jacksonville

I’d say that J.J. Abrams has never had two shows on during the same season, except that I think Six Degrees may have overlapped a bit with Alias. Maybe. I don’t know, as I only watched the pilot of Six Degrees.

Anyway, my point (and yes, I have one) is that I am really going to enjoy watching LOST and FRINGE during the same season. Both utilize mesmerizing — albeit slightly sinister — mythologies that make the viewer actually pay attention on a higher level than any other show I’ve watched. Both feature stellar ensemble casts. Both offer extremely satisfying — and amazing — aha! moments that make you just sit back in awe and wonder what it must be like to be J.J. and his team of writers/showrunners/producers/etc.

I still say that I prefer Fringe while conceding that Lost is the better technical show. It goes beyond just the fact that Fringe is slightly easier to watch (although you still have to pay close attention and I wouldn’t recommend it to casual week-in and week-out viewers). I think I just prefer the mythology. And the characters. And maybe even that I miss The X-Files. You know, pre-movie. When it was good.

When a show has had such a remarkable freshman season, speculation tends to be that the same quality cannot be sustained. That may ring true for some shows, but in my opinion, it definitely does not apply to Fringe. In fact, Fringe’s second season, I will venture to proclaim, was better than its first. Don’t get me wrong – I absolutely loved the first season. But it did move rather slowly at first. This second season started with a bang — an actual one, if you want to count the windshield shattering as Olivia flew through it — and hasn’t let up one bit.

Thursday marked its 14th episode this season, called “Jacksonville.” The title refers to the top-secret former military base that William Bell and Walter Bishop obtained and converted into a laboratory and facility to run tests on children. One of these children was Olivia Dunham.

With the potential cataclysmic induction of two realities into one space (as foretold by William Bell himself to Olivia when she visited Over There during the first season finale) all but on their doorstep, Walter, Peter, and Olivia have to race to find answers. Namely, they have to figure out how to get Olivia to tap into the abilities Walter and Bell instilled in her as a child.

What a tremendous winter finale. So much happened. I know the dude from EW who reviews the show (Damian Holbrook, I think?) will not be happy about the step forward the Peter-Olivia relationship took, but I think it fit well with that episode’s trajectory. They have had a unique bond from about a half-dozen episodes into the series. They understand each other. Peter has always been able to alternately calm Olivia down (see: episode where her mind was melding with a serial killer’s via her dreams as but one example) and even trigger her abilities (see: episode with the light box; the Glimmer).

As soon as she was able to identify the Glimmer — which indicates objects and/or people from Over There — I knew she’d be the one to figure out that Peter is really Over There Peter, and that Walter kidnapped him from his world after Over Here Peter (this is going to be confusing) died as a child.

That final interaction — Peter clueless and happy because he and Olivia are finally going to be able to hang out without the pressure of a case looming over them; horror dawning on Olivia’s face as she realizes what she’s seeing; infinite sadness on Walter’s face as he realizes that someone has finally uncovered his secret — unfolded perfectly. It was kind of heartbreaking.

The April 1 back-from-hiatus episode is simply titled “Peter.”

I can’t wait.

#4 – zombieland

I don’t know how Zombieland did in theaters or how the critics judged it. All I know is that it is a heck of an entertaining movie.

If you’ve seen Night of the Living Dead or Shaun of the Dead or played Left for Dead or any variation of any of them, the plot’s pretty basic. Zombieland’s interpretation is that Mad Cow Disease has somehow evolved into a virus that turns those it infects into, well, zombies.

Hence the movie’s title: we no longer live in the United States — we live in Zombieland.

The main character and narrator is the quintessential adorkable college kid Columbus, played by Jesse Eisenberg. (I kept forgetting he wasn’t Michael Cera.) He’s formulated a list of rules to survive, and they’re woven pretty comically into the actual scenery throughout the movie.

He meets up with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a redneck with a penchant for Twinkies and for kicking the crap out of zombies. Eventually they cross paths with con artist sisters Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin).

And the four of them blast their way west to a fictional theme park that 12-year-old Little Rock wants to visit, and where there are supposedly no zombies.

It’s freaking hilarious. There’s some witty dialogue and banter, and it’s not without its sentimentality. I seriously had so much fun watching it and am pretty sure I’m going to add it to my Blu-ray collection.

(Rated R for violence, gore, and language.)

done. finally.

I at long last finished the fifth season of LOST and watched the premiere of its final season.

This is what happened:

Yup. That’s right – my brain exploded from the sheer awesomeness of it all. Afterwards, I watched Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse on Jimmy Kimmel and was amazed even more – because as much as I was patting myself on the back for getting most of it, they revealed some stuff that I considered innocuous.

Stupid me. Nothing Damon & Carlton ever do is innocuous.

Anyway, I’m glad I’m finally caught up and only have to digest one episode at a time now. I cannot wait to see more about these seemingly parallel universes and sideways stories; are the Temple Others the same Others or are they, you know, Other Others?; is Sayid really Sayid, or is someone inhabiting him? Fake Locke – heretofore to be referred to as Flocke; what’s up with Ilana and her crew? And so forth and so on. Ad nauseum.

Yeah. It’s gonna be an excellent final season, which will culminate on Sunday, May 23.

I’ll be back with more thoughts after I’ve recovered from my mind being blown.

#3 – book of eli

I finally saw Book of Eli, Denzel Washington’s post-apocalyptic, dystopian drama. I’m still not certain how I felt about it.

I certainly liked the part the Bible played in it all and Eli’s devotion to it and to his blind faith to carry the Bible – the last one that remains in the entire country – to a place where it would be safe. I also liked the fact that he had memorized the entire thing, from Genesis to Revelation.

I think my issue with it is that there wasn’t enough story. Or, rather, there were gaping holes in the story. Maybe it’s just me, but I like details. I wanted to know what had happened 30 years earlier, referred to by Eli and the others as “the war” or, simply, “before.” I wanted to know why it was thought that the Bible was the cause of the incident, and why all copies but Eli’s were burned.

I also would’ve liked more character development. What was Eli like Before? How did Gary Oldman’s Carnegie come to realize the importance of Eli’s Book, and why did he believe that he could use it to beat people into submission?

Denzel and Oldman were great, as per usual, and I was pleasantly surprised by Mila Kunis. I’d only ever seen her in reruns of That ’70s Show, so it’s nice to see that she can play a character other than Jackie.

Anyway, it was a good movie. I just wanted more cohesion and more actual story.

junk science & jenny mccarthy

My brother – and doctors everywhere – are angered by people who refuse to vaccinate their children. You’ve probably heard about Jenny McCarthy’s crusade against vaccines, convinced that they cause autism. (I cannot roll my eyes hard enough.)

Greg Gutfeld, host of FOX News’ Red Eye, addressed this in Wednesday’s Gregalogue:

Celebrities Who Make Kids Sick

So the Lancet, a British medical journal named after a really sharp object, retracted a horrible study attempting to link measles vaccines to autism.

Now this would really be great news, if the study had not come out, oh, 12 years ago. It’s really scary that it took a medical journal over a decade to admit what nearly everyone else with a working brain knew: the study had more gaping holes in it than Tom Sizemore’s septum.

But sadly, although the study author has also been discredited for this harmful crud, it doesn’t matter. People who believe in junk science will continue to believe in junk science, because their egos won’t allow any other option. And so they will continue preaching to parents a dangerous and false belief that ends up killing kids.

I speak of Jenny McCarthy, Jim Carrey, and all the saps at the Huffington Post who, by their own earnest idiocy, misled the public into skipping vaccinations. The potential result: measles outbreaks all over the globe – and ultimately, dead kids.

It’s hard to make jokes about that, so I won’t.

But I will make jokes about gasbags like Carrey and McCarthy, two cretins who can’t be content simply making us sick to our stomachs with their work – they also gotta make our kids sick with ego-driven medical advice. Now, I’m not a celebrity, but here’s my medical advice for this sort of behavior: whenever a star offers an opinion on important health matters – citing flawed studies they know a nearly comatose Larry King won’t bother checking – they should be given a vaccination of their own. It should be full of lead and shot straight up their ass.

And if you disagree with me, you’re probably Arianna Huffington.

evil never looked so hot

Edward Cullen, eat your heart out.

I’ve got a ton of stuff to blog about: LOST Season 5 and the Season 6 premiere; FRINGE in general, but more specifically, its winter finale; updating my 2010 movies and books posts; and I’m actually going to throw a couple personal updates in as well.

But until then, Damon will be an adequate place-holder. (Seriously? How come Ian Somerhalder never looked this frakking hot on Lost?!)

I know I probably said some unflattering things about the pilot of The Vampire Diaries, but I really should’ve given the show my standard pilot-plus-one rule because I’ve gotten…er…sucked in. (Sorry. Sort of.)

I wouldn’t necessarily qualify it as a guilty pleasure. I don’t subject myself to anything I would be embarrassed to admit to someone else. It may not be on par with some of the other stuff I watch, but I still like the story and the characters.

Anyway, enjoy. (And if I’d been able to find a picture of him shirtless, believe me, I would’ve used it instead.)

lost’s swan song is nigh

I’m finally catching up on Season 5. Please don’t ask me why I stopped after “This Place is Death.” I don’t know, other than it’s such a hard show to watch passively and sometimes I just didn’t have the energy to, you know, er, not be passive.

I’m so psyched about Tuesday’s premiere.

The Final Season.

Wow.

#2 – the third option

Written by: Vince Flynn

I finished Vince Flynn’s third novel — and the second in his Mitch Rapp series — in less than 24 hours. I can’t remember exactly when I started it last night, but I’d say I devoured it in about six hours total? Something like that?

It was faster moving than Transfer of Power, if that can even be believed, considering the former dealt with Islamofascists hijacking the White House.

In The Third Option, counterterrorist specialist Mitch Rapp finds himself on the run for his life. A very powerful Washington insider is seeking to topple President Hayes’ administration by embarrassing the CIA, and Rapp is targeted as the means by which to do so.

He has to employ every ounce of cunning to not only remain alive, but to protect his mentors and his family while at the same time hunting down those who dared hunt him.

this about sums them up

I cannot believe the twins are THIRTEEN. I still remember when they lived with us: Mia climbing into Kevin’s crib and stealing his bottle; Kevin freaking out about balloons; falling asleep with them on my chest when they were sick; taking after-church naps with them on Sundays; watching countless repeats of Toy Story, Homeward Bound, Alaska, and Sandlot…I know it’s completely clichéd, but seriously, where does the time go?

I miss them as babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, but our relationship now, while different, is so much more enjoyable. In between trips to the movies (I think I’ve taken them to every single superhero/fantasy movie since the second Harry Potter) and bouts of video game-playing, we have philosophical discussions ranging from the difference between judgmentalism and right/wrong; historical dissections of various world events; peer pressure; and other stuff that I’m lucky I can answer.

When I was laid off from my editing/writing job in North Carolina in late 2002, I was really depressed and a bit lost, but now I see that God really did know best — if I’d stayed there, I never would’ve gotten to see my nieces and nephews grow up.

Ignore the date - this was taken a few days ago.

#1 – transfer of power

Written by: Vince Flynn
Recommended by: Glenn Beck, my friend John

I’m assuming it’s due to my family’s long heritage of military and law enforcement service. One of my favorite movies as a kid was Red Dawn. My cousins and brother and I played commando, complete with authentic army face paint given to us by our uncle; we staged elaborate battles and bases with our GI Joes (I preferred them to Barbies).

It wasn’t much long after that I picked up Tom Clancy and started reading all about Jack Ryan and his covert missions. That paved the way for the movies (I prefer Harrison Ford’s Jack Ryan to Alec Baldwin’s, naturally) and just continued from there. Some of my favorite movies are Blackhawk Down, Saving Private Ryan, and the Jason Bourne trilogy.

Political thriller master Brad Thor is one of my favorite authors, and my friend, John, recommended Vince Flynn.

It’s taken a while to finish the first of his Mitch Rapp series — but only because I haven’t been in a reading mood.

Transfer of Power is excellent. It’s set in the mid-90s when Saddam Hussein is still exercising his lunacy over the enslaved people of Iraq. He funds an evil mastermind named Rafique Azziz to infiltrate the White House in hopes of taking the President of the United States hostage. (Guess how he got in? Yeah. The DNC and its lust for money and power were easy to manipulate. Shocker. Protocol was broken, and the perimeter was breached.)

Fortunately, the president is able to escape to his bunker and it’s up to counterterrorism specialist and all-around badass Mitch Rapp, a civilian named Milt Adams, and a reporter who’d been among the 100 hostages Azziz and his men had captured, to save the day.

Very good book. Suspenseful. Action-packed. I love reading about HRT, Delta Force, SEAL Team Six, HALO jumps, .50 mm machine guns, and the like.

The fictional Democrats portrayed in the book are exactly like the real-life Democrats we find ourselves faced with today. The fictional vice president, who has temporary control when communications with the president are lost, is so much like Obama, it’s not even funny — and this was before anyone even knew who our Apologizer-in-Chief was.

I’m so thankful, as I’ve said before, for our military and for the real-life people who inspired the heroes in this book. Because if we had to rely on Obama and the insanity on the Left?

We’d all be doomed.