obnoxiouselephant

2) Ben is not actually dead, or the island will resurrect him because the past is immutable and the island needs him for its purposes

He survives. Somehow. The podcasts have already said that Faraday is right about time-travel, and common sense dictates that Ben will somehow survive. Ben was ALWAYS shot by Sayid, which is how he knows so surely that Sayid is a killer by nature.

One of the best trailers I have ever seen. I am beyond excited for this.

AMONG THE THUGS?...Whats that one about..is it similar to this ive just started.

It's a non-fiction that describes Buford's foray into the European (mainly English) football scene/culture. It describes with apt brutality and realism what he experienced--riots unlike any here and a culture of violence that transgresses the like of football into class distinction, race, and ultimately bottled up rage.

It's a good, fast read that is a real eye-opener.

Just finished "Among the Thugs" by Bill Buford.
Now on "Franny and Zooey" by Salinger,
And will then read "Q&A" by Vikas Swarup.

I don't mind Anna Faris. I liked her quite a bit in "Smiley Face".

Another possibility is that Charles Widmore and Ellie are brother and sister, and Ellie is still Eloise Hawking, which would make Widmore Daniel Faraday's uncle. Either way, I don't think the name thing is an issue, as we saw with Jeremy Bentham and John Locke being one and the same. One thing that threw people so much on who was in the coffin was the "J--- -----ntham" name in the obituary.

I like that idea a lot more. It makes sense that Locke's name was changed to Jeremy Bentham--I think it'd be a stretch that is unnecessary at this point in the series. Next week looks to be good, though I really hate all the overblown "Kate-Sawyer!" reunion hype. Kate's character just doesn't do it for me.

Now, Charles Widmore in a sudden twist, seems a little more trustworthy. I'm still unclear about his role in all this, but his claim that "a war is coming" really burdens the character (and the viewer) with the necessity of choosing the right side. I liked how they readdressed the meeting between Locke and the young Charles Widmore from the island in "Jughead". Now if only we'd get some clarity on who Ellie is from the same episode. Most likely, Ellie and Charles Widmore had a son, Daniel Faraday. The pieces fit: Daniel said Ellie looked familiar, and Charles Widmore has been funding Daniel's research. Though there would have to be a pretty good reason for him to not reveal his connection with Daniel. But these are thoughts for a different day.

Haha that would mean that Penny and Faraday are siblings! I don't know if I buy that however. Where would Faraday get his last name? It's not Widmore, and it's certainly not Hawking, so I just assumed the father's last name was Faraday.

But he wasn't a martyr. Milk wasn't killed because he was gay, he was killed because Dan White was a bitter political rival. That's like saying JFK was killed because he was Catholic.

You have a point, but I'll still stick by mine. Dan White was far from a 'bitter political rival' to Harvey Milk. They were cooperative in many instances, and Senator Dianne Feinstein, the person who found Milk's body, even claimed that they were friends.

If any merit at all can be found in the "Twinkie Defense", it's that Dan White was indeed going through a tough time recently. He blamed his failure to regain his seat after resigning on Moscone, who he also shot and killed, and to a lesser degree, Milk. If you remember, Milk was unwilling to help White from preventing a psychiatric ward opening in his district, and therefore he was the only one to vote against the gay rights ordinance. I do not take this resentment too lightly, and it was one of the major factors that led to White's dissatisfaction with San Francisco politics.

You're right, Milk wasn't directly killed because of his sexual orientation. However, I firmly believe that he was killed directly because of the steps he took to fight for gay rights, and his inability to concede on this mission. Had he complied with White's bargains and acted in accordance to his wishes, rather than solely acting on the best interests of his district and their gay rights, there is no way White would have betrayed him as he did.

Far worse, though, is Gus Van Sant's pretentiously inept direction, which erroneously turns Milk into a martyr. And that's the problem, the same narrow focus that has made Spike Lee's films so inaccessible for years. A gay screenwriter and a gay director making a movie about a gay rights icon comes off as a little too bent to really capture the man.
Milk is a good film that could have been a great film in the hands of someone less invested in its subject. 3.5/5

I humbly disagree. Milk would make my top 5 of the year, if I did such rankings. I got no aura of pretentiousness from the movie and rather than the 'bent' sense you got, I received it as passionate filmmaking. The film showed Milk had his flaws, and that his style of life was at many times hypocritical.

Your assertion that Milk was "turned into" a martyr isn't at all how I feel. Martyrdom has transcended its intended meaning of readily accepted and voluntary death, and I heartily accept him as a martyr for his cause. Martyrs aren't without their faults, and the fact that he was humanized in the film readily accepts such a notion. Martin Luther King Jr. had an affair and Gandhi almost let his own son die before giving him medicine, yet these are never spoken of.

Once again, it's understandable that you seem put off by the gay filmmakers' investment in the film they conceived, however I'm almost awestruck with what passion they used. That's like saying Oliver Stone was too bent on Vietnam to make a successful war movie (and Platoon is highly regarded in my book) and that Spielberg's handling of a holocaust movie is also too personal (I can only hope you do not have qualms with Schindler's List).

Sean Penn perfectly captured Harvey Milk, in my honest opinion, and I loved Milk for everything it was.

edit: What's up with this new editing requirement? I just forgot to properly format quotes, and it keeps telling me to append my message by atleast 3 characters. Hm.

Loved this episode. Seriously, every second of it. This is what LOST is all about.

In honor of Michael Crichton, I am about to read his latest book, "Next." What are some that ya'll like?

Got it for Christmas, and read it. It's an engaging book and entertaining to read. A lot of critics denounce this book as a misstep for Crichton, but I think it's up there with the rest of his body of work.

all my friends are telling me this movie is good and im having a hard time believing them. looks like man on fire only with the neeeese.

I'd watch any movie with neeeeese kicking ass.

Yeah, as much as I respect his work, this proved to me the guy is a huge prick.
Some people are making excuses for him, "but his family life has been so horrible!", but that's bullsh*t. Many people have deadbeat families and grew up with problems at home. It's not an excuse.
I heard Josh Brolin on Ellen talking about how he'd try to make Sean Penn screw up his scenes in Milk because it was funny. I've heard about how Ricky Gervais always tries to get people to laugh when they're supposed to be shooting a scene. Anyone who's seen outtakes knows film and tv sets are generally a place where screwups and funny sh*t happens. Bale needs to grow up and settle the f*ck down. The dude probably didn't even know they were rolling.

Hm. I guess. I mean I hate judging someone by a three minute piece of audio (no matter how bad it sounds--and it did sound bad) when their take on it wasn't presented. The DP, in my mind, made a complete mistake when he walked in on a shooting scene. That is a cardinal sin in filmmaking, and it seemed as though it wasn't the first time it happened. If Bale was such a huge prick, surely some other filmmaker or crew-member would have commented on it? Nolan had nothing but compliments on working with Bale. Haha, you try acting as if the world around you was falling apart to machines and some random DP is screwing around with a light.

Bale was viscous, and probably overreacted, but everyone needs a good tongue-lashing every once in a while. The fact that this is so sensationalist makes me long for days when words aren't taken so harshly.

Jeez.

I thought last night's episode started out sort of slow, but in the last half, it picked up. Definitely the worst of the episodes so far this season, though still a good one.
Really? I thought it was excellent throughout. If I were to rank episodes this season, this would rank ahead of episode two, though they've all been too excellent to subject to such treatment.

-Who were the people in the boats at the camp who shot at them? I'm guessing we'll find out later. Speaking of which, it would seem that the other survivors (Rose, Bernard, Vincent, et al.) are also bouncing around the island through time. I wonder when we'll catch up with them.
I have this unfounded urge that it was the Oceanic Six themselves. That wouldn't be the a great response because it seems as though Juliet shot one, which would suck, and I don't think they would shoot at a boat preemptively. What makes me say this is that the airplane rubble found of "Ajira Airlines" could be the plane that the Six took to get back to the island. If you remember, when Kate and Sawyer were being held by the Others, they seemed to be building a runway and were told not to ask what it was for. Also, LOST has put up a website for Ajira airlines, which LostPedia is claiming means "island" in Hindi. I know in Sanskrit it means some sort of arena or area. They seem to be going full "dharma" with this.

-I had a nagging feeling Ben was behind the whole thing with Kate and Aaron. That's a pretty dirty trick, man. I guess he has them all together now (except Hugo), but judging from next week's promo, it doesn't look like that will go well for him. Sun is intense!
It was always quite obvious to me that Ben had to be behind the whole thing. I felt the whole Claire's mom diversion was quite unnecessary. Speaking of Claire, I am still verry intrigued about her current disposition. Speaking of Sun, I hate her character progression. Am I supposed to believe that because she lost Jin and got a bunch of money, that she is on the same level of masterminds Widmore and Ben? Especially putting herself in such a high risk lifestyle while her own child is not in her possession? It's disappointing to see her character progress as such because it's utterly ridiculous.

-The twist at the end with Danielle's team was brilliant! I just hope the island sticks in time long enough for them to explore that. I really feel there's more of Danielle's story to be told. The producers have long said we'd see more of her story, and after her death it seemed unlikely she would have a flashback, but it would seem they're making good on that promise.
Yeah, I was so excited when Locke went "unless you understand french!" I knew right away it was Rousseau, and I would love for her story about her killing her team being told. This may be going off on a limb, but might "The Sickness" be the dreaded time travel disease? It's certainly possible, though I don't see why Rousseau wasn't affected by it for the longest time.\

-I was fairly certain Jin was still alive, because if he wasn't, then it would have made for a huge plot hole. Consider how the Six have to bring Locke's body back because he died off the island. The same rule would have to apply to Jin as well if he were dead. As it stands, he isn't, so that makes the problem moot. Everyone else who has died has died on the island, with the exception of Michael, but I think he's an exception to the rule because the island (in the form of Christian) told him he was free to go right before his death. That only leaves one that I can think of, and that's Walt. He's still alive, but not on the island. There seems to be much about his character that hasn't been made clear yet, so I really hope this comes up over the next while. Remember that he appeared to Locke when he was in the pit, and that may have been his physical self (he was older after all) from the future rather than just a manifestation of the island.

You're right, I was also certain that Jin was alive. There's just one thing that's bugging me. How the hell was Jin in the island's bubble for time travel? Obviously the chopper wasn't, and if I remember correctly, the chopper was between the freighter and the island. There was a time lapse between the freighter blowing up and the island "moving" by I'm guessing ten minutes. I suppose the explosion could have pushed him further out and he could have swan close to the island (albeit very fast). I really hope they explain this in depth, because his return seems a bit shoddy to me.

Other than those minor points, these episodes have been great! There are so many possibilities now with the time travel. I am really looking forward to seeing Jacob's story manifest. The scene when Sawyer runs into Kate delivering birth to Aaron was beautiful. LOST's score is so superb for a television production.

He'll definitely be more badass in Taken because he'll speak less like Deepak Chopra.

The movie was surprisingly enjoyable. There's nothing really new here, but Liam Neeson was not only believable as the badass, but he convinced me.

I think Sun blames Ben for the death of her husband, which is fair. She doesn't know the "big picture" (though I'm not sure we do yet either, Ben is pretty sketchy). Whether or not that makes her up to no good is a matter of opinion.

On Jughead:

Good episode. A couple of big things revealed!
Desmond is a daddy! And his son's name is Charlie...aww.
Daniel Faraday has a dirty little secret. Shame!
We know now that Char;es Widmore was physically on the island at one point (and apparently a big wiener). That's a big revelation.
Also, I liked how Locke said "I'm born in 58. Come visit me." We know that Alpert in fact DOES come visit John as a boy. That scene makes a lot more sense now. Does anyone know whether John chose the compass or not when Alpert visited him? If he didn't, this is why Richard got so upset.

I liked the episode quite a bit. Couple of points:

That "Ellie" girl that was holding the gun to Faraday (who's quickly becoming one of the best characters in my opinion) that looked about 12 'looked familiar' to Daniel. Now, Eloise is the name of Ms. Hawking AND the name of the lab mouse he used. I think she is his mother, and she has been on the island obviously too.

Keamy talking about "firing up" the island last season makes more sense now. He knew Jughead was there and buried somewhere, probably at the discretion of Widmore. Keep in mind that this is complete conjecture.

The "finding leadership at a young age" surely explains the kidnapping of Walt and other children a lot more.

Desmond and Penny are heading to LA! I really hope Ben doesn't keep his word and kill Widmore's daughter in vengeance.

Anyone think Widmore might have possibly moved the island, a la Ben? The fact that the military found it, and Dharma, makes me believe that it wasn't so hidden in the first place. Maybe he moved it, realized it meant he was exiled, then employed Ms. Hawking to find its location.

I've yet to see a Danny Boyle film that I didn't love (though I haven't seen Sunshine OR Slumdog yet).

I loved both. Sunshine was top 10, maybe even breaks the 5 plane of 07 for me, and Slumdog is sitting at #1 of 08 right now. I'll be watching Frost/Nixon and Milk today, but I doubt that it'll change.

The first episode set the tone greatly, and was a pleasure to watch. The second one was as well, but it slowed a bit, which I feel was necessary for exposition. What a great premiere.

Heroes absolutely pales in comparison to LOST in any category. Acting, direction, editing, sound, cinematography. Name it, LOST does it better. I do not get any of the hype over Heroes. It is in my mind exceptionally mediocre.

Here are my personal picks.



NOMINATIONS


LEADING ACTOR
Mickey Rourke - THE WRESTLER

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger - THE DARK KNIGHT
(Emile Hirsch and/or James Franco were both better than Brolin in Milk, personally)

LEADING ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway - RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Marisa Tomei - THE WRESTLER

ANIMATED FILM
WALL-E

ART DIRECTION
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
(TDK and Benjamin Button were both extraordinary in this category, in different ways. I think Slumdog has a strong case for it too.)

COSTUME DESIGN
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
(I'll admit, I have not seen The Duchess, and it's the one that jumps out at me for being another period piece with Keira Knightley)

DIRECTION
Danny Boyle - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

DOC*MENTARY FILM
MAN ON WIRE

DOC*MENTARY SHORT
(Haven't seen any of these)

EDITING
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

FOREIGN FILM
(Where is Let the Right One In...?)

MAKEUP
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY

ORIGINAL SCORE
Alexandre Desplat - THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
(Though I think Rahman's composed soundtrack is brilliant, the score itself isn't as impressive as Desplat's)

ORIGINAL SONG
"Jai Ho" - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
"O Saya" - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
(Can't choose one of these. These aren't even the two best on the soundtrack, but they're the most catchy I suppose)

BEST PICTURE
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
(If this one wins, as I think it should, it will get a lot of heat, unfortunately. I think the others are good movies, but none supersede this in 2008, except for possibly The Wrestler, whose exclusion is a sin)

ANIMATED SHORT FILM
(None seen)

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
(N/A)

SOUND EDITING
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

SOUND MIXING
THE DARK KNIGHT

VISUAL EFFECTS
THE DARK KNIGHT

SCREENPLAY - ADAPTED
Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon

SCREENPLAY - ORIGINAL
Martin McDonagh - IN BRUGES
(I am VERY glad that In Bruges got a nod here)

And Clark, I agree, Desplat did a fantastic job with Benjamin Button, as he does with almost every film. He is said to be scoring Terrence Malick's new film, The Tree of Life, slated to come out near the end of 09 or early '10. This, without a doubt, is my most anticipated film.

As I said earlier, as well, I thoroughly dismiss Slumdog Millionaire's so called "over-hype". It has been seen with many films over the years, all of which that were decidedly less deserving. This is more than just a feel-goody, happy ending, fairy-tale like movie.

NY Jets over Denver (apologies to Denver)

I'd NEVER!

Minnesota over Chicago.