Archive for May, 2007

h1

Summer TV

May 30, 2007

Just because the majors – 24, Lost – are on hiatus doesn’t mean my DVR won’t get some work…

Week of June 4
John From Cincinnati (HBO)

Week of June 11
Big Love (HBO)
Rescue Me (FX)
The 4400 (USA)
Entourage (HBO)
Flight of the Conchords (HBO)

Week of July 9
Eureka (SCI-FI)
Psych (USA)

Week of July 30
My Boys (TBS)
Weeds (SHO)

It’s not that I don’t like these shows as much as the big time shows, it’s just that – with a couple of exceptions like Big Love, Entourage and Weeds – I don’t know enough people who watch the show so there’s no one to talk to or bounce thoughts off.

Let me know if you watch any of these shows and I’ll be sure to seek you out post-airing.

h1

Movies I’m Interested In Seeing: June

May 29, 2007

This summer has been pretty disappointing so far. Hopefully, the best is yet to come…

June 1st
Knocked Up

June 8th
Ocean’s Thirteen

June 15th
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

June 20th
Sunshine

June 27th
Live Free or Die Hard

June 29th
Ratatouille
Sicko

h1

Movie of the Week: Waitress

May 29, 2007

It was cute.

It’s always good to see Keri Russell in a starring role and doing great.

It was a funny, sweet movie.

The music was kinda annoying but it was an indie movie so I’ll let it slide.

But once again, I will take this moment to again lobby for the stardom of Nathan Fillion.

Spielberg. Bay. Lucas. (Ok, not Lucas.)

Cast this man as the next Summer blockbuster hero.

Please.

h1

Movie of the Week: Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End

May 26, 2007

Please let this franchise be “at world’s end”.

This movie isn’t bad. It’s boring which is a bigger crime. The first two hours were a constant struggle to stay awake during or care about this movie. They would sprinkle Jack Sparrow in to keep you going like a shot of espresso but eventually your body adjusts.

My review for Dead Man’s Chest last year pretty much applies to this movie as well and I don’t feel like retyping it.

Let me just add two things:

  1. It’s like the writers and directors forgot what made the first one so great and so much fun. That movie was all about Jack Sparrow and a fun little pirate adventure. Then they went and made it all dark, twisty and unnecessarily complicated. It’s like, “Wow, Johnny Depp got nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for a role in this silly little pirate film. Let’s add more characters and cut his lines.”
  2. What happened to the two hour movie? Really?
h1

Lost Season Three: "Through the Looking Glass"

May 24, 2007

In various interviews, Tim Kring, creator of Heroes, constantly went out of his way to say his show isn’t like Lost in a negative way. You know what, Tim? You should be so fucking lucky.

What I Liked:

  • As I sat at work anticipating this episode, avoiding spoilers, I tried to figure out who might die and it occurred to me that anyone could die at this point. Usually the sign a character is going to die is flashbacks come to some sort of resolution. We learn every facet of what made the person on the island. This season, we basically wrapped up everyone’s past – Locke’s dad, Kate’s dad and mom, Sayid getting forgiveness, Sawyer getting his revenge, how Jack got his tattoo (I know…who cared). The point is there was nowhere else to go so everybody was vulnerable. How I underestimated Cuse and Lindelof? The flashback is over. The flash forward begins
  • I know some people hate Jack and some people want someone to punch Jack in the face (I’m not one of them), but Matthew Fox carried this episode acting-wise from his future self, his five minutes with Ben when he thought Jin, Bernard and Sayid were killed and his final showdown with Locke. Seriously, I hope the Emmys don’t ignore Lost in the acting categories this time around.
  • There was all types of bad assery: Jack kicking Ben’s ass, Hurley’s rescue in Roger’s van, Sayid pulling a Jack Bauer, Sawyer’s revenge kill on Friendly, Locke throwing a knife in Naomi’s back and Mikhail’s underwater grenade pull
  • Two best quotes of the night
    • “If you say ‘live together, die alone’ to me, Jack, I’m gonna punch you in your face.” – Rose (after Jack told them they weren’t waiting for Sayid, Bernard and Jin)
    • “I didn’t believe him.” – Sawyer (after shooting Tom Friendly in cold blood)
  • Charlie died. Ok, I wish he didn’t die. There! Are you happy?

What I Didn’t Like:

  • I wish ABC didn’t list Malcolm David Kelly in the opening credits so Walt’s appearance would have been more of a surprise
  • Jack’s kiss with Juliet and saying “I love you” to Kate seemed out of place and pointless.
  • Jack’s AWFUL fake beard
  • I wish we got more of Locke
  • The anticlimactic reunion of Alex and Danielle
  • I’m mad at myself for not figuring out the flash forward thing sooner

What We Learned On The Island:

  • Ben was keeping the fact that Looking Glass was still functioning a secret to everyone
  • Everyone were told the girls guarding it – Greta and Bonnie – were on assignment in Canada
  • Ben was keeping Alex and Karl apart because he didn’t want her to get pregnant
  • Bernard is a bitch
  • Danielle recorded her distress signal three days before Alex was born
  • Naomi is not working for Penny
  • Jin is a poor shot with a handgun
  • Mikhail is a poor shot with a machine gun in broad daylight and a stationary target
  • Tying up and gagging Sayid does not necessarily mean he can’t kill you
  • There is a “temple” on the island
  • Walt’s ghost is about 6 inches taller than real Walt
  • Mikhail is an immortal. Ok that’s not true but it sure feels that way doesn’t it

What We Learned Off The Island:

  • Jack and Kate got off the island (!)
  • Jack became a pill-popping drunk
  • While trying to jump off a bridge, he caused a woman driving with her son to crash her car. Jack saved their life
  • Jack attends a funeral for someone that both him and Kate knew
  • Oceanic Airlines gave the survivors unlimited miles which Jack uses hoping to crash on the island
  • Kate has a “he” to go home to
  • Jack is trying to get back on the island.

Questions:

  • How did they get off the island?
  • Who didn’t get off the island?
  • What “mistake” is Jack tired of “lying about”?
  • Who’s funeral was that? (My guess: Ben)
  • Who is the “he” Kate has to go home to?
  • Is Jack’s father alive?
  • Is this the absolute future or a possible future?
  • Was that Jacob appearing as Walt?
  • After all the things that have happened to Locke, now he decides to kill himself?
  • Who is Naomi working for?
  • I know Charlie thought he was going to die but why did he rat out Juliet as his source for finding the underwater hatch? What if he ruined everything with his big fucking mouth?
  • Is Mikhail really dead this time?
  • Did Charlie close the door on himself to make Desmond’s vision come true saving Claire in his mind or was he too sodding stupid to realize a) he had enough time to get on the other side of that door or b) the moon pool in the other room would have slowed the flooding to a crawl giving them plenty of time to escape?
  • How badass is Sayid and Sawyer?
  • Will Desmond still get visions? If so, what will he see now?
  • what and where is the temple Alpert is leading the remaining Others too?
  • Why has Ben been lying to his own people and jamming their communications off the island?
  • Why is the cast of NBC’s Las Vegas invading Lost? will James Caan be playing Jacob?
  • Seriously, did another black character have get killed off the show?
  • Can Cuse and Lindelof pull this off?
  • Can I survive until February 2008 without Lost?
h1

Fuck UPS [update]

May 23, 2007

Continuing last night’s tale

UPS was supposed to call me at 10 AM to discuss last night’s non-delivery.

They called me at 10:55 AM. Whatever.

The woman says that it shows here blah blah blah…it doesn’t matter what the fuck she said because the fact is he didn’t come.

Then she was like is someone there to receive the package now? No, I’m at work. Just like you.

I think this is the thing that annoys me most about most about my conversations with them: their immediate assumption that you are home.

Anyway, I ask if they could deliver it after 5 PM tomorrow. She says she will inform the driver and call me back. That call still hasn’t come.

I get back to the office (I was in at the doctor’s office during this call) and check UPS.com for some sort of update. Guess what?

05/23/2007 11:07 A.M. RECEIVER WAS UNAVAILABLE TO SIGN ON 3RD DELIVERY ATTEMPT

I’m just so tired right now.

Any unseen all-powerful, all-knowing deity, please give me strength…

h1

Fuck UPS

May 23, 2007

So for my five year anniversary at work, I got to select a gift and I picked this bicycle.

It was shipped and was supposed to be delivered by UPS on Friday.

That’s when the adventure begins…

I decide to work from home because when I wake up, I see this message on UPS.com:

05/18/2007 4:54 A.M. OUT FOR DELIVERY

So I sit at home, working on my shitty desktop, waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

I sit at home all day until this message comes up on the website:

05/18/2007 7:08 P.M. THE PACKAGE IS DELAYED DUE TO EMERGENCY CONDITIONS BEYOND UPS’ CONTROL

What the fuck does that even mean? It was a beautiful 70+ degree day. What “emergency conditions” were there?

So I don’t get any updates on the weekend and Monday morning. I check UPS.com periodically but no updates. So I get home and there’s a UPS slip on my door. I get upstairs and check the website and see this:

05/21/2007 3:35 P.M. THE RECEIVER WAS NOT AVAILABLE TO SIGN ON THE 2ND DELIVERY ATTEMPT. A 3RD DELIVERY ATTEMPT WILL BE MADE

2nd delivery attempt? What the hell are they trying to pull? You only get three attempts before you have to go pick up the package yourself.

So I call UPS and arrange to have it delivered Tuesday after 5 PM. Everything is straight.

UPS calls me right back and says the driver is still in the area and wants to know if I’d MEET HIM to pick up my package.

1) It’s a 35 pound package.
2) He’s the one with the fucking van.

I obviously say no and will be fine with delivery on Tuesday.

So today, I leave work early so that I will be home by 5 PM. And I wait.

And wait.

And wait.

I call UPS at 6:30 PM and they tell me my package should be there by 7:30 PM.

7:30 PM comes and goes.

I call back. UPS tells me packages have been delivered 11 PM (can anyone confirm this?)

I keep waiting and checking UPS.com periodically.

I get distracted by the final episode of Veronica Mars (sniff) and at about 9:40 PM, I refresh UPS.com and see this:

05/22/2007 9:24 P.M. THE RECEIVER WAS UNAVAILABLE TO SIGN ON THE 1ST DELIVERY ATTEMPT. A 2ND DELIVERY ATTEMPT WILL BE MADE

I flip out. I run down the stairs while calling UPS to check if there was a slip on my front door. There wasn’t. UPS tells me that the driver tried to deliver it and I wasn’t there. I tell her that’s not likely because I have been here waiting for almost five hours. I ask her to explain to me why the driver flat out lied. She stutters and puts me on hold. She tells me UPS will call me tomorrow morning.

I am so angry right now that I can’t think of a better word to describe it than “seething.”

Fuck UPS.

h1

24 Season Six: 4:00 AM – 5:00 AM/5:00 AM – 6:00 AM

May 22, 2007

Body Count: 49 (+13!)

Sorry this is late but there was nothing to talk about aside from Jack setting the single season kill record.

I’ll make this quick so we can forget this season ever happened.

Jack was right, everyone was wrong.

Jack killed 19 people with one clip.

Doyle’s blind

Chloe’s pregnant

Bill Buchanan, channeling Tony Almeida, goes from not being sure he can fly a helicopter to landing on an oil rig on the sea.

Bill and Karen Hayes are unemployed

Dragonslayer is still a snarky dick.

Josh proves he’s Jack’s son by getting the drop on Papa Bauer and shooting him

Jack lets Papa Bauer blow up with the chip on the oil rig

Jack ambushes Heller and gets his balls back

Jack says goodbye to Audrey.

Jack contemplates his future (or suicide).

Silent clock for the death of a popular show.

The End

h1

I Believe in Christopher Nolan

May 21, 2007

The first look at Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight

h1

New Transformers Trailer

May 17, 2007

This is the first trailer that has made me want to see the movie.

Looks better in Quicktime HD if you
have a Quicktime player on your computer