Recent episodes of Lost have been so full of fan service that I haven't felt the need to write about them. There were some decent flashbacks, some long-term mysteries resolved, and a really brilliant WTF. But last night's episode pleased me more than anything since the season two finale, so permit me to geek out off the top of my head.
Hardcore fans know that the entertainment media, because they had nothing better to do at the time, made a big deal about the fact that Lost was acquiring a few new actors for season three. Among them were Kiele Sanchez, who Wikipedia tells me wanted to be a VJ and is married to the guy who wrote Stranger Than Fiction, and Rodrigo Santoro, the "Tom Cruise of Brazil," whose favorite actors are Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino (again, according to Wikipedia), which means he is driven by a delicate balance of loving his paychecks and a legitimate desire to chew scenery.
Paulo (Santoro) and Nikki (Sanchez) were introduced in the third episode of the season, "Further Instructions." They instantly annoyed fans for not being Bernard and Rose. But the fan hate was cemented two episodes later in "The Cost of Living", when The Guy From Oz decided he couldn't live in Hawaii anymore and was offed by the smoke monster. That was the episode where Nikki pointed out something anyone with, say, John Locke's infinite hypothetical fantasy coolness should have realized already, and Paulo flushed a toilet in a hatch. What was up with that?
Now we know. As with John Locke's apparent ineptitude pre-"The Man From Tallahassee", Nikki and Paulo now make complete sense. I don't know if everything was planned from the start or if Lost is merely the best example of retroactive continuity on television evar. Either way, I feel my defense of this show is now completely justified.
Though I've avoided "next week on" promos ever since NBC insisted on spoiling Boomtown--note to the networks: advertising what minute a shocking twist will occur ruins the shocking twist--I still went into this episode knowing someone would die. By this point, even casual fans of the show know that if someone is going to be written out of the show on a certain week, then that episode will focus on them. Since I knew that this episode would focus on Paulo and Nikki, I figured there was a 50/50 chance one of them would be offed by the end of the hour.
Nikki died in the teaser. After a short flashback that included Billy Dee Williams as himself in the Lost version of She Spies, Paulo was found dead shortly thereafter. What followed was one of the top ten episodes of the show, as Nikki and Paulo's history, both before the crash and after, unfolded in the course of 42 minutes.
I'm going to break our spoiler policy here and not write about what happened next. Whoever you are, whether you've watched the show or not, you have to see this, and it would be a shame to spoil it. It's an excellent entry point into Lost and the most insider-y episode of the series to date at the same time. It's a first season style mystery, a third season reinterpretation of the canon, and full of knowing winks for the most jaded viewer.
I haven't loved Lost this much since "Walkabout." Just watch it already.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Things Read/Things Viewed
I've come across a few things that seem worth talking about, but not enough to devote an entire post to. Which is another way of saying that good or bad, none of these things inspired much passion.
Also, please note that right below, Tomfoolery has joined Narraptor and myself as a contributor. In his inaugural post, he talks about one of those subjects that is close to our heart: Buddhism.
Read:
Nightwatch
This is actually a trilogy of short stories, so by the time you've reached page 100-ish, you'll have gone through all of the events of Nightwatch the movie. The plot is similar, except that it removes most of the best and worst parts of the film, leaving a tale that's better grounded, but without any noteworthy scenes. Oh, and each tale ends with the same twist: It Was All My Cunning Plan. Magical Russia is nice, but I can see why most people prefer to do their adventuring in Magical London. (This statement discounts Londoners themselves, who often react to Magical London with abject fear and a strong desire to return to their terrible job and lame friends.)
Un Lun Dun
This one actually would have been it's own post, except that Narraptor pretty much said it all for me.
A nice touch is the glossary in the back, which includes none of the Magical London terms used in the book. However, it does explain all the British slang for American kids.
Viewed:
Ghost Rider:
Do you want to see an old issue of Ghost Rider come to life? Because that will pretty much determine what you think of this film. For one thing, the dialogue ought to have been put in word balloons, especially whenever the movie's central themes are used. Also, most of the fight scenes follow a traditional old-school comic formula.
1- Villain enters and gets a few good hits on Ghost Rider. Oh, no, what can he do?
2- Ghost Rider figures out the villain's weakness and takes him down in a matter of moments.
(That weakness is unusually some variation of, "Wait! What if I use my demon-killing chain to kill this demon?" Don't expect any epic fights.)
If you care, they changed the Ghost Rider's origin story. I guess they felt that the audience wouldn't be invested in a guy who willingly summons Mephistopheles, The Secular Satan, and signs his contract of doom. "Yes. He fooled you... that's what he does. I thought you spent months studying about this guy."
Sublime
A video release recent enough to include a trailer for The Reaping, Sublime is advertised as a pure horror movie. This is as much of a lie as the image on the cover. It's about a guy who goes into a hospital for a routine surgery and everything goes weird on him. If you don't already know where this movie is going, you haven't seen enough of these films. But there's another element involved... there are long, lingering shots. Questionable shots that linger on their own artiness. Superficial discussions about what it means to be a superficial person. A sea of electronic music letting you know how you should feel. And then, it all comes together. Some poor fool combined a horror movie with Grand Canyon.
Also, please note that right below, Tomfoolery has joined Narraptor and myself as a contributor. In his inaugural post, he talks about one of those subjects that is close to our heart: Buddhism.
Read:
Nightwatch
This is actually a trilogy of short stories, so by the time you've reached page 100-ish, you'll have gone through all of the events of Nightwatch the movie. The plot is similar, except that it removes most of the best and worst parts of the film, leaving a tale that's better grounded, but without any noteworthy scenes. Oh, and each tale ends with the same twist: It Was All My Cunning Plan. Magical Russia is nice, but I can see why most people prefer to do their adventuring in Magical London. (This statement discounts Londoners themselves, who often react to Magical London with abject fear and a strong desire to return to their terrible job and lame friends.)
Un Lun Dun
This one actually would have been it's own post, except that Narraptor pretty much said it all for me.
A nice touch is the glossary in the back, which includes none of the Magical London terms used in the book. However, it does explain all the British slang for American kids.
Viewed:
Ghost Rider:
Do you want to see an old issue of Ghost Rider come to life? Because that will pretty much determine what you think of this film. For one thing, the dialogue ought to have been put in word balloons, especially whenever the movie's central themes are used. Also, most of the fight scenes follow a traditional old-school comic formula.
1- Villain enters and gets a few good hits on Ghost Rider. Oh, no, what can he do?
2- Ghost Rider figures out the villain's weakness and takes him down in a matter of moments.
(That weakness is unusually some variation of, "Wait! What if I use my demon-killing chain to kill this demon?" Don't expect any epic fights.)
If you care, they changed the Ghost Rider's origin story. I guess they felt that the audience wouldn't be invested in a guy who willingly summons Mephistopheles, The Secular Satan, and signs his contract of doom. "Yes. He fooled you... that's what he does. I thought you spent months studying about this guy."
Sublime
A video release recent enough to include a trailer for The Reaping, Sublime is advertised as a pure horror movie. This is as much of a lie as the image on the cover. It's about a guy who goes into a hospital for a routine surgery and everything goes weird on him. If you don't already know where this movie is going, you haven't seen enough of these films. But there's another element involved... there are long, lingering shots. Questionable shots that linger on their own artiness. Superficial discussions about what it means to be a superficial person. A sea of electronic music letting you know how you should feel. And then, it all comes together. Some poor fool combined a horror movie with Grand Canyon.
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