Movie of (Last) Week: Stop-Loss

Good movie that's hurt by bad acting.

I should say my friend and I had gone to the movies with the intention of seeing Horton Hears A Who so to go from being in the mindset for a Dr. Seuss movie to seeing a(nother) depressing flick of Iraq was a little jarring. But I won't hold it against the movie.

Ryan Phillippe was good but why does he always sound like he's clenching his jaw. Abbie Cornish was okay but her Texas accent was pretty bad. The best was (no surprise) Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I wish they had spent more time with his character arc (which towards the end happens behind the scene of the main storyline). Actually, it might have been a better movie with him as the lead but that's just my opinion.

It was good to see Victor Rasuk again who was good comic relief despite his character's personal tragedy.

Lost Season Four: "Meet Kevin Johnson"

What I Liked

• This episode was just a long series of answers. Have we ever had an episodes that was predominantly a flashback?
• It was good to see Harold Perrineau showing how good an actor he is (and not yelling "Waaaaaallt!" or "They took my son!"
• That this isn't the last episode of the season, Lindelof and Cuse were right, this would have been a horrible way to end the show if the strike wasn't resolved in time
• Line of the night: "He wants to survive. And seeing as how a week ago you had a gun to his head and tonight he's eating pound cake, I'd say he's a guy who gets what he wants." - Miles, in regard to why he thinks Ben will be able to get him his $3.2 million

What I Didn't Like:

• If Danielle is dead (her gunshot was in the lung so she might be alive), I'll be extremely disappointed that we never got a flashback for her
• Fisher Stevens showed up again but no Zoe Bell.

What We Learned:
Flashback:

• Michael made it back the U.S. and is living in New York?
• Walt is staying with Michael's mother and won't see Michael because he told him about how he killed Ana Lucia and Libby
• Michael tried to kill himself by crashing his car but miraculously survived
• Michael pawned Jin's watch to get a gun to shoot himself
• He is interrupted by Tom Friendly!
• The "island" won't let you kill yourself because you've got work to do
• Michael tries to kill himself again but the gun jams.
• The fake plane was discovered after Michael got home
• Tom was gay
• Some of the Others can come and go from the island to the real world
• Tom tells Michael that Charles Widmore staged the whole wreck so no one but him would discover the island and has proof (photos of a emetary in Thailand, receipt for a Boeing 777, freighters)
• Michael job on the boat: kill everyone on board
• Frank joined the mission because Widmore believed him when he said 815 was a fake
• They gave him a fake bomb straight out of the Joker's playbook
• Michael's real job was to provide a list of the frieghties and disable the communication and engines so they'd never make it to the island

Island:

• The Temple is where the rest of The Others are holed up
• Karl and Danielle might be dead.

Questions:

• How did Michael and Walt get from the coast of Fiji to New York City?
  
• When did Tom have time to see Michael in the real world?
• Is Libby a hallucination or a manifestation of the island (like Charlie was to Hurley)?
  
• Which Others have the ability to leave the island (Ben, Tom, Richard Alpert, Ethan have been seen off the island)?
• The island won't let you die? What the fuck?
• How does the island determine what work you have to do?
• Did the island cause the crash that stopped future Jack from killing himself?
• Who's behind the fake Oceanic 815: Charles Widmore or Ben Linus?
• Why couldn't they find a reason to bring Marsha Thomson every week?
• Who else was lying about their identity on the freighter?
• How much of Michael's story did he tell Sayid before he stupidly turned him in (total Jack move)?
  
• Did Ben set up Karl and Danielle's ambush or were they shot by the freighter folks courtesy of Frank's "errand"?
• Was Malcolm David Kelly on his knees when he looked out the window or was that a digital Walt?

Dear Friend Who I'd E-mail

What's up? Sorry I haven't called you (back) but I'm pretty crappy when it comes to talking on the phone.

How's the (job/apartment/significant other) working out since we last spoke or have you (quit/moved/broken up)?

Me? My job is alright. I transferred to a different department (yes, again) but I'm still stuck doing parts of my old job. I'd complain more but that's not going to change anything is it. It's funny. It was funny. I watching The Wire and thinking about how in the end (spoiler) nothing changes institutionally and I got sad about my job because it's the same way. Anywho, shit or get off the pot, right?

Yes, I'm still single. It will be four years in June. I don't know it that's impressive, scary or sad. I think I've gotten incredibly comfortable not having to consider another person in my decisions. I'm not saying I'm a commitment-phobe or anything. Actually, maybe I am. Not because I don't want to be tied down or anything but I don't miss having to do things because the other person is bored. Not saying I want to spend my life sitting on my couch watching TV every free moment I have...but it is my preferred position. I've come to realize that I like having someone to be with as long as I'm no required to keep her entertained. Know anyone? Nevermind. even if you did, I wouldn't want to bother.

Have you seen any good movies? I really haven't been dying to see anything since Oscar season ended. I'll get around to seeing Semi-Pro (even though I heard it sucks). There are definitely some movies coming up I'm looking forward to: Funny Games, 21, Run, Fatboy, Run, My Blueberry Nights.

Have you been watching In Treatment? It's a great show but if I didn't have DVR I'd never be able to keep up. It's like a soap opera (new episodes aired every night M-F). It's almost over but it should be OnDemand until next month. Anyway, I'm obsessed with it and scared by it. The therapist, Paul, reminds me why I never wanted to pursue Psychology any further than a B.A. During my senior year, there was something that always rubbed me the wrong way about my professors who were also therapists: this kind of detached state...always analyzing. Even when we were having non-class related conversations, they always came off as not being able to let their guard down. And I wondered how that kind of person dealt with friends or family. How does one turn it off. Anyway, when I started watching this show, he's like a TV version of my worst fears about becoming a therapist.

I hope all is well and you write back soon.

Love,
S

I felt like blogging about a bunch of different things and it just came out like this

Obama on Hip-Hop

Lost Season Four: "Ji Yeon"

What I Liked:

• The Oceanic Six are complete (I think)
• Juliet is COLDBLOODED
• Bernard!
• That I was so focused on being underwhelmed by the return of Michael, I was completely taken off guard by the Jin reveal
  

What I Didn't Like

• That we all knew Michael was going to be Ben's man on the boat because that would have been one hell of an "Oh Shit" moment
• That I fell for Jin's flashback even though all the signs were there: Him looking younger, Year of the Dragon (2000), his bulky cell phones (Cell phones are a big tell on this show)

What We Learned
Flashforward

• Sun makes it off the island
• Sun gave birth to a girl, Ji Yeon, the name Jin wanted.
• Hurley and Sun visit Jin's grave (Tombstone marked September 22, 2004 - the date of the crash)

Island

• In a last ditch effort to keep Sun on the beach, Juliet tells Jin about Sun's affair with Jae
• Juliet has balls (ovaries?) of steel
• The captain of the freighter: Captain Gault
• The freighters have been going a little crazy due to their proximity
• A saboteur has damaged the engine room amongst other things
• Charles Widmore got the black box of the fake Oceanic 815
• Michael is the spy under the guise of Kevin Johnson,mild mannered mopboy

Questions:

• Is Exposé (The show Nikki was on) really that popular that Sun would be watching it in the future?
• Where's Rose?
• What happened to everyone who isn't Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Sun and Aaron in the future?
• Why did Regina jump into the water wrapped in chains?
• Please tell me they didn't hire Zoe Bell for that ONE scene?
• What errand did Frank have to run on the island?
• What is driving the freighter folk crazy on the boat?
• Is Gault telling the truth?
• Who staged the fake Oceanic 815?
• Where DOES one find 324 bodies and a plane?
• How did Michael get on the boat?
• How much time has passed since Michael left the island and ended up on the freighter?
• Did Jin really die?
  
• If so, how and when did Jin die?
• Why didn't Jack come to visit Sun and Ji Yeon (Kate can't leave the state and Sayid is a hitman)?
• Where does Ji Yeon's birth fit with Hurley's psychotic break on the flashforward timeline?
• Why do I feel like a small piece of my soul died?