniel are keeping themselves busy outside of their Dharma duties but maybe we will learn some stuff about their Dharma lives soon.

I also have to say that I don't really care too much about the Dharma people themselves. We know that they are all doomed to die but I just didn't find them all that interesting. I am intrigued about this whole pregnancy on the island phenomenon and why it may affect the Others but not Dharma or whether the purge laid a curse which then caused the deaths, etc. I am also wondering when we will see teenage/young boy (how old would he be?) Ben - he is certainly lingering somewhere and surely in three years, Sawyer et. al. have encountered him. It is also a mystery whether Goodspeed's new baby boy will grow up to be someone we know - I'm not quite sure who it could be but that's too big a plot point to lead nowhere. I am also confused as to whether Miles is a baby at that time as well (given the hints in the first episode) and what the consequences might be for co-existing in the same time as yourself.

All in all, last night did not bring a lot of revelations other than to tell us that those left behind had to kill three years with Dharma - not as exciting as I would have hoped, more depressing than I would have thought although I am glad to see Sawyer acting so responsible and happy. Let's hope the return of his old friends doesn't change his ways.

Life on Mars is Getting Shot Off Into Space - Say Hi to Pushing Daisies For Me

Well I had been planning to write a post about how I think the American version of Life on Mars is doing and I was basically going to contrast the episodes directly based on the British version from those which the American version seemed to be adding to drag out the time. See the British show only lasted two seasons (although its spinoff series Ashes to Ashes in which a female cop is sent back to 1981 starts airing on BBC American on Saturday) and surely the American show would have to last longer than that.

Or maybe not. Apparently, according to Ausiello at EW, the American version is only going to make it one season with hopefully a pretty bow wrap-up ending http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/03/breaking-abc-ca.html. Perhaps they will use the British ending although that might need too much time to develop. In any event, I enjoyed the American version of Life on Mars when it was not trying to be like its British counterpart - when Sam Tyler was allowed to smile, loosen up and have some fun and not just try to mimic the darker tone of the original. Having Ashes to Ashes available will certainly lessen the blow of the loss as I will get the real Gene Hunt, Philip Glenister, back (sorry Harvey but he was just better) but yet again, ABC is pulling the rug out under another smart show that didn't immediately meet expectations. Let's count them shall we: Life on Mars, Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, Dirty Sexy Money (OK so that one's not so smart but it counts), The Nine, Six Degrees, Knights of Prosperity, Help Me Help You and I'm also going to add Samantha Who which was supposed to return in January and has yet to make an appearance. In most of those cases, the shows were yanked without any real warning or closure which I think is just plain mean to all the people who did bother to tune in and try to support your programming.

Which leads us to the next dilemma: In recent weeks, I have seen commercials for four new ABC shows which will be coming out over the next month and as usual, all four seem intriguing. Castle has been the most heavily promoted (and stars Nathan Fillion, yum) and will follow Dancing With the Stars so that may be the safest bet but Better Off Ted (with Portia de Rossi), In The Motherhood (with Cheryl Hines and Megan Mullaly) and The Unusuals (with Adam Goldbert and Harold Perrineau yay!) are all more intriguing. So Heather, are you really going to be a sucker and fall for ABC's flashy ways yet again only to be disappointed yet again? I'm still mulling it over - stay tuned and find out. If you're going to let yourself be suckered by one or more of these new shows please feel free to share your reasons.

Memo to ABC: Surely investing in shows which are critical successes/award magnets (Pushing Daisies was nominated for Emmys!) and helping to grow those audiences could pay off more in the end then constantly yanking and replacing shows every few months. Then you are guaranteeing that you will never have loyal viewers. Please take a meeting with executives over at NBC and see if they will reveal their 30 Rock strategy to you.

Flight of the Conchords Keeps Rolling

Last night's episode was remarkably and wonderfully bizarre. I particularly enjoyed the riffs which grew out of Jemaine and Bret starting a Simon & Garfunkel tribute act costumes and all:



Jemaine of course gets pulled into another bad relationship, this time with an Art Garfunkel fan who makes him wear his costume when they're together. I have to admit though, I didn't imagine the relationship would end like this:



Finally, this was slightly apropos of nothing and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it at the beginning but I was hooked by the end. I do love kalbi:



Only three episodes left this season but I can't wait to see them!

They Might Be Giants at Le Poisson Rouge: Flood is a brand new record for 1990

Yes, 1990. I know, we're all getting old. But it is still fun to go back and celebrate the good times which is why I had a blast at TMBG's show at Le Poisson Rouge on Saturday night which featured a performance of the entire Flood album in order. I hadn't brushed up on my Flood knowledge before the show and since my iPod plays in random order and I never know what goes with what any more, I loved rediscovering the album and watching them riff with it. In particular, there was a kicking guitar intro to Istanbul and Birdhouse in your Soul rocked as usual. Here is a clip of Whistling in the Dark (I'm standing next to the sound board guy):



The band also played a few songs before and after the Flood sequence which also really rocked. Check out Hey Mr. DJ:



All in all, a show like this reminds me why a night out with TMBG is always a good time. While at the show, I purchased Here Comes the ABCs for my friend's children so hopefully I can do my part to keep the next generation of TMBG fans rolling.

It's Thursday, Let's Swing

A loyal reader commented to me that he wasn't such a fan of the modern dance and ballet clips I tend to post on this site because it's not his kind of dancing. Instead, he hinted that perhaps swing would be a nice change. So for the sake of variety, I am going to periodically put up fun film dance clips of the more popular variety. Starting this week with swing we have first this clip from Swingers:



Second, not a great film but swing is always fun - Blast From the Past:

Lost: The Resurrection of Locke

So I thought last night's episode was a nice little fill in blank on what happened to Locke after he left the island and made his return. As we well know, when you turn the wheel you end up in the Tunisian desert but thankfully Widmore keeps an eye on the exit so he was able to rush to Locke's aid. Not surprisingly, Widmore insisted that he was the good guy who was merely trying to remove the bad guy (AKA Ben) from power in the cause of protecting the island (seems to be a popular cause - perhaps they should come up with a catchy ribbon or rubber bracelet). Widmore gave Locke the 411 on all the Oceanic survivors' whereabouts and even gave him his own driver, namely Matthew Abbadon (AKA Lance Reddick AKA Lt. Daniels) who had been instrumental in steering Locke on his original course to the island. It is a shame that we lost Abbadon so soon but I guess once all the main characters are back on the island, the real world gets less screen time anyway.

As an aside, since we now know Abbadon, who infiltrated Locke's rehab center and Hurley's asylum to drop helpful suggestions, was working for Widmore, does this mean long lost Libby (who was in the asylum and who set Desmond on his yacht course to the island) was also working for Widmore? Hope the Libby thing gets explained because that always bugged me as a loose end.

So Locke made his way in seeming vain to visit all the Oceanic refugees including, happily, Walt who is now a grown teenager living in a pathetic excuse of a New York set (I live near the street visible on the street sign and the set was pitiful). Of course Locke couldn't bring himself to ask a teenager with his life before him to travel back to an island that holds nothing for him - Locke has too much heart. But it was interesting that Walt still has his creepy ability to see the future and makes me hope that his psychic powers will still be explained before the show ends (another loose end that drives me crazy).

Locke also predictably visited the Oceanic 6 (minus Sun as promised) and got rebuffed. Jack was in his drug addict/unraveling phase, Hurley in his asylum, Kate in her nesting phase but it was interesting to see Sayid in a redemption phase. Clearly, after two years of working for Ben, he finally saw some light and is trying to make up for the carnage he wrought. I am sure the Ben/Sayid history will be explained further in future episodes and I am interested to see what Sayid learned about Ben to make him change his mind.

The last scene of course was telling but not all that unexpected - Ben is an untrustworthy guy with an evil side who views Locke as some sort of threat to his own power (how come he can see Jacob? how does he know about Mrs. Hawking?). What puzzles me though is that Ben clearly anticipated that Locke would be resurrected on the island (since he kept harping on how important it was to take Locke's coffin with them on the Ajira flight). What does Ben think will happen once he and Locke meet again on the island? Did he not anticipate that they would both be in the same time and place on the island? Confusing.

And as for the island, it seems that the Ajira flight safely landed with all the non-Oceanic 6 castaways in tow. The new survivors appear to be on the smaller zoo island (according to EW's Jeff Jensen no relation) but as new character Caesar made it clear, Sayid and our other Oceanic 6 friends merely disappeared before the crash. This seems to suggest that they were pulled into the time warp but that Locke, Ben and everyone else on the plane were left to fend for themselves. I assume Locke's status as time warp material has changed because he turned the wheel but perhaps that will be explained soon. In the meantime, Frank the pilot and an unnamed woman have absconded with one of the canoes back to the main island - presumably that is the canoe which the time jumping Sawyer, Juliet, et al will find and run away with (although it's still not clear who was chasing and shooting at them).

Here's hoping that next week all our Oceanic regulars reunite on their travels through time (including please Rose and Bernard - I don't think I can take the not knowing any more). Here's also hoping that Locke and the island's Others/ghost/Jacob energies bring their full power down on Ben - I think he's got some comeuppance coming his way.

Clue the Remake: Surely Gore Verbinski has something better to do?

I object to this story from imdb.com on so many levels. First of all, there is absolutely no need to ever make another board game movie (Candy Land that means you!). Second, there is definitely no need to remake Clue since there is already a hilarious movie that met the challenge. Even though the article points out that it was a box office flop, the original Clue had a stellar cast (Tim Curry, Madeleine Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean for starters), many funny gags ("Why is J. Edgar Hoover on your phone?" "I don't know, he's on everybody else's, why shouldn't he be on mine?") and a corny yet clever multiple ending format (there were three endings and each movie audience saw only one although all three were combined for television and video). Now I know that I was a ten year old fan of the game when the film was released in 1985 so I may be a bit biased but Clue is simply a classic that should not be messed with!

Verbinski To Direct Cluedo Movie 25 February 2009 2:00 PM, PST

A movie version of classic British boardgame Cluedo is heading to the big screen.

Pirates of The Caribbean filmmaker Gore Verbinski is slated to direct the project.

In the game - named Clue in the U.S. - competitors bid to solve the murder of one of a number of colourful characters in a country house.

Cluedo/Clue has racked up sales of more than $1 billion (GBP690 million) in more than 50 countries since it first went on sale back in 1948.

Verbinski will hope his movie fares better than the last attempt to turn Cluedo into a movie - 1985's Clue flopped at the box office.

The Daily Show Keeps on Rolling

The change in administration hasn't slowed down the hilarity at The Daily Show, particularly since there are always crazy people around to highlight. This Jason Jones piece last night about some people's views of our new president was particularly eye-opening and side-splitting:

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Unusual Suspect

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Funny Political News
Joke of the Day

Encounters at the End of the World: Deranged People and Penguins

I went to the Paley Media Center on Saturday to see the first half of their weekend long documentary festival in which they screened all nine of the Oscar nominated long and short documentaries. I had already seen the wonderful long winner Man on Wire at last year's Tribeca Film Festival but I was glad to have the chance to see more of the films. In particular, I enjoyed Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World which showed the beauty and madness inherent in the resident people and animals of Antarctica. The film contained beautiful shots of the scenery both above and below the Antarctic ice but it also had hilarious narrative commentary such as in this section about Antarctica's penguins (although the opening narration promises it won't be another penguin movie):



I also was riveted by one of the other long documentaries, Trouble the Water, which focused on one couple's experiences during and after Hurricane Katrina(complete with their own home movie footage of the storm). The footage the couple took during the storm was truly frightening - some of it can be seen in the trailer for the movie below:



The film affirms yet again how horribly the authorities behaved in the wake of the storm but it also inspires faith in the goodness of your fellow citizens.

Both these documentaries, as well as Man on Wire, are very much worth checking out - both Man on Wire and Encounters at the End of the World are available on DVD and hopefully Trouble the Water will be as well soon.

Doug Varone and Dancers

I went to the Joyce last night to see Doug Varone and Dancers who will be performing all this week. The program opened with Tomorrow set to the songs of Reynaldo Hahn which were beautifully performed by soprano Theodora Hanslowe - the movements in the piece were very subtle and beautiful and the costumes added a nice flow to the dancers. The program closed with the New York premiere of Alchemy set to music by Steve Reich which incorporated texts from both the book of Daniel and slain journalist Daniel Pearl. The piece, which addressed issues of the enduring humanity of victims of violence, was very interesting and had some intriguing movements but felt a little heavy-handed and dragged in parts.

The standout of the evening was certainly Lux, set to Philip Glass' Light. I had seen this piece performed before but still was drawn in by the infectuous energy of the dancers and the movements. Here are some snippets of the piece and I recommend catching it in its entirety if you can:

Chuck Brings Toto Back

I don't know why but this put a huge smile on my face last night and made me want to download the original song on iTunes (don't worry, I didn't do it). Rock on Jeffster!

Kate Winslet the Seer

All of the blogs are pointing this out today but it is really eerie that this scene from the first episode of Extras is so dead on:

Oscars v. Independent Spirit Awards

For those of you who thought Ben Stiller's Joaquin Phoenix turn last night was pretty funny, please check out how the Independent Spirit Awards did it funnier the day before:



All in all, I would say that they have more fun at the Independent Spirit Awards and there is a lot more unpredictability - such as Melissa Leo's win for Best Actress or the winners of the awards for first film, "one to watch," etc. They also had a funnier host in Steve Coogan and came in at just two hours running time. Take that Oscars.

Jai Ho! It's a Slumdog Millionaire Night at the Oscars

So Slumdog Millionaire predictably cleaned up at the Oscars last night winning eight of its ten nominations (although to be fair, it was up against itself in the best song category and took the prize for Jai Ho). While all the Slumdog winners were jubilant and excited and gave gracious speeches, there was nothing more touching than seeing the excitement on the faces of Dev Patel and particulalry the children from the film, some of whom had not been on a plane before and at least one of whom did not speak English. This red carpet moment with Ryan Secrest may have been one of my favorite moments of the whole night:



According to EW, the kids managed to snag some high profile autographs, including Meryl Streep, and that is just about as good as the Oscars gets.

Which is not to say that there weren't other great moments last night. Dustin Lance Black and Sean Penn gave wonderfully impassioned speeches about Harvey Milk and the need for equal rights. Heath Ledger's family was remarkably collected and gracious in accepting his posthumous award. Penelope Cruz remembered to thank Almodovar (hooray for All About My Mother!) and Kate Winslet was adorably humbled that she beat Meryl Streep. Steve Martin and Tina Fey were hilarious in presenting the screenwriting awards (even if it was a little awkward to transition back to jokes after Black's incredible speech). And the bit with Seth Rogen and James Franco as their Pineapple Express characters, watching clips from films including Franco's own Milk love scene and then having famed cinematographer Janusz Kaminski curl up with them on the couch was perfectly wacky and funny.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of missteps last night as well. Hugh Jackman, predictably, is not a joke teller but a song and dance man. That worked fine for the cute "homemade" opening number (the best part of which was Anne Hathaway getting drawn in to a Frost/Nixon routine) but there was absolutely no need for the horrific mish-mash of songs that Beyonce, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper hacked their way through. Old standards, cliched numbers, ABBA and High School Music 3 pureed through a blender? No way. After noshing on all the snacks at my Oscar viewing party last night, a friend said she would need to go on a diet and I have decided that I am definitely dieting too - no more splashy musical numbers for at least a year.

I also was not really into the multiple acting legends present acting awards thing. I suppose the nominees are supposed to be touched that a legend would come to personally tell them they're wonderful but when it's read off a teleprompter it just feels hollow - is Shirley Maclaine really an Anne Hathaway fan? Does Nicole Kidman really care about Angelina Jolie? Is Ben Kingsley really impressed by Mickey Rourke? Me thinks not. I think the Academy was mainly worried that last year's lesser-known, foreign winners, only two of whom bothered to come (Tilda Swinton and Marian Cotillard), wouldn't be exciting enough so they had to overdose on more well-known stars. It just ended up feeling pompous and bloated instead.

Which brings me to my final sticking point - the "intimate" seating arrangement. In an attempt to give the Oscars an intimate Cabaret-type vibe, the Academy took celebrity hierarchy to a whole new level by literally placing a ring around the most important people and sheltering them from the masses in the back. They also managed to place those A-listers practically on stage so they could highlight their importance even more. The stars themselves mostly just looked uncomfortable in their tightly packed seats. Let's hope next year the Academy gets back to what we all really want to see - a comedian keeping the stars at a safe, mingling distance.

Lost: Well, That Was Easy

So yes, I am sure all will be explained in episodes to come but after all that stressing over how Ben was going to manage to get the Oceanic 6 to reunite and go back on the road, somehow they all managed to do a 180 and conveniently report to Ajira airways for duty (I guess Jeff Jensen no relation's theory about our L.A. friends being the Ajira flying/shooting kayakers may be correct although it still strikes me as odd). Um, what did Kate do with Aaron (I'm guessing she dropped him off with granny but why?), how did Sayid get into marshal custody (turned himself in to save Hurley perhaps but way to reenact the original flight conditions? Marshal must be present at all times) and how did Hurley get out of jail, access the cash to purchase 78 tickets (no one else can fly!!) and make it to the flight on time with a Charlie-esque guitar? Perhaps some ghostly visits helped motivate them along but it would have been nice to have a little more dramatic lead-up tension.

And it turns out, that after all the secrecy as to magical mathematical island predicting pendulums in church basements, all you have to do is fly over the island and get swept away by a time warp. So now that our gang has found their way home, will the time shifts stop? Given Jin's spiffy 60s van and Dharma duds, I'm guessing not right away (is this when Faraday goes into the orchid tunnel?) Let's hope no one else dies a nosebleed death though because the remaining characters (including next in line Juliet) I like.

And apparently we have some newcomers - welcome and enjoy your island stay! From the preview for next week we see that the marshal made the trip and I'm guessing the star power of Said Taghmaoui (love him!) earned him a beach vacation as well. I also hope Frank gets to join the party since his wisecracking was a refreshing mood lightener last season.

I also hope that we don't have to wait for another life brother to see Desmond again. Eloise says the island isn't done with him but he says he's done with the island/Eloise so unless he steers his family too close to the island vortex and they all get sucked in, I don't see how he can make a quick reappearance right now.

And will Ben be making an island appearance? I thought the whole he who turns the wheel bit included banishment as punishment - although it appears from the preview for next week that maybe Locke does get his due reincarnation. I don't know who beat Ben up (Widmore goons?) but clearly he thinks he can join in on the ride. Figures only business class would get to go to the beach while coach has to suffer through bad turbulence/possible crash.

Apparently Locke's death will be explained next week but what kind of Jewish mother guilt trippy suicide note was that? Oy, Jackie, I told you no swimming for an hour after eating but what is a mother for if not to die from drowning while saving you from your cramp?

Final thought: SERIOUSLY, WHERE THE F ARE BERNARD AND ROSE?!?!?!?!?!? They better not have nosebleeds when we find them or there will be hell to pay.

Flight of the Conchords - Watch Out for those Australians

Another great episode this week although my favorite part was not the songs (which were excellent) but just the simple shame of sleeping with a girl from Australia. The ending was a bit sad but this scene was worth it:

Lost: The Oceanic 6 Make Their Return

I hope and suppose anyway. I haven't yet discussed last week's episode which I have to say did not make much of an impression on me - I felt as if we knew about Danielle Rousseau and her sick and dead colleagues already although I guess the information about the smoke monster living in the yet unseen temple was new. I didn't quite appreciate how the monster ripped off her colleague's arm though - gore not so much my thing. I don't think we learned that much though about how the smoke monster operates and what it's after - I'm very much hoping this is something we learn about soon.

We also saw Locke turn the wheel and get off the island with the help of Jack's dear old dad ("Say hi to my son for me" "Who's your son?" Classic). Again interesting but we already that's how he would have to get out of there to become Jeremy Bentham in L.A. We also saw Charlotte die but again, her nose has been bleeding for quite some time and I was never that interested in her character anyway. Her revelation that somehow Faraday warned her not to come back to the island when she was a child was cool but now I really do not understand how this whole realize your changed memories thing works. Why would Faraday go back in time to try and stop her when he knows history can't be changed? Explanation please.

As for the Oceanic 6 although Kate and Sayid have scattered (please pick up Hurley from prison, Sayid), I am guessing they won't stay scattered for long. I do appreciate that Desmond happened to show up at the church at the same time as Ben, Jack and Sun although we knew they were all headed there ("are you looking for Faraday's mother too?" another classic).

In short, I'm hoping this week brings more surprises and less obvious closure. I also desperately hoping, and say it with him, that we will find out WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ROSE AND BERNARD?!? This is seriously irking me and I need answers!!

Tune in tonight and we'll talk tomorrow.

Speaking of Oscar Shorts...

I would also like to note that there are many great past nominees and winners that are really worth checking out. In particular, the Sundance Channel is showing a selection of last year's nominees this Saturday night which you should definitely DVR and watch in pieces when you have short moments - the program starts with the delightful Tanghi Argentini which was my favorite of last year's group, includes the animated Even Pigeons Go to Heaven, the manic but entertaining The Substitute and last year's live action winner The Mozart of Pickpockets (which of course features an adorable child and is very entertaining). After those four films, I would say you can skip the other two, the long and boring The Tonto Woman and the bizarre animated Madame Tutli Putli.

Another old favorite of mine is the 2005 nominee 7:35 in the Morning which can be found on the filmmaker's site http://www.735am.com/. Very bizarre but very entertaining. For a true animated classic, check out past winner The Chubb Chubbs below - enjoy!

Oscar Nominated Live Action and Animated Shorts

I caught the live action and animated shorts that are nominated for Oscars this year at the Academy's screening in New York on Saturday and boy are they short! Last year it took four hours to show the ten nominated films but this year's nominees totalled two hours and ten minutes - just right for some, perhaps too short for others. Let's discuss:

Animated shorts: The giant in the category is Presto (pictured) - a Pixar story of a magician and his hungry rabbit which many of you may have seen in front of Wall-E last summer. It is certainly very entertaining and may indeed take the crown on Sunday. However, I was more enchanted with the digitally animated and very, very short Oktapodi about two octopi who will do anything to fight for their love. Of all the ten films, Oktapodi is definitely at the top of my list of films I wish were longer. Check it out:



I also have to mention Lavatory - Love Story which was a very sweet, nearly all black and white drawn short about a bathroom attendant with a secret admirer - the ending was particularly adorable. There was also a British piece entitled This Way Up about two undertakers on a long, strange journey - I certainly enjoyed parts of it but I'm not sure I got all of its rapid meanderings. Finally, there is La Maison En Petits Cubes which is an intriguing drawn piece about an old man in a stacked house full of haunting memories - that film was beautiful to watch but not quite as catchy as some of the others. All in all, I would say that Presto has the edge but I'm rooting for those octopi.

Live Action: All you really need to know about this category is that Spielzeugland (Toyland) is about saving adorable children from the Holocaust. May I have the envelope please...

Toyland was a bit manipulative (as you can imagine) and I would say my favorite in the category may have been the eerie Auf Der Strecke (On The Line) about a security guard who feels guilty when he decides not to intervene in a violent situation that affects the life of his co-worker/crush. That film was the longest of the ten at a half hour and could have been even further explored - I was rapt and eager to see more when it abruptly ended. I also enjoyed New Boy - a story of a new African student in an Irish school based on a Roddy Doyle story. That film had many cute kids and touched on African genocide but I think the Holocaust film still has it beat.

There was also Manon on the Asphalt, in which a woman who has been hit by a car pictures how her friends and loved ones will react to her death - it was kind of cutesy and while I enjoyed it I can acknowledge that it was a bit much. Finally, there is The Pig in which a Danish patient (named Jensen) becomes obsessed with the painting of a pig on his hospital wall - one of my friends liked that film the best and I certainly enjoyed it although I found it a bit odd and rambling.

So in the final analysis I would vote for Presto and Toyland taking the statues on Sunday. We'll see...

Life Gets in the Way

Apologies for the delay in posting but it's been a hectic week. Let's try and catch up on the backload...

Invalidate Prop 8

This is a political tangent but I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to this video making its way around the internet. It's from the Courage Campaign supporting the invalidation of Prop 8 set to Regina Spektor's Fidelity. I love that song and it is a very touching video so please check it out:

The Meaning of Friends ala Flight of the Conchords

Just when I was about to give up on last night's episode as one of the weaker ones of the season (although I do approve of the fort in the living room), the show closed with this adorable song. How can you not love friends who pop lock together?

30 Rock: The Generalissimo

I have to say that I was not as enthralled last night with the Tina Fey/Jon Hamm pairing as I thought I would be - she was just a little too conniving for my tastes although maybe it will be better next week. I did love though the unexpected Generalissmo plot line - Alec Baldwin's Jack wants the approval of his new girlfriend's (Salma Hayek's) grandmother but since he is a dead ringer for the villain of her favorite telenovella, she despises him. He concocts to purchase the channel and write the character out of the show but the actor has other ideas. Watch below as Jack confronts the actor and definitely watch the full episode on Hulu to see how the actor makes the Generalissimo likeable to grandmothers (I would love to see pictures of your grandchildren - what sweet faces, etc.). It is certainly an Alec Baldwin classic.

Catching Up on Oscar Movies: Oy

So in an effort to keep myself abreast of this year's nominated films, I made a point to see both Doubt and The Reader in the last couple weeks. I have friends who liked one or both of these films and although I didn't feel the need to dash out and see them when they were released, I was still interested enough to check them out. Unfortunately, I wish I hadn't bothered.

Doubt had some interesting moments, most notably the scenese featuring Viola Davis (way too short) but I found Meryl Streep to be waaaay too much. Her character, the nun principal of a Catholic school who believes that the parish's priest has molested a student, was so mean and so vindictive that it was hard to feel any sympathy for her at all. I believe the point of the film was to be on the fence as to whether the priest harmed the child but since Streep played her character with such vengeance, it was hard to believe it was anything to her accusations. Had someone approached the role with a bit of a lighter touch (I would have loved to see Cherry Jones in the play), it might have better matched Philip Seymour Hoffman's complex priest and Amy Adams' confused nun and gotten the film's point across more clearly. At the end of the film, where Streep gets her emotional moment, I was so twisted against her character that I couldn't bother to care about her at all.

I had a similar problem with The Reader but on an even larger scale. Kate Winslet may well win an Oscar for her role as a tram ticket taker who has an affair with a teenage boy and based on the wonderful work she has consistently turned in throughout her career, I would be fine with that result. However, I was unable to find any sympathy for a 35 year old ex-concentration camp guard who has an affair with a 15 year old boy. How could we possibly expect to feel anything but disgust such a character? This sense of disgust made it difficult for me to understand why the boy (who grows into a stoic Ralph Fiennes) would have any ounce of compassion for her and I basically spent most of the film feeling angry, which I do not believe was the intended result. David Kross, the 18 year old actor who plays the 15 year old boy, was very good as a confused adolescent/young man and there is a wrenching sequence in which he vists one of the concentration camps (buildings and piles and piles of shoes left behind). This of course just fueled my anger towards Winslet's character because you really feel for the boy who was taken in by such a twisted woman. The excuse given for her behavior is ludicrously flimsy and in no way can justify what she has done. If anyone who was moved by the film feels differently certainly feel free to explain why but I just simply did not get it.

So having seen all five best picture nominees I can finally say it - Slumdog Millionaire was certainly my favorite and I hope and believe it will prevail on February 22nd.

New Movie Recommendation: Medicine for Melancholy

I did manage to catch this film last weekend (at a screening attended by both the filmmaker Barry Jenkins and the star Wyatt Cenac) and would definitely recommend it for anyone who can get themselves to the IFC theater in the Village this weekend (and for those of you in Detroit, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco keep your eyes peeled as it's coming soon as per the poster at left). The film follows two people over one day after they wake up together at a party. While the film is a beautiful one day romance movie ala Before Sunrise/Sunset, there is also a lot of discussion of what it is to be African-American in San Francisco which is interesting (and based on the filmmaker's own experiences living in San Francisco). Most of the film is heavily desaturated which gives it a somewhat dreamlike quality (which according to the filmmaker, is what he intended). There are also a lot of great shots of the city of San Francisco itself - not the tourist San Francisco but the real city. Finally, there are some very funny moments (which you would expect since it stars the Daily Show's Cenac) which certainly keep the movie from getting too bogged down in the sociological issues it addresses.

All in all I would say the film is more interesting, sweet and winning than most films out there right now so if you're looking for an enjoyable and stimulating evening at the movies, don't miss it.

You Tell 'Em Bruce

Further to my post of yesterday, Bruce Springsteen has not surprisingly leapt to the fans' side in the whole Ticketmaster debacle. http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/bruce-springsteen-this-merger-isnt-born-to-run/?hp Thanks for caring Bruce, it's appreciated but if only there were a way all of us who were screwed could get in to see the show!

Do Not Read This if You Haven't Seen Lost

Seriously, I mean it. Because there's a doozy coming and I don't want to feel guilty for ruining it.

To give you time to let that sink in and look away, let's start with the basics. The Oceanic 6 are slowly coming together in L.A. as they evade those who seek to harm them. Essentially, Kate went on a wild goose chase to see who wants to tear Aaron away from her and while Claire's mother was a nice red herring, of course the entire thing was a ruse by Ben to get her running again (and aid his cause of getting her to go back to the island). Sayid doesn't trust Ben but is willing to chauffeur him around. Hurley is going to be released from jail on what to me sounds like ridiculous circumstances but TV never does law very well. Jack still believes in Ben although his thoughts may be changing now that Ben revealed he was behind the Kate/Aaron blood test and once Sun comes charging out of her car waving a gun in Ben's face. But once someone picks Hurley up from jail, our band of brothers will be all accounted for so I think the journey back will start soon.

Of course, this leaves out that Desmond is making his way to L.A. (not by boat let's hope) to talk to (we assume) Mrs. Hawking so hopefully next week we'll get back to that story line (I guess Desmond needed the week off to get from London to L.A.)

Meanwhile, on the island there is still no sign of Rose and Bernard (this is seriously bothering me!) although it was nice to see Sawyer is still thinking about them (Is anyone here? Rose?!? Bernard?!?) The peculiarities of island time travel apparently lead the survivors to confront people and things they already know - the drug airplane crash, meeting Alpert, Widmore and possibly Faraday's mom in the 1950s, running in to Ethan in the jungle, seeing their own present past and now traveling back to the 1980s to run into Rousseau and her not too long for this world French brethren. It would be fun to see them travel to places in time they know nothing about and learn a little something about the history of the island (although learning about the bomb was a nice kicker). Perhaps they did at least go one place of which they have no knowledge, namely, the future when they found their camp in tatters and found evidence they had been invaded by canoes oared by Indian airline travelers. EW's Jeff Jensen (no relation) is speculating that perhaps those were the canoes of the returned Oceanic 6 but why would the Oceanic 6 start shooting when they know they could be hitting their own? Sawyer thanked the lord when they were removed from the canoe shooting only to renege his thanks when they landed in the 1980s storm that stranded Rousseau in what was the funniest moment of the night but the most touching moment of the night had to be when Sawyer came to tears watching Kate help deliver Aaron - we knew he had a heart.

There is also the pesky island time-travelling problem of brain sickness, first manifested by nose bleeds. Faraday theorizes that the onset of time-travel disease is related to length of island exposure so Charlotte has been first (we have been led to believe she was raised on the island), Miles second (although we can theorize that he is the son of Dr. Candle, apparently he is unaware of this), Juliet next (since she came to the island months before the Oceanic crew) and presumably Locke and Sawyer are on their way with Faraday bringing up the rear. It seems Faraday knows of no cure for this sickness other than focusing on a constant point (as Desmond did by focusing on Penny when he was afflicted) but since they are jumping around a period of fifty years, presumably it is hard to find such a constant. Hopefully they figure this problem out soon!

So now that we have hopefully lost those seeking to ruin their viewing experience, let's get to the shocker. What we were all hoping for in our hearts but would not dare to hope for out loud came true - Jin is alive (and currently being aided much to his surprise by a young, pregnant Rousseau). Now while I love, love, love, love that Jin lives to time travel another day, I have to admit I'm a bit confused as to how that's possible. Jin was last seen jumping away from the blast on the freighter so presumably, even if he managed to escape the blast, he would at least be within the immediate vicinity of where the freighter last stood. It was my understanding that the freighter was outside the reach of the island since you had to use Faraday's special bearing to get the helicopter from one to the other and since time was running differently in the two locations. Thus, even if Jin was floating in the ocean alive, I'm not sure how he could have gotten sucked in by the island's time traveling ways. Faraday was in the motor boat when it happened but he was definitely still within the island's radius so he got sucked in but does anyone else think that Jin was too far away? Please share your thoughts on this as well as your gratitude that Jin has returned.

Get Ready for Lost Tonight

with another great episode of Totally Lost in which EW's duo posits that Mrs. Hawking is not only Daniel's mother but Ellie the other from last week's episode. Can't wait to see what happens tonight!

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid9774638001/bclid9783698001/bctid9867127001

Ticketmaster's Evil Plans

When I noticed this article on Yahoo today I was glad to know that I was not alone - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090204/ap_en_mu/springsteen_ticket_glitch. I too tried to buy tickets to Springsteen's May New Jersey shows on Monday to no avail. Ticketmaster had sent an e-mail late last week saying that tickets would be on sale at 10am yet when I went to the site at 9:50, the tickets had already been on sale and were already gone. After getting multiple error message screens, I too finally got a screen saying there were no tickets left but offering resale tickets for over $200 for the upper deck.

I'm sorry but if Ticketmaster is going to have a monopoly on the sale of tickets for big shows, something should be done to ensure that the tickets are actually getting in to the hands of individual buyers and that Ticketmaster doesn't get to screw its own customers so that its resale company can profit. Start writing your legislators now.