Wednesday, March 22, 2006
SHOCK
I'm a little disappointed in Trey and Matt tonight. For an episode that took as long as a coffee break to write it WAS pretty good but it had all the obvious signs of a rushed-ass script any jerk with a decent sense of humor could've written. A jerk, like, y'know, me and or any one of my creative WRITING pals. Or us TOGETHER. Frankly, it reminded me of the stuff Jeff and I used to write in middle and high schools. Random bullshit, terrible violence, twist ending, insults galore, a big fat Star Wars reference... it was all shocks and cruelty. Childish, mean and mostly hilarious, it was a disgusting way to send off a character who's been there since the beginning. Pederasty and explosive shits and Darth Vader are hilarious... but part of me still feels dissatisfied.
While some of the gags were brilliant - like reusing old Chef sound bytes for dialogue or the counselor/FBI guy felching a doll - a some of them were also, well, pretty bad, like the old Super Adventure Club guy threatening the kids with security guards. Three times. The joke was so weightless it was almost as if crickets could be heard from the recording studio. The Architect from the Wal-Mart episode was a far better unintimidating old guy. A jab at Scientology? Again? And the neverending violence... Certainly well-animated (sorta) but I guess I got numb to it...? I dunno. Mixed feelings.
Lost was also mixed but this one leans much more to the dumb disappointing side of TV. Which is usually dumb and disappointing anyway. The best of Lost treats its audience and characters with respect, humor and threatening mystery. That was mostly in the first season. This season has a few bright moments - the introduction of Mr. Eko (Adebisi's OZ :D), the moral self-destruction of Charlie and Sayid, the return of creepy Ethan, the death of that oily blonde cunt - but if I were to sum it all up I'd say it's in... ugh, a sophomore slump.
I think the problem's in the serial format of the show. It's.. a TV show, so of course it's serialized but the show's narrative is running on its own slowass clock. It's been a year and a half since it premiered in our world but on that island it's been a little over a month since they crashed. I think the writers fucking forgot that. Because of this characters sometimes act like they have no goddamn brain (Did Sayid forget what Taco Girl DID to him...last WEEK?) and events drag on FOR SO LONG that it's becoming really difficult to care. That, and they're recycling the same old tired TV bullshit EVERYONE is familiar with.
Lost has a LOT of potential but the serialized format and lazy writing is fucking it up. Why aren't these characters asking IMPORTANT QUESTIONS and DOING IMPORTANT THINGS? They all seem pretty relaxed to me. Maybe I should just wait for the DVD set and watch them back-to-back so I can be disappointed quickly instead of on a week-to-week (or 2-4 week) basis. When I first caught wind of the show I thought it had to be a mini-series. I wish it was.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Oscars BLAHSCARS
So Crash won. I didn't see it but I'm sure it's pretentious bullshit - like the audience at the show. If this show proved one thing it's what the most reasonable among us knew forever: celebrities are fucking astronauts.
Some comments from Metacritic.com. They're from users and they're actually more interesting than the critics. So, EVERYBODY sucks! http://www.metacritic.com/tv/shows/78thannualacademyawards
Drew F gave it a 4:
Stewart recognized that his material was tanking early on, and so he opted for much safer comedy for the rest of the night. On one hand, probably a safe choice, on the other: BLAH. This show really did a good job of displaying the political and social disconnect between Hollywood and the heartland of America. Seemed like it was all a tribute to Hollywood's collective head shoved up it's ass. Sad. Do you think THIS is really the way to make box office receipts go UP? By telling the rest of America that they're idiots and that they should follow the Hollywood intellectuals and their TRAIL BLAZING WAYS? And to top it all off, the most bland, contrived film nominated took home the award for Best Picture. Keep believing your own press, Hollywood!
Heh. Yup.
joe gave it a 5:
crash won? seriously? crash? give me a break! but, three 6 completely made up for that travesty of justice by making a few million white people REALLY uncomfortable. i think that's a lot more relevant statement of race than crash will ever be.
Um. I guess? Maybe? What would us stupid white folk know of the artistic relevance of repetitive hip-hop? If it's not smooth jazz then fuck it M I RITE lol
JGC: gave it an 8:YES. Best analogy I've seen in a long time. Jon wasn't bad. I mean, he was hardly onstage and when he was he took potshots at celebrity assholes and the bullshit of the business. So, fuck you, L.A.
Opening bit about past hosts was great. Jon proved a good MC for the proceedings. Some jokes and comments funny, some just mildly clever. But blaming him for a boring Show is like blaming the Pastor for a funeral. best regards.
WHOOPS nevermind.Los Angeles Times - Paul BrownfieldAs TV comedy, anyway, the gambit worked, even if you couldn't help notice the look of vague comprehension on the faces of the stars themselves. Stewart's monologue might have played as a kind of well-written chore, but then he hit his stride as the show went on, mostly by doing what he does so well on his own program -- jokes out of videotape.
I suppose the most excitement I got from it was the Batman Begins nomination for Cinematography. They showed the clip of Bruce standing surrounded by the swirling bats. MMMMFFFFFF. So my excitement lasted approximately 1.4 seconds. Oh and they showed a clip from Blade Runner in a nifty TRIBUTE to EPICS or something. So, that brings my excitement up to 2.5 seconds perhaps. But there were also shots of Return of the Jedi and Fellowship of the Ring so... okay, let's say four seconds flat. But there was also a NOIR TRIBUTE using the L.A. Confidential theme music and there were tired-looking guys wearing awesome hats in smoky black and white so... shit... ok, I'll round up to a minute. A MINUTE. Phooey.
It was also nice for Philip Seymour Hoffman to win. He's filthy! Can't wait to see him in Mission: Impossible III - Philip Seymour Hoffman Does Mean Things or Whatever to Special Agent Ethan Hunt's Girlfriend or Wife!
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
We can fly
Just watched the end of Macross Plus, the original OVA.
MAN. There's something to be said about friendships - relationships in general - in anime. You can be a total jerk but with enough heroism and fervor, in the end, you can redeem anybody. Even Kaneda and Tetsuo were best buds in the end. =(
And the SOUNDTRACK. I thought I heard the best Kanno had to offer in Cowboy Bebop and Stand Alone Complex but Macross Plus will hypnotize you... then force you to kill IN THE NAME OF LOVE AND ADVENTURE.
MAN. There's something to be said about friendships - relationships in general - in anime. You can be a total jerk but with enough heroism and fervor, in the end, you can redeem anybody. Even Kaneda and Tetsuo were best buds in the end. =(
And the SOUNDTRACK. I thought I heard the best Kanno had to offer in Cowboy Bebop and Stand Alone Complex but Macross Plus will hypnotize you... then force you to kill IN THE NAME OF LOVE AND ADVENTURE.
