Thriller Film Review Quickies
It’s been ages since I’ve done a proper film review! I’m finding less and less time to sit down and write a review. Through my busy schedule, I watched three horror/thrillers. The following is a three-part “quickie” review on these films.
Triangle (2009. Directed by Christopher Smith. Starring Melissa George)
My first comment about this film is that it is seriously trippy. Jess (Melissa George) joins her friend Greg and a few of his mates for a day of sailing around the Bermuda triangle. After a crazy storm jacks up their boat, they find refuge on a seemingly deserted ocean liner. As usual in these films, chaos ensues and soon the rest of the passengers are chased and shot by a masked killer. Strange occurrences start brewing and Jess tries to stop the masked murderer. After throwing the killer overboard, Jess is left alone on deck. Out in the water, she spies the same group of friends (including herself) she went sailing with. They are reboarding the shit! Very strange, since Jess just witnessed them all being killed! Soon it becomes clear that the exact same events that JUST happened are happening again. The current Jess becomes the previous masked killer, and everything repeats itself. Towards the end of the film, we see what happened previously that day, which lead Jess to go sailing in the first place.
Sounds confusing, right? While the concept seems a bit muddled, everything about this film is executed wonderfully. The acting is alright, but this is the kind of film that does not rely on the performances of the actors, with Melissa George being the exception. I enjoyed Melissa George’s performance, especially towards the end of the film where we see what Jess’s motivation is. I loved the concept of the film, and had a great, albeit mind-boggling experience watching it. Certainly not a film for the simplistic movie-lovers, but I definitely recommend it for those who truly appreciate well thought out thrillers! Postscript: Melissa George is the actress who played Sadie in Grey’s Anatomy season 5, so any Grey’s fans who like a good thriller should check it out!
Elsewhere (2009. Directed by Nathan Hope. Starring Anna Kendrick, Tania Raymonde, Chuck Carter, and Paul Wesley)
I decided to watch this film when I noticed the cast. I love Anna Kendrick, especially in Up in the Air. Tania Raymonde is most commonly known as Alex from Lost, and Paul Wesley can be seen currently as Stefan on The Vampire Diaries.
In the painfully small town of Goshen, Indiana, Sarah (Kendrick) and Jillian (Raymonde) are best friends, though massively different. Sarah is the stereotypical girl next door: top notch student, athlete, and all around good girl. Jillian is a promiscuous punk kid with a bad attitude. Jillian has been meeting men online via her [very sexed up] Myspace-esque profile. She longs to meet a guy online to take her away from her small town life. Shortly after revealing this to Sarah, Jillian disappears. Sarah is determined to find her best friend. Her only clues are Jillian’s journal and a short and sinister video message that Jillian sent her on the night of her disappearance. With the help of computer geek Jasper (Carter) the duo find themselves caught up in a series of corrupt and dark secrets revolving around both Jillian and their hometown. Even more so, they uncover a string of similar disappearances. They are soon led to the disturbing truth!
I have a few complaints about the plot of the film, but overall I did like it, and had an enjoyable time watching it. It’s very reminiscent of a mystery novel, as it goes through the paces of discovering and deciphering clues to get to the bottom of the abductions. Anna Kendrick as Sarah delivers a fine performance, and the audience roots for her the entire time. Though not on screen for the majority of the film, Tania Raymonde as Jillian also shines. The character Jillian is really the driving force behind the whole plot. Right off the bat, Jillian is honestly a thoroughly unpleasant girl. In so few words, she’s essentially a grade A bitch. As the film progresses, the audience falls in alliance with Sarah’s search for her best friend, which in turn allows the audience to feel some pity for Jillian. I enjoyed the mystery, but I have a bone to pick with the ending.
The culprit is obviously revealed in the end, and gets what is coming to them. My problem is not so much with what the ending presented. My problem is what the ending did not present. I do not want to spoil the ending completely, but in order to get my complaint out, I will have to reveal a bit of it. If you plan on watching this film and do not want it spoiler, do not read rest of this paragraph. SPOILER: So it is revealed that Jillian, along with the other abducted girls that Sarah learns about, have been killed. BUT it is never revealed what the bloody hell happened to the bodies. Sarah and Jasper come across the dark and scary school bus, which is the apparent scene of the murders. The seats have suitcases belonging to the abductees on them, but there are no bodies. The audience is never told where these murdered girls actually got to. We know they were killed, but that is as far as the film gets. I think the bodies of these girls are sort of a HUGE piece to the puzzle. Without those bodies, I just felt like the film was left a bit unfinished. They are on a farm, so I sort of concluded that perhaps the bodies are buried somewhere on the property. There are also these wicked creepy scarecrows on the farm, and I thought it would have made for a great ending if the bodies were somehow crafted into becoming those scarecrows. Wishful and morbid thinking, I suppose. Anyways, that was my biggest issue.
There are a few inconsistencies with the film, but overall it is a solid thriller. While subtly targeted towards a teenage female audience, it isn’t for the easy-minded. The subject matter of abducted girls is obviously quite dark, so be aware of that. I know I have a few friends who would find this storyline a bit too disturbing for their taste. Apart from my gripe about the ending, the rest of the flaws of this film are forgivable. It’s a good mystery thriller!
Nine Dead (2009. Directed by Chris Shadley. Starring Melissa Joan Hart).
I happily admit that my initial attraction to watching this film was simply because Sabrina the Teenage Witch was starring in it. Nine Dead is in short, a knockoff of the Saw movies. Nine seemingly random people are all chained up in a room. Their captor tells them that in order to be released, they must figure out why they are there. The captor explains that every ten minutes, he will come in. If they do not offer him their answer, he will kill one of them. They all begin to discuss what it is that they have all done to be there. As the plot unfolds, each character admits to some sort of sin they’ve all committed, but they can’t seem to find the connection. As such, every ten minutes, someone gets killed. As the number of those alive steadily decreases, it is soon discovered that each person played some part in sending an innocent man to jail. While in jail, the man contracted AIDS. His health insurance denied him coverage for a specific treatment, and he died. With three characters remaining, they give their answer to their captor, who is revealed to be the innocent man’s father. As promised, he releases them. BUT, the lawyer, played by Melissa Joan Hart, who has admitted to having falsified evidence to convict, decides that she isn’t going to risk her career. She then kills her two remaining comrades, and the killer, and escapes. The end.
This film is crap. The acting is awful. The plot is painfully unoriginal. Everything pretty much fails for this film. The gore wasn’t even good, which made me quite upset. It saddens me to learn that this is what has become of my dear friend, Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
So that’s my three-part review! I really hope to find the time to get back into the swing of writing reviews consistently. Look for upcoming reviews of Up in the Air and Death at a Funeral (UK version). Happy Viewings!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Lost Episode: "Ab Aeterno" Recap and Review
Lost Episode Recap and Review
Ab Aeterno (and a little Recon)
A Richard-centric episode (FINALLY!)
I did not do a review of Recon, the Sawyer-centric episode, last time for a few reasons, most importantly of which because I felt that it was a filler episode. It was smack dab in between the amazing Ben-centric episode, and the most anticipated Richard-centric episode. That being said, I’ll begin by pointing out a few aspects of interest regarding Recon.
1) FORD AND STRAUME: The Chronicles of Buddy-Cops…I smell a spinoff!
2) It was somewhat reassuring to see Jin safely hidden in the background amongst the rest of Team Flocke
3) I loved the LAPD duo of Ford and Straume. Go figure that in Sawyer’s flashsideways, he chooses a path of righteousness and upholding the law
4) Who else was SHOCKED to see Sawyer getting down and dirty with our favourite redhead, Charlotte? It was nice to see her (alive) off the island; she looked good!
5) I was on the edge of my seat when Claire jumped Kate. I was praying for some blood. I was just as giddy when Flocke bitch-slapped the silly out of Claire.
6) So we’ve seen Liam Pace at LAPD station looking for Charlie. This leaves me very hopeful that we will soon see my beloved Charlie soon.
7) We finally get a little inside look at Team Widmore and his sub. I wonder what is hidden behind the locked door!
8) Flocke and Kate have a heart to heart about crazy moms. Flocke speaks to Kate AS IF he is the real John Locke and not some bloody smoke monster. Hmm.
9) Claire apologies to Kate for trying to stick her like a pig. Damn, and I was hoping she’d try it again. *fingers crossed for another attempt!*
10) So in the end, we see that Sawyer is playing BOTH Flocke and Widmore, in hopes that while they’re busy fighting, he and Kate can commandeer the sub and get the fuck out of dodge.
Onto the real juice…
Ab Aeterno (Richard-centric episode)
Since midway into Season 3, Losties have been BEGGING for some Richard Alpert action. We finally get our lowdown on everyone’s favourite ageless wonder; and this episode did NOT disappoint! Most of the episode deals with wonderful flashbacks, so please bear with me as I try not to jump around too much.
As we open…
We open with Jacob visiting Ilana in hospital (Season 5 finale shout out) asking her to protect the remaining 6 candidates, to which she agrees. Back on the Island in present day, the Beach Crew hang around the fire as Sun regurgitates to everyone what Ilana told her about the Candidates. Ok, so now most of our people are aware that Jacob has named them as Candidates to take his place, which Ilana protecting them. Ilana tells them that Jacob informed her that “Ricardus” aka Richard will have a plan of action. At this point, Richard loses his shit. He giggles like a little school girl and has no idea what to do. He tells them that they are all dead and they’ve never been on an island. They are in hell! (At this point, Losties are severely hoping we aren’t back to the purgatory theory first presented by Anthony Cooper in “The Brig”). Richard decides to begin listening to someone else, and sets off to find Flocke. Richard has LOST IT. Meanwhile Hurley speaks in Spanish to a presumed dead person, and everyone is sad they can’t make s’mores on the campfire. No surprise there.
The Canary Islands: 1867
Ricardus, complete with grizzly Adams beard, ferociously rides his horse to his house. He beings to speak Spanish to his wife, Isabella, who is bedridden and looking mighty sick. He vows to save her, takes a silver cross necklace as payment, and rides off to find a doctor. He comes to the doctor’s house, and pleads for medicine. Dr. McDouchebag demands payment. When a few coins and the necklace don’t seem to float the Doc’s boat, they begin to struggle. Ricardus accidently pushes the doctor, who hits his head hard on a table and dies. Oops. He grabs the medicine and gets the fuck out of there. He returns, only to find that his wife has passed away. At this point, authorities have followed him and swiftly throw him into prison.
In prison, he makes his last confession to a priest. The Father does not grant him forgiveness, however. The only way to return grace is through penance, but he does not have time to do such, because they will hang him in the morning. “I’m afraid the devil awaits you in hell. May God have mercy on your soul.” Cheers mate!
Luckily, Ricardus has been learning to speak English with help from the Bible. A British bloke named Jonas Whitfield is in search of men who can speak English, and this Ricardus is saved from the hangman’s noose and sold into slavery. His quarters? Why, the Black Rock of course! (Losties have guessed this is where Ricardus came from, but this is the first solid confirmation that he was indeed aboard the Black Rock).
The Black Rock sails right into a fearsome storm. Other slaves try looking out between the cracks of the ship. In the POV of one of the slaves, we see the giant Taweret statue. The slave replies that the Island is guarded by the Devil (our giant statue friend). The ship crashes HARD into the statue, taking out most of the statue, but leaving behind the four-toed foot. ANSWER: The Black Rock destroyed the statue. A tidal wave carries the ship into the jungle to where it has laid since.
Ricardus comes to, just as Whitfield starts stabbing all the slaves below deck. There are apparently only 5 officers left, and the crazy Brit says if he frees him, it would only be a matter of time before Ricardus killed him (sounds like early onset island illness as Rousseau raved about). Just as Ricardus is about to be stabbed, we hear the ominous mechanical sounds of Smokey, who wreaks havoc on everyone except Ricardus. Phew, that was close! Suddenly, the camera pans up on Ricardus in a super up close and personal shot. We see the glory that is Nestor Carbonell’s eye lined eyes (WHAT COLOUR IS THIS? I ONLY USE ONYX. THIS IS FUCKING COBOLT! –Lost Comic Con anyone?)
Ricardus is left alone in chains. It rains, and he desperately tries to catch some water in his mouth. More time goes on, and he tries to pick the lock with a loose nail. More time goes on, and he finds himself face to face with a boar. The boar flees, but not before pushing the loose nail out of reach. Even more time goes by. He wakes to hear a woman asking if anyone is there. He sees Isabella! She tells him that they are both dead and in fact in hell. She is there to save him from the devil before he returns. She looked the devil in his eyes and saw evil. Before she can help him escape, we hear that familiar mechanical sound, and she flees. As she disappears, we hear what appears to be Smokey pwning her. Time goes by yet again, and Ricardus wakes to feel someone touching him. Welcome back the original Man in Black. MIB gives Ricardus water. He tells Ricardus that he is a friend, and that Ricardus is in fact, dead. MIB tells him that he has been on the Island long before their ship came. Ricardus explains how the black smoke took his wife. MIB says “That probably means HE has her”. MIB frees Ricardus, under the condition that Ricardus will help HIM and do anything he asks. Once freeing him MIB says, “It’s good to see you out of those chains!” (Hmm, where oh where have we heard that before?) At this point, I’d like to point out my mind had already been blown!
MIB says that they both must escape, but the only way to escape from hell is to kill the devil himself. They roast a boar and eat. MIB tells him to walk due west, and once he gets to the shore, he will be able to see what is left of the statue. That is where he will find the devil. MIB gives Ricardus a dagger (the same Dogen gave Sayid), and tells him that he has one chance to stab him, and not to let the devil speak one word to him, or it will already be too late (same line Dogen fed Sayid as well). MIB admits that he is the black smoke. He says that the devil has betrayed him, took his body and his life. He says killing the devil is the only way to see his wife again!
Ricardus walks until he reaches the shore. He sees the four-toed statue, and approaches it. As he approaches the entrance, Jacob appears and kicks the SHIT out of Ricardus. If ever we thought Jacob was a pussy, those thoughts have been shattered. Apparently Jacob has a black belt in jiu-jitsu. Jacob is seriously concerned about who gave him the dagger. He also admits that he has no idea about Ricardus’ wife. Jacob asks if Ricardus happened to meet the Man in Black. Ricardus tells him that he was told Jacob is the devil, and that they are all dead and in hell. Jacob admits that he is in fact NOT the devil, Ricardus is NOT dead, and he DID NOT see his wife. Jacob them throws him him into the water, showing him that he can easily drown him. He dunks him (3 times) and asks if Ricardus still thinks he is dead. Why should he stop? Ricardus finally utters “Because I want to live”. Jacob stops, admitting that saying that was sensible. They need to talk! (Anyone else pick up on the symbolism of Jacob dunking Ricardus 3 times into the water as a baptism?)
They get down to brass tacks. Jacob pulls out a bottle of wine, and gives Ricardus a drink. He also informs him that no one is allowed into the foot temple unless he himself invites them in. When asked if he is the devil, Jacob firmly says no. He tells him that he is Jacob, and that he is the one who brought Ricardus’ ship to the island. When asked why, Jacob shows him the bottle of wine (prepare for the analogy of a lifetime): “Think of this wine as what you call hell…malevolence, evil, darkness. Here it is, unable to get out, because if it did, it would be able to spread. The cork is the Island, the only think keeping the darkness at bay. The Man in Black thinks that people are corruptible because they are susceptible to sin. I bring people to the island to prove him wrong, and show that humankind is fundamentally good, but I don’t interfere with anyone’s actions until they get to the island.” (This is, in a big way, a revelation to LOST. We are finally being overtly told that the Island keeps “evil” at bay from spreading into the rest of the world. Of course, we must remember that we cannot fully assume that Jacob is being completely honest. I think it is fair to take his analogy at face value, but I for one cannot conclude that Jacob himself is not purely good, as I cannot conclude that MIB himself is not purely evil. This never-ending dichotomy of good vs. evil is so difficult to pinpoint. We are presented with the black and the white. This/He is good. This/He is evil. That is what we are shown. But just as good and evil are not as straightforward in the real world, I cannot believe that it is as straightforward on the Island either. I think we still have a little ways to go until we fully understand both MIB and Jacob’s true intentions. Who says there isn’t some good and evil in the both of them? Surely we have seen a helpful MIB, just as we have seen a manipulating Jacob. There is a lot more to this story, but I digress.
At this point, Jacob realizes that he could the help of Ricardus. He asks Ricardus if he will act as an intermediary on Jacob’s behalf for the people that he brings to the island. (We also are told that Jacob has brought other people to the island in the past, however they have all died. This is likely the answer as to who built the giant statue: former people brought to the Island by Jacob.) In exchange, Ricardus asks to see his wife again. Sorry, no luck. He asks if he can be absolved of his sins. Sorry, try again. (Important note, Jacob is NOT God, as he cannot bring the dead back to life or absolve one of sins.) Finally Ricardus asks to be immortal. Jacob replies, “That I can do.” And so, he touches Ricardus, bestowing upon him the gift of ageless immortality. There’s your answer to Richard’s agelessness, folks! Ricardus goes back to find MIB. MIB realizes that Jacob got to him. Ricardus gives him a gift from Jacob- the white rock we have previously seen in the scales. MIB says if he goes with Jacob, he will never see his wife again. He also tells Ricardus that if he EVER changes his mind, his offer still stands. He then gives Ricardus something that he “must have dropped”. It’s the silver cross necklace belonging to Isabella. A like that, he’s gone! Ricardus finds a place and buries the necklace.
Present Time Again
Phew, that was a wallop of a recap. Back in the present, Richard finds the spot where he buried the necklace so many years ago. He unburies the necklace, and says that he has changed his mind. Then, shouting to the heavens, he yells that he has changed his mind; he was wrong, and he hopes the offer still stands with MIB. No response. He turns, only to see Hurley there. Hurley asks him what offer still stands. Richard asks, “Did you follow me?” In the true nature of him, Hurley answers, “Well, kinda.” Hurley says that his wife, Isabella sent him (so that’s the dead person Hurley was speaking to in the beginning!) Hurley says that Isabella wants to know why he buried her cross. She saw him dig it up, and is standing right next to Richard. The audience and Hurley see Isabella standing next to Richard. Richard, of course, cannot see her. Isabella knows that Richard does not believe Hurley, so she tells Hurley to tell Richard that his English is beautiful (translated by Hurley as “she says your English is awesome.” She wants Richard to close his eyes. He does so, and she says “It was not your fault that I died Richard. As much as you wanted to save me, it was my time. You’ve suffered enough Richard.” Richard says, “I miss you. I would do anything for us to be together again.” Isabella says “We are already together.” She kisses him and disappears. Richard stands, tearing up and extremely vulnerable. He puts the necklace on himself, and thanks Hurley. Hurley says that Isabella says there is one more thing; something Richard has to do. He has to stop the MIB. “You have to stop him. Stop him from leaving the island. Because if you don’t, (*dramatic pause*) we’re all going to hell.” Pan out, we see Flocke overlooking Richard and Hurley. Dun dun dun!
Flashback Again
MIB sits, looking out at the water. Jacob comes upon him very friendly. “I see you got my present.” MIB says, “Don’t gloat, it doesn’t become of you.” Jacob, “So you tried to kill me?” MIB, “You expect an apology?” Jacob says that as long has he is alive; he will not let MIB leave. MIB swears to kill Jacob, and swears to kill whomever he gets to replace him! Fin!
My Thoughts
Holy moly, where to even begin. This episode offered us a lot of revelations and confirmations regarding Richard. We know who he is, how he got to the Island, how he got his gift of agelessness, and a lot of back-story on the statue, MIB, Jacob, the Black Rock, and even a little tidbit on the Island itself. The information was quite clear in my opinion. This was simply put, a background story to inform us on Richard Alpert’s beginnings. This episode left me satisfied, excited, and reeling for more. I don’t feel it necessary to dig too much into what the episode revealed. A lot of it was stuff we all thought we knew, but had no confirmation. The analogy of the Island being a cork was, I think, a very important piece to the puzzle of Lost. For me, the impression this episode left on me was how fucking amazing Nestor Carbonell is. I wholeheartedly think he could very well snag an Emmy nomination for this performance. Nestor was given this mysterious character to play around with for nearly 3 and a half seasons. He has until this episode, played Richard as a mysterious and most intriguing character. In this episode, he showed us his real acting chops. From losing all hope, to playing a helpless Spanish man who lost his wife, to being a slave, to being completely vulnerable, we saw sides of Richard, as well as Nestor, that truly spoke to the heart. His performance had me crying multiple times throughout the episode. I believe that many people count Richard as one of their favourite characters; myself included. After this episode, I think we all have a serious soft spot for Richard. I cannot wait to see how his character continues to grow, now that we know of his past. What a fantastic episode.
Next episode we get back into the regular formula of the flashsideways character-centric episodes. This is another much anticipated episode. It will be a Sun/Jin-centric episode. I don’t know about all of you, but I have been DYING to get my Sun/Jin fix. Promos for the episode show Smokey telling Sun that he knows where Jin is. I don’t know if anyone else noticed Sun sprawled out unconscious on the ground. Perhaps Smokey is making his first move to “kill whomever Jacob gets to replace him”. I love Sun and Jin. I can only hope for a happy reunion in store. I know we all want to know how the hell Jin went from being detained at Airport Customs, to tied up in a closet in Keamy’s restaurant as we saw in the Sayid-centric episode. It should be a good one! Happy Viewings!
Ps. In the Lost Podcast, Damon and Carlton ASSURED us that Desmond will be popping up in the very near future. I don’t know/think that means tomorrow night’s episode, but hopefully the one after that. As a Desmond fanatic, I can tell you if I don’t get my Desmond fix soon, I may go crazy! They also revealed the title of the LOST FINALE. Are you ready for it guys? The Finale of Lost will be called…..THE END. No seriously, it’s called The End. Fitting, don’t you think?
Next Episode: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 9pm/8c
Episode Title: The Package (a Sun/Jin-centric episode)
Summary: Sun and Kin desperately continue to search for each other. Meanwhile, Flocke confronts his enemy.
(I hear Keamy is back. Thank the lord, and thank those gorgeous giant muscles of his that could crush my head!)
Ab Aeterno (and a little Recon)
A Richard-centric episode (FINALLY!)
I did not do a review of Recon, the Sawyer-centric episode, last time for a few reasons, most importantly of which because I felt that it was a filler episode. It was smack dab in between the amazing Ben-centric episode, and the most anticipated Richard-centric episode. That being said, I’ll begin by pointing out a few aspects of interest regarding Recon.
1) FORD AND STRAUME: The Chronicles of Buddy-Cops…I smell a spinoff!
2) It was somewhat reassuring to see Jin safely hidden in the background amongst the rest of Team Flocke
3) I loved the LAPD duo of Ford and Straume. Go figure that in Sawyer’s flashsideways, he chooses a path of righteousness and upholding the law
4) Who else was SHOCKED to see Sawyer getting down and dirty with our favourite redhead, Charlotte? It was nice to see her (alive) off the island; she looked good!
5) I was on the edge of my seat when Claire jumped Kate. I was praying for some blood. I was just as giddy when Flocke bitch-slapped the silly out of Claire.
6) So we’ve seen Liam Pace at LAPD station looking for Charlie. This leaves me very hopeful that we will soon see my beloved Charlie soon.
7) We finally get a little inside look at Team Widmore and his sub. I wonder what is hidden behind the locked door!
8) Flocke and Kate have a heart to heart about crazy moms. Flocke speaks to Kate AS IF he is the real John Locke and not some bloody smoke monster. Hmm.
9) Claire apologies to Kate for trying to stick her like a pig. Damn, and I was hoping she’d try it again. *fingers crossed for another attempt!*
10) So in the end, we see that Sawyer is playing BOTH Flocke and Widmore, in hopes that while they’re busy fighting, he and Kate can commandeer the sub and get the fuck out of dodge.
Onto the real juice…
Ab Aeterno (Richard-centric episode)
Since midway into Season 3, Losties have been BEGGING for some Richard Alpert action. We finally get our lowdown on everyone’s favourite ageless wonder; and this episode did NOT disappoint! Most of the episode deals with wonderful flashbacks, so please bear with me as I try not to jump around too much.
As we open…
We open with Jacob visiting Ilana in hospital (Season 5 finale shout out) asking her to protect the remaining 6 candidates, to which she agrees. Back on the Island in present day, the Beach Crew hang around the fire as Sun regurgitates to everyone what Ilana told her about the Candidates. Ok, so now most of our people are aware that Jacob has named them as Candidates to take his place, which Ilana protecting them. Ilana tells them that Jacob informed her that “Ricardus” aka Richard will have a plan of action. At this point, Richard loses his shit. He giggles like a little school girl and has no idea what to do. He tells them that they are all dead and they’ve never been on an island. They are in hell! (At this point, Losties are severely hoping we aren’t back to the purgatory theory first presented by Anthony Cooper in “The Brig”). Richard decides to begin listening to someone else, and sets off to find Flocke. Richard has LOST IT. Meanwhile Hurley speaks in Spanish to a presumed dead person, and everyone is sad they can’t make s’mores on the campfire. No surprise there.
The Canary Islands: 1867
Ricardus, complete with grizzly Adams beard, ferociously rides his horse to his house. He beings to speak Spanish to his wife, Isabella, who is bedridden and looking mighty sick. He vows to save her, takes a silver cross necklace as payment, and rides off to find a doctor. He comes to the doctor’s house, and pleads for medicine. Dr. McDouchebag demands payment. When a few coins and the necklace don’t seem to float the Doc’s boat, they begin to struggle. Ricardus accidently pushes the doctor, who hits his head hard on a table and dies. Oops. He grabs the medicine and gets the fuck out of there. He returns, only to find that his wife has passed away. At this point, authorities have followed him and swiftly throw him into prison.
In prison, he makes his last confession to a priest. The Father does not grant him forgiveness, however. The only way to return grace is through penance, but he does not have time to do such, because they will hang him in the morning. “I’m afraid the devil awaits you in hell. May God have mercy on your soul.” Cheers mate!
Luckily, Ricardus has been learning to speak English with help from the Bible. A British bloke named Jonas Whitfield is in search of men who can speak English, and this Ricardus is saved from the hangman’s noose and sold into slavery. His quarters? Why, the Black Rock of course! (Losties have guessed this is where Ricardus came from, but this is the first solid confirmation that he was indeed aboard the Black Rock).
The Black Rock sails right into a fearsome storm. Other slaves try looking out between the cracks of the ship. In the POV of one of the slaves, we see the giant Taweret statue. The slave replies that the Island is guarded by the Devil (our giant statue friend). The ship crashes HARD into the statue, taking out most of the statue, but leaving behind the four-toed foot. ANSWER: The Black Rock destroyed the statue. A tidal wave carries the ship into the jungle to where it has laid since.
Ricardus comes to, just as Whitfield starts stabbing all the slaves below deck. There are apparently only 5 officers left, and the crazy Brit says if he frees him, it would only be a matter of time before Ricardus killed him (sounds like early onset island illness as Rousseau raved about). Just as Ricardus is about to be stabbed, we hear the ominous mechanical sounds of Smokey, who wreaks havoc on everyone except Ricardus. Phew, that was close! Suddenly, the camera pans up on Ricardus in a super up close and personal shot. We see the glory that is Nestor Carbonell’s eye lined eyes (WHAT COLOUR IS THIS? I ONLY USE ONYX. THIS IS FUCKING COBOLT! –Lost Comic Con anyone?)
Ricardus is left alone in chains. It rains, and he desperately tries to catch some water in his mouth. More time goes on, and he tries to pick the lock with a loose nail. More time goes on, and he finds himself face to face with a boar. The boar flees, but not before pushing the loose nail out of reach. Even more time goes by. He wakes to hear a woman asking if anyone is there. He sees Isabella! She tells him that they are both dead and in fact in hell. She is there to save him from the devil before he returns. She looked the devil in his eyes and saw evil. Before she can help him escape, we hear that familiar mechanical sound, and she flees. As she disappears, we hear what appears to be Smokey pwning her. Time goes by yet again, and Ricardus wakes to feel someone touching him. Welcome back the original Man in Black. MIB gives Ricardus water. He tells Ricardus that he is a friend, and that Ricardus is in fact, dead. MIB tells him that he has been on the Island long before their ship came. Ricardus explains how the black smoke took his wife. MIB says “That probably means HE has her”. MIB frees Ricardus, under the condition that Ricardus will help HIM and do anything he asks. Once freeing him MIB says, “It’s good to see you out of those chains!” (Hmm, where oh where have we heard that before?) At this point, I’d like to point out my mind had already been blown!
MIB says that they both must escape, but the only way to escape from hell is to kill the devil himself. They roast a boar and eat. MIB tells him to walk due west, and once he gets to the shore, he will be able to see what is left of the statue. That is where he will find the devil. MIB gives Ricardus a dagger (the same Dogen gave Sayid), and tells him that he has one chance to stab him, and not to let the devil speak one word to him, or it will already be too late (same line Dogen fed Sayid as well). MIB admits that he is the black smoke. He says that the devil has betrayed him, took his body and his life. He says killing the devil is the only way to see his wife again!
Ricardus walks until he reaches the shore. He sees the four-toed statue, and approaches it. As he approaches the entrance, Jacob appears and kicks the SHIT out of Ricardus. If ever we thought Jacob was a pussy, those thoughts have been shattered. Apparently Jacob has a black belt in jiu-jitsu. Jacob is seriously concerned about who gave him the dagger. He also admits that he has no idea about Ricardus’ wife. Jacob asks if Ricardus happened to meet the Man in Black. Ricardus tells him that he was told Jacob is the devil, and that they are all dead and in hell. Jacob admits that he is in fact NOT the devil, Ricardus is NOT dead, and he DID NOT see his wife. Jacob them throws him him into the water, showing him that he can easily drown him. He dunks him (3 times) and asks if Ricardus still thinks he is dead. Why should he stop? Ricardus finally utters “Because I want to live”. Jacob stops, admitting that saying that was sensible. They need to talk! (Anyone else pick up on the symbolism of Jacob dunking Ricardus 3 times into the water as a baptism?)
They get down to brass tacks. Jacob pulls out a bottle of wine, and gives Ricardus a drink. He also informs him that no one is allowed into the foot temple unless he himself invites them in. When asked if he is the devil, Jacob firmly says no. He tells him that he is Jacob, and that he is the one who brought Ricardus’ ship to the island. When asked why, Jacob shows him the bottle of wine (prepare for the analogy of a lifetime): “Think of this wine as what you call hell…malevolence, evil, darkness. Here it is, unable to get out, because if it did, it would be able to spread. The cork is the Island, the only think keeping the darkness at bay. The Man in Black thinks that people are corruptible because they are susceptible to sin. I bring people to the island to prove him wrong, and show that humankind is fundamentally good, but I don’t interfere with anyone’s actions until they get to the island.” (This is, in a big way, a revelation to LOST. We are finally being overtly told that the Island keeps “evil” at bay from spreading into the rest of the world. Of course, we must remember that we cannot fully assume that Jacob is being completely honest. I think it is fair to take his analogy at face value, but I for one cannot conclude that Jacob himself is not purely good, as I cannot conclude that MIB himself is not purely evil. This never-ending dichotomy of good vs. evil is so difficult to pinpoint. We are presented with the black and the white. This/He is good. This/He is evil. That is what we are shown. But just as good and evil are not as straightforward in the real world, I cannot believe that it is as straightforward on the Island either. I think we still have a little ways to go until we fully understand both MIB and Jacob’s true intentions. Who says there isn’t some good and evil in the both of them? Surely we have seen a helpful MIB, just as we have seen a manipulating Jacob. There is a lot more to this story, but I digress.
At this point, Jacob realizes that he could the help of Ricardus. He asks Ricardus if he will act as an intermediary on Jacob’s behalf for the people that he brings to the island. (We also are told that Jacob has brought other people to the island in the past, however they have all died. This is likely the answer as to who built the giant statue: former people brought to the Island by Jacob.) In exchange, Ricardus asks to see his wife again. Sorry, no luck. He asks if he can be absolved of his sins. Sorry, try again. (Important note, Jacob is NOT God, as he cannot bring the dead back to life or absolve one of sins.) Finally Ricardus asks to be immortal. Jacob replies, “That I can do.” And so, he touches Ricardus, bestowing upon him the gift of ageless immortality. There’s your answer to Richard’s agelessness, folks! Ricardus goes back to find MIB. MIB realizes that Jacob got to him. Ricardus gives him a gift from Jacob- the white rock we have previously seen in the scales. MIB says if he goes with Jacob, he will never see his wife again. He also tells Ricardus that if he EVER changes his mind, his offer still stands. He then gives Ricardus something that he “must have dropped”. It’s the silver cross necklace belonging to Isabella. A like that, he’s gone! Ricardus finds a place and buries the necklace.
Present Time Again
Phew, that was a wallop of a recap. Back in the present, Richard finds the spot where he buried the necklace so many years ago. He unburies the necklace, and says that he has changed his mind. Then, shouting to the heavens, he yells that he has changed his mind; he was wrong, and he hopes the offer still stands with MIB. No response. He turns, only to see Hurley there. Hurley asks him what offer still stands. Richard asks, “Did you follow me?” In the true nature of him, Hurley answers, “Well, kinda.” Hurley says that his wife, Isabella sent him (so that’s the dead person Hurley was speaking to in the beginning!) Hurley says that Isabella wants to know why he buried her cross. She saw him dig it up, and is standing right next to Richard. The audience and Hurley see Isabella standing next to Richard. Richard, of course, cannot see her. Isabella knows that Richard does not believe Hurley, so she tells Hurley to tell Richard that his English is beautiful (translated by Hurley as “she says your English is awesome.” She wants Richard to close his eyes. He does so, and she says “It was not your fault that I died Richard. As much as you wanted to save me, it was my time. You’ve suffered enough Richard.” Richard says, “I miss you. I would do anything for us to be together again.” Isabella says “We are already together.” She kisses him and disappears. Richard stands, tearing up and extremely vulnerable. He puts the necklace on himself, and thanks Hurley. Hurley says that Isabella says there is one more thing; something Richard has to do. He has to stop the MIB. “You have to stop him. Stop him from leaving the island. Because if you don’t, (*dramatic pause*) we’re all going to hell.” Pan out, we see Flocke overlooking Richard and Hurley. Dun dun dun!
Flashback Again
MIB sits, looking out at the water. Jacob comes upon him very friendly. “I see you got my present.” MIB says, “Don’t gloat, it doesn’t become of you.” Jacob, “So you tried to kill me?” MIB, “You expect an apology?” Jacob says that as long has he is alive; he will not let MIB leave. MIB swears to kill Jacob, and swears to kill whomever he gets to replace him! Fin!
My Thoughts
Holy moly, where to even begin. This episode offered us a lot of revelations and confirmations regarding Richard. We know who he is, how he got to the Island, how he got his gift of agelessness, and a lot of back-story on the statue, MIB, Jacob, the Black Rock, and even a little tidbit on the Island itself. The information was quite clear in my opinion. This was simply put, a background story to inform us on Richard Alpert’s beginnings. This episode left me satisfied, excited, and reeling for more. I don’t feel it necessary to dig too much into what the episode revealed. A lot of it was stuff we all thought we knew, but had no confirmation. The analogy of the Island being a cork was, I think, a very important piece to the puzzle of Lost. For me, the impression this episode left on me was how fucking amazing Nestor Carbonell is. I wholeheartedly think he could very well snag an Emmy nomination for this performance. Nestor was given this mysterious character to play around with for nearly 3 and a half seasons. He has until this episode, played Richard as a mysterious and most intriguing character. In this episode, he showed us his real acting chops. From losing all hope, to playing a helpless Spanish man who lost his wife, to being a slave, to being completely vulnerable, we saw sides of Richard, as well as Nestor, that truly spoke to the heart. His performance had me crying multiple times throughout the episode. I believe that many people count Richard as one of their favourite characters; myself included. After this episode, I think we all have a serious soft spot for Richard. I cannot wait to see how his character continues to grow, now that we know of his past. What a fantastic episode.
Next episode we get back into the regular formula of the flashsideways character-centric episodes. This is another much anticipated episode. It will be a Sun/Jin-centric episode. I don’t know about all of you, but I have been DYING to get my Sun/Jin fix. Promos for the episode show Smokey telling Sun that he knows where Jin is. I don’t know if anyone else noticed Sun sprawled out unconscious on the ground. Perhaps Smokey is making his first move to “kill whomever Jacob gets to replace him”. I love Sun and Jin. I can only hope for a happy reunion in store. I know we all want to know how the hell Jin went from being detained at Airport Customs, to tied up in a closet in Keamy’s restaurant as we saw in the Sayid-centric episode. It should be a good one! Happy Viewings!
Ps. In the Lost Podcast, Damon and Carlton ASSURED us that Desmond will be popping up in the very near future. I don’t know/think that means tomorrow night’s episode, but hopefully the one after that. As a Desmond fanatic, I can tell you if I don’t get my Desmond fix soon, I may go crazy! They also revealed the title of the LOST FINALE. Are you ready for it guys? The Finale of Lost will be called…..THE END. No seriously, it’s called The End. Fitting, don’t you think?
Next Episode: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 9pm/8c
Episode Title: The Package (a Sun/Jin-centric episode)
Summary: Sun and Kin desperately continue to search for each other. Meanwhile, Flocke confronts his enemy.
(I hear Keamy is back. Thank the lord, and thank those gorgeous giant muscles of his that could crush my head!)
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
What I’m Watching
Murder on the Orient Express (1974. Directed by Sidney Lumet)
I haven’t reviewed a film in awhile. I’ve been sick, and haven’t watched a compelling enough movie to review as of late. That is, until now!
Murder on the Orient Express is a 1974 film based on the novel of the same title by the great Agatha Christie. Unlike other films based on her novels, this is wonderfully accurate. Murder on the Orient Express takes us on the Orient Express, as it returns to England. Our protagonist is the great Belgium detective, Hercule Poirot. Poirot, who is featured in a number of Christie’s novels, is spontaneously on board the train, thanks to his connections with his friend, Bianchi, who is the director of the company which own the line. The passengers on the train are as diverse as they come, ranging from different nationalities, ages, and class statuses. In the dead of night, a particularly hard-faced American man named Rachett is murdered. After a little detective work, Poirot comes to find that Rachett is in fact a criminal named Cassetti, who kidnapped and killed the child of a prominent family, little Daisy Armstrong. Everyone on board is a suspect, and the great Hercule Poirot uses his masterly detection to find the truth!
This novel is loosely based on the 1932 kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby. The novel itself is incredible, and the film does it justice. As an Agatha Christie fan, I was thrilled to see the fantastic representation of the novel. Along with about two name changes, this film is spot on. Obviously for sake of time, not all the evidence or full interrogations are portrayed, but the most important pieces of the puzzle are shown, which gives audiences an exciting, mysterious, and COMPLETE story.
I was so impressed by the cinematography. The train setting is so realistic and the corridors are incredibly small, but the camera angles, prop positioning, and blocking of the actors brings the coach to life.
This film is also a great period piece. The costumes designs (Academy Award nominated!) were an exact match to the early 20th century era. The accents were perfect. Characters held themselves accordingly, and gave believable performances in accordance to the time period as well. Speaking of the performances…
This is a film with the cast of a lifetime. Albert Finney is perfect as the quirky little Belgium man, complete with his world famous mustache. The entire cast is spell-binding and exact. With a cast of big name film and stage actors, every single character was just as I had imagined in my head when I first read the novel. I cannot begin to rave about each performance, so I will list the incredible cast featured in this film:
Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot
Martian Balsam as Bianchi
Lauren Bacall as Mrs. Hubbard
Ingrid Bergman as Greta Ohlsson
Vanessa Redgrave as Mary Debenham
Sean Connery as Colonel Arbuthnott
Anthony Perkins as Hector McQueen
Michael York as Count Andrenyi
Jacqueline Bisset as Countess Elena Andrenyi
John Gielgud as Edward Beddoes
Rachel Roberts as Hildegarde Schmidt
Wendy Hiller as Princess Dragomiroff
Denis Quilley as Antonio Foscarelli
Jean-Pierre Cassel as Pierre Michel
Colin Blakely as Cyrus Hardman
George Coulouris as Dr. Constantine
Richard Widmark as Rachett
Seriously, just look at this cast! Have you ever seen so many awe-inspiring actors in one film? Where else are you going to find James Bond and Norman Bates in a film together? Madness!
This film walked away with six Academy Award nominations, with one win.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Ingrid Bergman
Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor in a Lead Role for Albert Finney
Academy Award Nomination for Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted from Other Material
Academy Award Nomination for Best Cinematography
Academy Award Nomination for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score
Academy Award Nomination for Best Costume Design
If you’re a lover of mystery, suspense, crime drama, or Agatha Christie, this is a must see!
Murder on the Orient Express (1974. Directed by Sidney Lumet)
I haven’t reviewed a film in awhile. I’ve been sick, and haven’t watched a compelling enough movie to review as of late. That is, until now!
Murder on the Orient Express is a 1974 film based on the novel of the same title by the great Agatha Christie. Unlike other films based on her novels, this is wonderfully accurate. Murder on the Orient Express takes us on the Orient Express, as it returns to England. Our protagonist is the great Belgium detective, Hercule Poirot. Poirot, who is featured in a number of Christie’s novels, is spontaneously on board the train, thanks to his connections with his friend, Bianchi, who is the director of the company which own the line. The passengers on the train are as diverse as they come, ranging from different nationalities, ages, and class statuses. In the dead of night, a particularly hard-faced American man named Rachett is murdered. After a little detective work, Poirot comes to find that Rachett is in fact a criminal named Cassetti, who kidnapped and killed the child of a prominent family, little Daisy Armstrong. Everyone on board is a suspect, and the great Hercule Poirot uses his masterly detection to find the truth!
This novel is loosely based on the 1932 kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby. The novel itself is incredible, and the film does it justice. As an Agatha Christie fan, I was thrilled to see the fantastic representation of the novel. Along with about two name changes, this film is spot on. Obviously for sake of time, not all the evidence or full interrogations are portrayed, but the most important pieces of the puzzle are shown, which gives audiences an exciting, mysterious, and COMPLETE story.
I was so impressed by the cinematography. The train setting is so realistic and the corridors are incredibly small, but the camera angles, prop positioning, and blocking of the actors brings the coach to life.
This film is also a great period piece. The costumes designs (Academy Award nominated!) were an exact match to the early 20th century era. The accents were perfect. Characters held themselves accordingly, and gave believable performances in accordance to the time period as well. Speaking of the performances…
This is a film with the cast of a lifetime. Albert Finney is perfect as the quirky little Belgium man, complete with his world famous mustache. The entire cast is spell-binding and exact. With a cast of big name film and stage actors, every single character was just as I had imagined in my head when I first read the novel. I cannot begin to rave about each performance, so I will list the incredible cast featured in this film:
Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot
Martian Balsam as Bianchi
Lauren Bacall as Mrs. Hubbard
Ingrid Bergman as Greta Ohlsson
Vanessa Redgrave as Mary Debenham
Sean Connery as Colonel Arbuthnott
Anthony Perkins as Hector McQueen
Michael York as Count Andrenyi
Jacqueline Bisset as Countess Elena Andrenyi
John Gielgud as Edward Beddoes
Rachel Roberts as Hildegarde Schmidt
Wendy Hiller as Princess Dragomiroff
Denis Quilley as Antonio Foscarelli
Jean-Pierre Cassel as Pierre Michel
Colin Blakely as Cyrus Hardman
George Coulouris as Dr. Constantine
Richard Widmark as Rachett
Seriously, just look at this cast! Have you ever seen so many awe-inspiring actors in one film? Where else are you going to find James Bond and Norman Bates in a film together? Madness!
This film walked away with six Academy Award nominations, with one win.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Ingrid Bergman
Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor in a Lead Role for Albert Finney
Academy Award Nomination for Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted from Other Material
Academy Award Nomination for Best Cinematography
Academy Award Nomination for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score
Academy Award Nomination for Best Costume Design
If you’re a lover of mystery, suspense, crime drama, or Agatha Christie, this is a must see!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Killer Movie (2008)
What I’m Watching
Killer Movie (2008. Directed by Jeff Lawrence Fisher)
Disclaimer: Total Spoiler Alert – if you want to watch this piece of crap, I don’t suggest reading this review!
Killer Movie is a 100% typical teen slasher movie. What sparked my initial interest in this movie was the cast. It stars Paul Wesley, who currently stars as Stefan in Vampire Diaries. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I’m a fan of the show, but indeed I am. The movie also has a small cameo by Nestor Carbonell, who most people know as the ageless Richard Alpert on Lost, as well as Mayor Garcia in the mega-hit, The Dark Knight. That alone gave me incentive to watch the movie. Overall, I feel like this movie had a lot of potential, but it was executed horribly.
The storyline is fairly straightforward. Paul Wesley plays Jake Tanner, a small time director who is brought on by big time agent Seaton Brookstone (Carbonell) to take directorial charge of a reality show. In North Dakota, a small (hick) town’s high school hockey team is making it big, and a reality show following the team’s success. The reality show’s production crew serves as our main cast. While the plot unfolds, the crew has a little behind the scenes solo interviews, such as we see in most reality shows on television. Along with the crew, a big time reality star and part time blonde bitch named aptly named Blanca Champion (Kaley Cuoco) comes onto the project as a PA for film research. However, the death of a local teen named Jaynie (Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester), sets off a string of mysterious “accidental” deaths. This gives the reality show crew a new idea for a TV program: investigate and solve the small town murder. While production resumes and the death toll rises, the audience is shown hidden camera feeds set up by our killer. Usually these hidden feeds show us a character’s murder. Anyways, shit hits the fan, people get killed off one by one, and it ends with most of the cast dead, everyone else traumatized, and the killer somehow escaping.
Where to begin with my complaints? I guess I should begin with the terrible ending. Throughout the entire movie, it was blatantly obvious who the killer was. I was hoping SO MUCH that the movie did this to set up for some mind-blowing twist. Nope! There was no twist. The creepy sound guy whom no one knew previously and who disappeared whenever someone was killed ended up being a psycho stalker who escaped from a mental institution and started killing. How stereotypical. Oh, but it gets worse! Our crazy killer, once unmasked (with dramatic mascara running down his face like a sad clown) gets killed. Or so it seems. Dude gets shot, and we literally see him get put into a body bag. Outside the school where all this shit has gone down, ambulances, police, and other personal are lollygagging around the scene, while our remaining cast sits outside; traumatized. SOMEHOW amidst all these people, our dead killer crawls out of his body bag and escapes! Yup, the dead nutter escaped. They find a bulletproof vest (how they didn’t notice that first is beyond me), and clearly the killer ran off into the woods. The credits start to roll, and next to them, run more of the behind-the-scenes interviews with the crew. In these, they “explain” all the impossibilities that we were presented with. Such as “Oh well, it turns out this psycho took some sort of pill that dropped all his vitals so he seemed dead, and then he recovered in the body bag, and escaped. OH OF COURSE, now it all makes sense! And when Jake Tanner’s leg gets trapped in a fucking BEAR TRAP, some kid just happens to swing by and just happens to know how to unhinge the trap. “Lucky he was there”. Naturally! It REALLY ticked me off that after the movie was over; the credits had to explain away all the questions and impossibilities that the audience has. It was just terrible. Oh, and people who were killed off also miraculously came back to life during the credits to say their piece. The camera guy who was killed after working out came back to say something along the lines of “Well, I guess I shouldn’t have gone to the gym.” Corny.
The script was also quite crap. 1% of the lines were solid and funny. The remaining 99% of the script sucked. I found that only 3 characters delivered strong performances. Paul Wesley is a solid actor and was believable and likeable throughout the movie. Second, Robert Buckley as “Nik”, a guy on the production crew had a lot of funny one-liners. Unfortunately, they killed him off pretty early. Last, the saving grace of the film was the cameo role by Nestor Carbonell. Most of his short scenes were in the behind-the-scenes interviews. He plays a super scumbag agent and is pretty hysterical.
The movie is really awful, especially for quality film/horror appreciators. It’s full of cheesy situations, extremely pointless characters, horrible writing, mostly horrible acting, annoying and unlikable characters, and plotholes the size of the Grand Canyon. And, of course, there are the hardcore lesbian scenes as an added bonus for glam/ horny teens. Everything about this movie screams stereotype. (The gore wasn’t even that great either).
Among all the horsecrap to sift through, this IS probably a great movie for young teens, especially as a date movie. It’s hard not to be so critical on this movie, but I felt like I wasted 92 minutes of my life. Then again, I know I was not among the intended target audience, so I’m not surprised about my reaction. That’s sometimes what you get with campy slasher flicks. You can’t always get what you want.
Killer Movie (2008. Directed by Jeff Lawrence Fisher)
Disclaimer: Total Spoiler Alert – if you want to watch this piece of crap, I don’t suggest reading this review!
Killer Movie is a 100% typical teen slasher movie. What sparked my initial interest in this movie was the cast. It stars Paul Wesley, who currently stars as Stefan in Vampire Diaries. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I’m a fan of the show, but indeed I am. The movie also has a small cameo by Nestor Carbonell, who most people know as the ageless Richard Alpert on Lost, as well as Mayor Garcia in the mega-hit, The Dark Knight. That alone gave me incentive to watch the movie. Overall, I feel like this movie had a lot of potential, but it was executed horribly.
The storyline is fairly straightforward. Paul Wesley plays Jake Tanner, a small time director who is brought on by big time agent Seaton Brookstone (Carbonell) to take directorial charge of a reality show. In North Dakota, a small (hick) town’s high school hockey team is making it big, and a reality show following the team’s success. The reality show’s production crew serves as our main cast. While the plot unfolds, the crew has a little behind the scenes solo interviews, such as we see in most reality shows on television. Along with the crew, a big time reality star and part time blonde bitch named aptly named Blanca Champion (Kaley Cuoco) comes onto the project as a PA for film research. However, the death of a local teen named Jaynie (Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester), sets off a string of mysterious “accidental” deaths. This gives the reality show crew a new idea for a TV program: investigate and solve the small town murder. While production resumes and the death toll rises, the audience is shown hidden camera feeds set up by our killer. Usually these hidden feeds show us a character’s murder. Anyways, shit hits the fan, people get killed off one by one, and it ends with most of the cast dead, everyone else traumatized, and the killer somehow escaping.
Where to begin with my complaints? I guess I should begin with the terrible ending. Throughout the entire movie, it was blatantly obvious who the killer was. I was hoping SO MUCH that the movie did this to set up for some mind-blowing twist. Nope! There was no twist. The creepy sound guy whom no one knew previously and who disappeared whenever someone was killed ended up being a psycho stalker who escaped from a mental institution and started killing. How stereotypical. Oh, but it gets worse! Our crazy killer, once unmasked (with dramatic mascara running down his face like a sad clown) gets killed. Or so it seems. Dude gets shot, and we literally see him get put into a body bag. Outside the school where all this shit has gone down, ambulances, police, and other personal are lollygagging around the scene, while our remaining cast sits outside; traumatized. SOMEHOW amidst all these people, our dead killer crawls out of his body bag and escapes! Yup, the dead nutter escaped. They find a bulletproof vest (how they didn’t notice that first is beyond me), and clearly the killer ran off into the woods. The credits start to roll, and next to them, run more of the behind-the-scenes interviews with the crew. In these, they “explain” all the impossibilities that we were presented with. Such as “Oh well, it turns out this psycho took some sort of pill that dropped all his vitals so he seemed dead, and then he recovered in the body bag, and escaped. OH OF COURSE, now it all makes sense! And when Jake Tanner’s leg gets trapped in a fucking BEAR TRAP, some kid just happens to swing by and just happens to know how to unhinge the trap. “Lucky he was there”. Naturally! It REALLY ticked me off that after the movie was over; the credits had to explain away all the questions and impossibilities that the audience has. It was just terrible. Oh, and people who were killed off also miraculously came back to life during the credits to say their piece. The camera guy who was killed after working out came back to say something along the lines of “Well, I guess I shouldn’t have gone to the gym.” Corny.
The script was also quite crap. 1% of the lines were solid and funny. The remaining 99% of the script sucked. I found that only 3 characters delivered strong performances. Paul Wesley is a solid actor and was believable and likeable throughout the movie. Second, Robert Buckley as “Nik”, a guy on the production crew had a lot of funny one-liners. Unfortunately, they killed him off pretty early. Last, the saving grace of the film was the cameo role by Nestor Carbonell. Most of his short scenes were in the behind-the-scenes interviews. He plays a super scumbag agent and is pretty hysterical.
The movie is really awful, especially for quality film/horror appreciators. It’s full of cheesy situations, extremely pointless characters, horrible writing, mostly horrible acting, annoying and unlikable characters, and plotholes the size of the Grand Canyon. And, of course, there are the hardcore lesbian scenes as an added bonus for glam/ horny teens. Everything about this movie screams stereotype. (The gore wasn’t even that great either).
Among all the horsecrap to sift through, this IS probably a great movie for young teens, especially as a date movie. It’s hard not to be so critical on this movie, but I felt like I wasted 92 minutes of my life. Then again, I know I was not among the intended target audience, so I’m not surprised about my reaction. That’s sometimes what you get with campy slasher flicks. You can’t always get what you want.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Lost Episode 6 Recap and Review
Lost Episode 6 Recap and Review
Disclaimer: Spoilers!
Dr. Linus (a Ben-centric episode)
I have no idea where to begin this post about our favourite villain. This has been hands down the best episode of the season so far. I’ll even go as far as to say one of the particular scenes towards the end of the episode was so heart wrenching and beautiful, that it may be one of the best performances in the series. I did cry during this episode…which is an exclusive club to be in for Lost: Boone’s death, Charlie’s death, s4 episode: The Constant (Penny and Des scene), when Claire and Hurley finds out Charlie is dead, and the season 5 finale when James holds onto Juliet for dear life. Now I can add Ben’s heartbreaking monologue about his guilt over Alex. But I digress. Things are really heating up on the Island. We are seeing a clear schism between the groups. Team Flocke or Team Jacob? Each character thus far has had a choice to make. Each character seems to take one side or the other. My only exception to that would be Hurley, whom, as usual, is just going along with the flow of things and seems swayed by neither side. Perhaps that would make him the choice candidate, but we still have 9 episodes to go! Good vs. Evil. Free will vs. Destiny. I don’t think these terms are quite as black and white as they appear. Anyways, onto the episode recap.
Flashsideways
Dr. Linus works as a history teacher at a high school. We first see him discussion the downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte, and his exile on the island of Elba ("Able was I ere I saw Elba."), stating that death would have been better for Napoleon than his loss of total power. After class, the principal (clearly an asshole) basically tells Ben to go fuck his history club, because now he has to cover detention. Oh, high school politics! In the teacher’s lounge, Ben sits with none other than our favourite science teacher, Dr. Arzt (in one piece, I assure you)! They talk about their mutual dislike for the principal, as well as Ben’s immense fondness for the students’ education. The substitute aka Locke, at this point, decides to stick his nose in other people’s business and suggests that maybe Ben should be principal.
Back at home, Ben tends to his elderly father, Roger. Roger seems to be a complete 180 change from the drunken sod we saw in Dharma. Speaking of Dharma, Roger and Ben both apparently still went to the island and participated in the Dharma Initiative. They mention how they left, which I can only assume is that either they left on the submarine before the bomb exploded, or perhaps it never exploded at all. It’s certainly very curious that the Island still exists or at least existed at some point in time of the Flashsideways sequences. I’m sure this notion will be revisited again during these final episodes. Anyways, a knock on the door leads to us seeing Alex again! Alex Rousseau is Dr. Linus’s top student and history club participator. They obviously are presented with having an extremely close and trusting relationship. Why Alex had to go at night time to her teacher’s house to ask about history club is beyond me. I’m pretty sure she could have picked up a phone but oh well.
During their morning tutoring session, Alex reveals (as if talking to her closest friend) that she saw the principal and the school nurse getting jiggy with it in the nurse’s office. Alex makes Ben promise that he won’t say anything, because the principal is writing her a letter of recommendation so she can try to land a spot at Yale. I should point out here that it was really beautiful seeing the interaction between them in the flashsideways. You can tell Ben feels very protective / fatherly towards her, and that Alex respects and is deeply loyal to Ben.
But hark! With this piece of office infidelity he has just heard, maybe he can bring down the principle and claim the position for himself! With the help of Dr. Arzt’s computer hacking skills (in trade for a better parking spot) they manage to break into the principal’s email and find many incriminating ones! Ben mans up and confronts the principal. He turns on that old charm and manipulation that made us all fall in love with Ben Linus, and tries to blackmail him to resigning and naming Ben the next principal. What none of us expected is that this old pervy principal has a card up his sleeves as well. He turns the tables on Ben, showing him an email from Alex, asking for a letter of recommendation. The stakes are simple: if Ben goes through with exposing him, then he will “torch” Alex’s future. Ben gets it RIGHT this time around, and sacrifices his own power FOR Alex. It’s very touching. Alex gets an absolutely glowing letter of recommendation from the principal, and Arzt gets Ben’s parking spot. Everyone is happy.
Ben and the Beach Crew
After escaping the little Smoke Monster mess back at the temple, Ben catches up with the aptly named Beach Crew – Ilana, Frank, Sun, and now Miles. He reveals that Sayid killed Dogen and the interpreter aka Lennon. They decide to head for the beach to make camp. Upon this hike to the beach, Ilana gives the bag of ashes from Jacob’s cremated body to Miles, and asks how Jacob died. Miles totally copped out and threw Ben under the bus by telling Ilana that Ben stabbed him to death. Nice one, Miles. On the beach, we get another question of sorts answered. Ilana tells Sun that they are Candidates to take over Jacob’s position, and she is charged with protecting them. She also mentioned how she wants to find Jin as well, because she does not know which Kwon the writing is referring to. Something she said here struck me as a tad bit odd. She tells Sun that there are 6 candidates left now. Originally, we were all led to believe that the 6 candidates were so distinguished by their number assignment: Locke (4) Hurley (8) Sawyer (15) Sayid (16) Jack (23) Kwon (42). That makes sense as being the 6 candidates. But, unless I heard incorrectly, Ilana said there were only 6 left now. We know that Locke has died, and we know that Sayid has been taken. Ilana knows all of this too. If we can eliminate Locke as a candidate, and we can assume that being “taken” puts you out of the running, then that leaves us with our 4 original candidates. By that logic, who are the other two candidates? I still feel as if we cannot totally dismiss Kate as a candidate, because she WAS touched by Jacob. Maybe I misheard, but I do think we can all agree that Locke is no longer a candidate. This would leave us with 5 candidates, albeit one of whom is clearly crazy. Something just doesn’t sit well with me about the 6 candidates left. Now, by this point in the series, I have never really fancied Ilana. Ever since seeing her in season 5, I never cared about her. This dislike of her PEAKED when she manacled Ben down in the Oceanic graveyard and, at gun point, told him to dig his own grave. She looked to Jacob as a father figure; alright I get it…but do NOT point a gun at Ben Linus!
Cyborgs and Vampires
Jack and Hurley begin to walk back towards the temple (Hurley, knowing some bad shit went down, is trying to stall them). They come across Richard, who tells them to follow him to the temple. Hurley asks the obvious question “Are you a cyborg or a vampire?” to Richard, because he does not age. Richard says that Jacob gave him a “gift”. Hurley casually mentions that he has been speaking to Jacob, which leaves Richard flabbergasted, telling Hurley not to believe a word Jacob says! He begins to march off very determined. Someone yells after him “Where are you going?” Richard replies, “To die.” This seems VERY reminiscent of season 4, when Sayid or someone asked Michael what he was doing on the freighter, and he said “I’m here to die”. Chew on that one for a minute!
Instead of bringing them to the temple, he brings them to the Black Rock. Inside, he looks with reflection upon the manacles and saying that he came on the boat but hasn’t returned until now. This confirms every fan’s believe that Richard came over on the Black Rock. That indeed he did! Richard gets out a stick of dynamite and starts raving about wanting to die. He says that Jacob “touched” him, which was a curse; not a gift. He cannot kill himself, but he begs Jack and Hurley to light the dynamite fuse for him. He says that he mindlessly followed Jacob, who told him everything happens for a reason. He told Richard that he had a plan, and would one day reveal the whole plan to him. Now that Jacob is gone, he feels as if his entire life has no purpose. Jack lights the fuse to the dynamite, puts it on the table, and tells Richard it’s time to talk! It feels good to have the badass, decisive, dominating Jack back! Hurley decides it’s probably best if he was at least a mile away, so he leaves. Jack looks determined, and slightly nuts, but he explains that Jacob supposedly led him to a lighthouse, where Jacob wanted him to see what was on degree 23. He saw the house he grew up in as a child, and so he knows that Jacob didn’t bring him back to the island to see all of this and to die. The fuse burns out and lo and behold, Jack actually got it right! So what does this say for our LOST Candidates? First off, they apparently cannot die while on the island (Locke died off the island, which I would assume makes immortality void). I don’t think that the way Jacob touched them is the same way he touched Richard (god, all this touching…you’d think Jacob would have been arrested by now!) Richard is ageless. Our LOST candidates, though apparently not being able to die, have aged. Sawyer and Kate were touched as children (oh god, nice word choice eh?) and they’ve obviously aged normally. This is all very enlightening for our already crazy plot!
Ben Digs a Grave
While beloved Ben digs his own grave, Flocke appears very stealth-like from behind him. Flocke says how he does not want Ben to die. He wants to leave the Island once and for all, along with all of his followers, but when he leaves he needs to leave someone in charge of the Island. Looks like Ben is a MiB candidate! With his magic fingers, he un-manacles Ben, telling him he left a gun in not too far into the jungle. He invites him to go to the smaller island and meet them all at the Hydra station. Ben decides to wait until Ilana is looking DIRECTLY AT HIM and makes his move. He runs into the jungle, finds the gun, and immediately points it at Ilana, who surrenders her gun. And now…
The Most Beautiful Scene on Lost
Ilana asks Ben what he is waiting for in shooting her. Ben goes into a very heart wrenching, moving, and emotional monologue. He recounts how he watched his own daughter die and did nothing to stop it (eyes watering). He had chosen the island over Alex, in the name of Jacob, but Jacob didn’t care (face contorting). Furious and confused, Ben stabbed Jacob because he was scared that he would lose the island…but he realized the only thing that really mattered (Alex) was already gone (a few tears at this point). He says to her, “I don’t expect you to forgive me, because I can never forgive myself.” (Now I’m sobbing into a pillow). Ben says that he is going to go to Locke. Why? “Because he is the only one who will have him.” (Oh God that is painful!). In a complete surprise, Ilana begins to walk away, saying that she will have him (now I don’t dislike Ilana anymore!). Ben decides to follow her.
WOW. This scene alone was one of the most touching, raw, and realistic scenes I’ve seen on Lost. Michael Emerson is one of the greatest actors of our time. Benjamin Linus is a PERFECTLY written character, and has so many sides, twists, and turns to his persona. Like that, Michael Emerson can perform every single emotion of Ben so PERFECTLY. Ben absolutely breaks down beyond any way we have seen before Ben, who has been so mysterious and seems to always have a scheme in his brain, absolutely dropped any and all rouse and revealed his true self tonight. All I can do is applaud the writing team, and give a standing ovation to Michael Emerson. I feel strongly that after this performance, he will surely be taking home his 3rd Emmy Award. I literally cannot go on about how phenomenal this scene was. I’m speechless!
REUNION
As I said, Ben decides to return with Ilana. Timidly, he offers his help to Sun in building her shelter, and she accepts. In a beautiful montage, set to fantastic music (the now academy award winning composer-congrats!) we see Ben helping Sun, Ilana breaking down into tears, Miles looking at his newfound diamonds (I love the throwback to Nikki and Paulo’s diamonds!) and Frank being Frank. Jack, Hurley, and Richard soon make their way to the beach where they have a heartfelt and slow motion reunion with Sun and company. All seems peaceful and well.
BUT WAIT! DUN DUN DUN!
Just as things are seeming peachy, we see a submarine scope emerge from the waters offshore and look at the beach folk. Inside, a man says to his superior “There are people on the beach, should we stop?” His superior says “No, we go forward as planned”. IT’S THAT OLD SLY DOG, CHARLES WIDMORE! Oh I do love a good cliffhanger!
My Thoughts
First off, this episode was EXACTLY what Lost fans were looking for. It had all the elements of the episodes from seasons past. It’s with this kind of episode that made us all fall in love with the series. I think so many things were revealed and really moved the season along for us, that I have a few questions at this time, but mostly I have points of thought.
I’d like to point out Frank finally revealing why he missed out on originally flying Oceanic 815 – he overslept! A simple thing such as missing his alarm in the morning stopped him from the fated flight. Of course, as Ben aptly points out, “the Island got him in the end!” It’s an interesting point, that no matter what, the Island did get him. It “course corrected itself” and brought him there anyways. That certainly makes an interesting argument under the Free Will vs. Destiny dichotomy.
I find it very interesting that the Dharma Initiative and the Island exists or existed at some point in time in the flashsideways timeline. So Why/how/WHEN did Ben and his father leave the Island in the flashsideways? The easiest explanation for this is that they evacuated the island right before the Incident. I really don’t think that could be the correct explanation. The way Ben and Roger talk about their departure from the island makes it sound like it was merely a choice, and that, had they wanted, they could have stayed and Ben could have really made something of himself there. This leads me to believe that when they left, the Dharma Initiative was still in full swing. Even if that is so, some of our LOSTies had to have been on the island in the past. We saw Ethan Goodspeed/Rom when he delivered Claire’s baby in the flashsideways. In order for him to be born, it would mean that Sawyer saved his mother from the others in 1974, and Juliet helped deliver the baby. Also, the Incident was caused by Jack throwing the bomb down the hole, and the evacuations were because Daniel told Dr. Chang to evacuate everyone, with Miles, Jin, and Hurley confirming it to him later. But if that is happened, then there would be no flashsideways or no Island in 2007. It’s all very confusing, I know. I don’t know…it’s some kind of vicious cycle that I can’t seem to crack. I’ll have to ponder that one a little longer.
Why is Flocke gathering everyone at the Hydra station?
How did Charles Widmore find the island again?
WHO ARE the 6 remaining Candidates? We have:
Reyes
Ford
Shepherd
Kwon
These are definitely Candidates. But that is only 4! If we are to believe that Sayid is no longer a Candidate now that he has been “claimed”, then who are our 2 mystery Candidates? I would only render a guess that Kate could still be a candidate, and that Richard is a candidate as well.
Still no sign of Sawyer or Jin…
Is Charles Widmore the person that Jacob was trying to help find the island in The Lighthouse? If so, then what does that say about Charles Widmore? Is he a good guy? Or is Jacob not such a great guy. Maybe Widmore is a candidate?
As of late, my argument for Jacob being solely good and MiB being solely evil seems asinine. I really don’t know who to trust (besides Ben, of course)!
Last, I’d like to rehash my theory last week about the Flashsideways being created by the MiB (and/or Jacob, as it were). Every character in a flashsideways seems to be getting something they have deeply wanted / having something fixed, so to speak. As I had said before, Sayid wanted Nadia alive, which she is. He atones for his wrongdoings in the past and pushes her towards his brother because he does not deserve her. Kate gets to help Claire and Aaron be together, which as of now, seems to be the only reason she came back to the island. John has come to terms with his disability, no longer has daddy issues, and is married to Helen, which are three important aspects of Locke’s life that were messed up in his previous timeline. Though we have yet to see Hurley’s flashsideways, we know that instead of interpreting the lottery numbers as a curse, he interprets them as lucky, and thus is a very lucky and successful man. Jack’s is a little vaguer. He has a son, whom he has communication issues with. He is obviously divorced, or at least is not with David’s mother anymore. In his flashsideways, Jack makes a special connection with his son, and gives him the praise that he always wanted from his father. This could be viewed in a way of moving past his issues with his father. There is obviously more to his story than we have seen yet. Finally, we have Ben! Last week, I told you to look for something Ben would want more than anything in the world in his flashsideways. I think we can all agree that, though the properties I suggested were slightly different, the principle of the matter is the same. Though Alex is not his daughter in his flashsideways, he is her close and deeply trusted teacher and a mentor of sorts. They have a very significant teacher/student bond and he feels very protective and fatherly towards her. Also, Ben is presented with a conundrum like he was on the Island. On the Island, he had the choice between his power of the Island, or Alex’s life. He chose the Island, Alex was killed, and obviously he fucked up on that one. In the flashsideways, he is given the choice between gaining power of being principal of the school, or Alex’s future. Here, he makes the right choice, choosing Alex over power. In his flashsideways, he was able to right his wrong. I think this is extremely significant in what the flashsideways are all about: righting wrongs!
Next Week: Tuesday, March 16 at 9pm/8c
Episode Title: Recon
Summary: Locke trusts Sawyer with a mission.
This is going to be an interesting episode I hope. The promos that I have seen so far don’t really give anything away. Looking upon the slated guest stars, I can discern a few things though. We will be seeing a whole slew of seemingly random characters. Cindy, the kids Zack and Emma will be in this episode, which points to us spending most of our time over at the Flocke Camp at the Hydra station. We also have Charlotte Lewis appearing in this episode, AS WELL AS Liam Pace, Charlie’s older brother. How and why these characters will be in this episode is beyond me. Three characters named “Ava” “Seamus” and “Zoe” will also appear. I can’t for the life of me think of whom they could be, so they must be new characters, perhaps some of the Others, or someone in a flashsideways. There is a slight possibility that with Liam appearing, then perhaps Seamus is the name of the drummer of Drive Shaft (the only band member who’s name has never been mentioned previously) In any case, this mix of cast looks like it could be an eye opener. My assumption is that it could be a Sawyer-Centric episode, but don’t hold me to that! In any case, Happy Viewings!
Disclaimer: Spoilers!
Dr. Linus (a Ben-centric episode)
I have no idea where to begin this post about our favourite villain. This has been hands down the best episode of the season so far. I’ll even go as far as to say one of the particular scenes towards the end of the episode was so heart wrenching and beautiful, that it may be one of the best performances in the series. I did cry during this episode…which is an exclusive club to be in for Lost: Boone’s death, Charlie’s death, s4 episode: The Constant (Penny and Des scene), when Claire and Hurley finds out Charlie is dead, and the season 5 finale when James holds onto Juliet for dear life. Now I can add Ben’s heartbreaking monologue about his guilt over Alex. But I digress. Things are really heating up on the Island. We are seeing a clear schism between the groups. Team Flocke or Team Jacob? Each character thus far has had a choice to make. Each character seems to take one side or the other. My only exception to that would be Hurley, whom, as usual, is just going along with the flow of things and seems swayed by neither side. Perhaps that would make him the choice candidate, but we still have 9 episodes to go! Good vs. Evil. Free will vs. Destiny. I don’t think these terms are quite as black and white as they appear. Anyways, onto the episode recap.
Flashsideways
Dr. Linus works as a history teacher at a high school. We first see him discussion the downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte, and his exile on the island of Elba ("Able was I ere I saw Elba."), stating that death would have been better for Napoleon than his loss of total power. After class, the principal (clearly an asshole) basically tells Ben to go fuck his history club, because now he has to cover detention. Oh, high school politics! In the teacher’s lounge, Ben sits with none other than our favourite science teacher, Dr. Arzt (in one piece, I assure you)! They talk about their mutual dislike for the principal, as well as Ben’s immense fondness for the students’ education. The substitute aka Locke, at this point, decides to stick his nose in other people’s business and suggests that maybe Ben should be principal.
Back at home, Ben tends to his elderly father, Roger. Roger seems to be a complete 180 change from the drunken sod we saw in Dharma. Speaking of Dharma, Roger and Ben both apparently still went to the island and participated in the Dharma Initiative. They mention how they left, which I can only assume is that either they left on the submarine before the bomb exploded, or perhaps it never exploded at all. It’s certainly very curious that the Island still exists or at least existed at some point in time of the Flashsideways sequences. I’m sure this notion will be revisited again during these final episodes. Anyways, a knock on the door leads to us seeing Alex again! Alex Rousseau is Dr. Linus’s top student and history club participator. They obviously are presented with having an extremely close and trusting relationship. Why Alex had to go at night time to her teacher’s house to ask about history club is beyond me. I’m pretty sure she could have picked up a phone but oh well.
During their morning tutoring session, Alex reveals (as if talking to her closest friend) that she saw the principal and the school nurse getting jiggy with it in the nurse’s office. Alex makes Ben promise that he won’t say anything, because the principal is writing her a letter of recommendation so she can try to land a spot at Yale. I should point out here that it was really beautiful seeing the interaction between them in the flashsideways. You can tell Ben feels very protective / fatherly towards her, and that Alex respects and is deeply loyal to Ben.
But hark! With this piece of office infidelity he has just heard, maybe he can bring down the principle and claim the position for himself! With the help of Dr. Arzt’s computer hacking skills (in trade for a better parking spot) they manage to break into the principal’s email and find many incriminating ones! Ben mans up and confronts the principal. He turns on that old charm and manipulation that made us all fall in love with Ben Linus, and tries to blackmail him to resigning and naming Ben the next principal. What none of us expected is that this old pervy principal has a card up his sleeves as well. He turns the tables on Ben, showing him an email from Alex, asking for a letter of recommendation. The stakes are simple: if Ben goes through with exposing him, then he will “torch” Alex’s future. Ben gets it RIGHT this time around, and sacrifices his own power FOR Alex. It’s very touching. Alex gets an absolutely glowing letter of recommendation from the principal, and Arzt gets Ben’s parking spot. Everyone is happy.
Ben and the Beach Crew
After escaping the little Smoke Monster mess back at the temple, Ben catches up with the aptly named Beach Crew – Ilana, Frank, Sun, and now Miles. He reveals that Sayid killed Dogen and the interpreter aka Lennon. They decide to head for the beach to make camp. Upon this hike to the beach, Ilana gives the bag of ashes from Jacob’s cremated body to Miles, and asks how Jacob died. Miles totally copped out and threw Ben under the bus by telling Ilana that Ben stabbed him to death. Nice one, Miles. On the beach, we get another question of sorts answered. Ilana tells Sun that they are Candidates to take over Jacob’s position, and she is charged with protecting them. She also mentioned how she wants to find Jin as well, because she does not know which Kwon the writing is referring to. Something she said here struck me as a tad bit odd. She tells Sun that there are 6 candidates left now. Originally, we were all led to believe that the 6 candidates were so distinguished by their number assignment: Locke (4) Hurley (8) Sawyer (15) Sayid (16) Jack (23) Kwon (42). That makes sense as being the 6 candidates. But, unless I heard incorrectly, Ilana said there were only 6 left now. We know that Locke has died, and we know that Sayid has been taken. Ilana knows all of this too. If we can eliminate Locke as a candidate, and we can assume that being “taken” puts you out of the running, then that leaves us with our 4 original candidates. By that logic, who are the other two candidates? I still feel as if we cannot totally dismiss Kate as a candidate, because she WAS touched by Jacob. Maybe I misheard, but I do think we can all agree that Locke is no longer a candidate. This would leave us with 5 candidates, albeit one of whom is clearly crazy. Something just doesn’t sit well with me about the 6 candidates left. Now, by this point in the series, I have never really fancied Ilana. Ever since seeing her in season 5, I never cared about her. This dislike of her PEAKED when she manacled Ben down in the Oceanic graveyard and, at gun point, told him to dig his own grave. She looked to Jacob as a father figure; alright I get it…but do NOT point a gun at Ben Linus!
Cyborgs and Vampires
Jack and Hurley begin to walk back towards the temple (Hurley, knowing some bad shit went down, is trying to stall them). They come across Richard, who tells them to follow him to the temple. Hurley asks the obvious question “Are you a cyborg or a vampire?” to Richard, because he does not age. Richard says that Jacob gave him a “gift”. Hurley casually mentions that he has been speaking to Jacob, which leaves Richard flabbergasted, telling Hurley not to believe a word Jacob says! He begins to march off very determined. Someone yells after him “Where are you going?” Richard replies, “To die.” This seems VERY reminiscent of season 4, when Sayid or someone asked Michael what he was doing on the freighter, and he said “I’m here to die”. Chew on that one for a minute!
Instead of bringing them to the temple, he brings them to the Black Rock. Inside, he looks with reflection upon the manacles and saying that he came on the boat but hasn’t returned until now. This confirms every fan’s believe that Richard came over on the Black Rock. That indeed he did! Richard gets out a stick of dynamite and starts raving about wanting to die. He says that Jacob “touched” him, which was a curse; not a gift. He cannot kill himself, but he begs Jack and Hurley to light the dynamite fuse for him. He says that he mindlessly followed Jacob, who told him everything happens for a reason. He told Richard that he had a plan, and would one day reveal the whole plan to him. Now that Jacob is gone, he feels as if his entire life has no purpose. Jack lights the fuse to the dynamite, puts it on the table, and tells Richard it’s time to talk! It feels good to have the badass, decisive, dominating Jack back! Hurley decides it’s probably best if he was at least a mile away, so he leaves. Jack looks determined, and slightly nuts, but he explains that Jacob supposedly led him to a lighthouse, where Jacob wanted him to see what was on degree 23. He saw the house he grew up in as a child, and so he knows that Jacob didn’t bring him back to the island to see all of this and to die. The fuse burns out and lo and behold, Jack actually got it right! So what does this say for our LOST Candidates? First off, they apparently cannot die while on the island (Locke died off the island, which I would assume makes immortality void). I don’t think that the way Jacob touched them is the same way he touched Richard (god, all this touching…you’d think Jacob would have been arrested by now!) Richard is ageless. Our LOST candidates, though apparently not being able to die, have aged. Sawyer and Kate were touched as children (oh god, nice word choice eh?) and they’ve obviously aged normally. This is all very enlightening for our already crazy plot!
Ben Digs a Grave
While beloved Ben digs his own grave, Flocke appears very stealth-like from behind him. Flocke says how he does not want Ben to die. He wants to leave the Island once and for all, along with all of his followers, but when he leaves he needs to leave someone in charge of the Island. Looks like Ben is a MiB candidate! With his magic fingers, he un-manacles Ben, telling him he left a gun in not too far into the jungle. He invites him to go to the smaller island and meet them all at the Hydra station. Ben decides to wait until Ilana is looking DIRECTLY AT HIM and makes his move. He runs into the jungle, finds the gun, and immediately points it at Ilana, who surrenders her gun. And now…
The Most Beautiful Scene on Lost
Ilana asks Ben what he is waiting for in shooting her. Ben goes into a very heart wrenching, moving, and emotional monologue. He recounts how he watched his own daughter die and did nothing to stop it (eyes watering). He had chosen the island over Alex, in the name of Jacob, but Jacob didn’t care (face contorting). Furious and confused, Ben stabbed Jacob because he was scared that he would lose the island…but he realized the only thing that really mattered (Alex) was already gone (a few tears at this point). He says to her, “I don’t expect you to forgive me, because I can never forgive myself.” (Now I’m sobbing into a pillow). Ben says that he is going to go to Locke. Why? “Because he is the only one who will have him.” (Oh God that is painful!). In a complete surprise, Ilana begins to walk away, saying that she will have him (now I don’t dislike Ilana anymore!). Ben decides to follow her.
WOW. This scene alone was one of the most touching, raw, and realistic scenes I’ve seen on Lost. Michael Emerson is one of the greatest actors of our time. Benjamin Linus is a PERFECTLY written character, and has so many sides, twists, and turns to his persona. Like that, Michael Emerson can perform every single emotion of Ben so PERFECTLY. Ben absolutely breaks down beyond any way we have seen before Ben, who has been so mysterious and seems to always have a scheme in his brain, absolutely dropped any and all rouse and revealed his true self tonight. All I can do is applaud the writing team, and give a standing ovation to Michael Emerson. I feel strongly that after this performance, he will surely be taking home his 3rd Emmy Award. I literally cannot go on about how phenomenal this scene was. I’m speechless!
REUNION
As I said, Ben decides to return with Ilana. Timidly, he offers his help to Sun in building her shelter, and she accepts. In a beautiful montage, set to fantastic music (the now academy award winning composer-congrats!) we see Ben helping Sun, Ilana breaking down into tears, Miles looking at his newfound diamonds (I love the throwback to Nikki and Paulo’s diamonds!) and Frank being Frank. Jack, Hurley, and Richard soon make their way to the beach where they have a heartfelt and slow motion reunion with Sun and company. All seems peaceful and well.
BUT WAIT! DUN DUN DUN!
Just as things are seeming peachy, we see a submarine scope emerge from the waters offshore and look at the beach folk. Inside, a man says to his superior “There are people on the beach, should we stop?” His superior says “No, we go forward as planned”. IT’S THAT OLD SLY DOG, CHARLES WIDMORE! Oh I do love a good cliffhanger!
My Thoughts
First off, this episode was EXACTLY what Lost fans were looking for. It had all the elements of the episodes from seasons past. It’s with this kind of episode that made us all fall in love with the series. I think so many things were revealed and really moved the season along for us, that I have a few questions at this time, but mostly I have points of thought.
I’d like to point out Frank finally revealing why he missed out on originally flying Oceanic 815 – he overslept! A simple thing such as missing his alarm in the morning stopped him from the fated flight. Of course, as Ben aptly points out, “the Island got him in the end!” It’s an interesting point, that no matter what, the Island did get him. It “course corrected itself” and brought him there anyways. That certainly makes an interesting argument under the Free Will vs. Destiny dichotomy.
I find it very interesting that the Dharma Initiative and the Island exists or existed at some point in time in the flashsideways timeline. So Why/how/WHEN did Ben and his father leave the Island in the flashsideways? The easiest explanation for this is that they evacuated the island right before the Incident. I really don’t think that could be the correct explanation. The way Ben and Roger talk about their departure from the island makes it sound like it was merely a choice, and that, had they wanted, they could have stayed and Ben could have really made something of himself there. This leads me to believe that when they left, the Dharma Initiative was still in full swing. Even if that is so, some of our LOSTies had to have been on the island in the past. We saw Ethan Goodspeed/Rom when he delivered Claire’s baby in the flashsideways. In order for him to be born, it would mean that Sawyer saved his mother from the others in 1974, and Juliet helped deliver the baby. Also, the Incident was caused by Jack throwing the bomb down the hole, and the evacuations were because Daniel told Dr. Chang to evacuate everyone, with Miles, Jin, and Hurley confirming it to him later. But if that is happened, then there would be no flashsideways or no Island in 2007. It’s all very confusing, I know. I don’t know…it’s some kind of vicious cycle that I can’t seem to crack. I’ll have to ponder that one a little longer.
Why is Flocke gathering everyone at the Hydra station?
How did Charles Widmore find the island again?
WHO ARE the 6 remaining Candidates? We have:
Reyes
Ford
Shepherd
Kwon
These are definitely Candidates. But that is only 4! If we are to believe that Sayid is no longer a Candidate now that he has been “claimed”, then who are our 2 mystery Candidates? I would only render a guess that Kate could still be a candidate, and that Richard is a candidate as well.
Still no sign of Sawyer or Jin…
Is Charles Widmore the person that Jacob was trying to help find the island in The Lighthouse? If so, then what does that say about Charles Widmore? Is he a good guy? Or is Jacob not such a great guy. Maybe Widmore is a candidate?
As of late, my argument for Jacob being solely good and MiB being solely evil seems asinine. I really don’t know who to trust (besides Ben, of course)!
Last, I’d like to rehash my theory last week about the Flashsideways being created by the MiB (and/or Jacob, as it were). Every character in a flashsideways seems to be getting something they have deeply wanted / having something fixed, so to speak. As I had said before, Sayid wanted Nadia alive, which she is. He atones for his wrongdoings in the past and pushes her towards his brother because he does not deserve her. Kate gets to help Claire and Aaron be together, which as of now, seems to be the only reason she came back to the island. John has come to terms with his disability, no longer has daddy issues, and is married to Helen, which are three important aspects of Locke’s life that were messed up in his previous timeline. Though we have yet to see Hurley’s flashsideways, we know that instead of interpreting the lottery numbers as a curse, he interprets them as lucky, and thus is a very lucky and successful man. Jack’s is a little vaguer. He has a son, whom he has communication issues with. He is obviously divorced, or at least is not with David’s mother anymore. In his flashsideways, Jack makes a special connection with his son, and gives him the praise that he always wanted from his father. This could be viewed in a way of moving past his issues with his father. There is obviously more to his story than we have seen yet. Finally, we have Ben! Last week, I told you to look for something Ben would want more than anything in the world in his flashsideways. I think we can all agree that, though the properties I suggested were slightly different, the principle of the matter is the same. Though Alex is not his daughter in his flashsideways, he is her close and deeply trusted teacher and a mentor of sorts. They have a very significant teacher/student bond and he feels very protective and fatherly towards her. Also, Ben is presented with a conundrum like he was on the Island. On the Island, he had the choice between his power of the Island, or Alex’s life. He chose the Island, Alex was killed, and obviously he fucked up on that one. In the flashsideways, he is given the choice between gaining power of being principal of the school, or Alex’s future. Here, he makes the right choice, choosing Alex over power. In his flashsideways, he was able to right his wrong. I think this is extremely significant in what the flashsideways are all about: righting wrongs!
Next Week: Tuesday, March 16 at 9pm/8c
Episode Title: Recon
Summary: Locke trusts Sawyer with a mission.
This is going to be an interesting episode I hope. The promos that I have seen so far don’t really give anything away. Looking upon the slated guest stars, I can discern a few things though. We will be seeing a whole slew of seemingly random characters. Cindy, the kids Zack and Emma will be in this episode, which points to us spending most of our time over at the Flocke Camp at the Hydra station. We also have Charlotte Lewis appearing in this episode, AS WELL AS Liam Pace, Charlie’s older brother. How and why these characters will be in this episode is beyond me. Three characters named “Ava” “Seamus” and “Zoe” will also appear. I can’t for the life of me think of whom they could be, so they must be new characters, perhaps some of the Others, or someone in a flashsideways. There is a slight possibility that with Liam appearing, then perhaps Seamus is the name of the drummer of Drive Shaft (the only band member who’s name has never been mentioned previously) In any case, this mix of cast looks like it could be an eye opener. My assumption is that it could be a Sawyer-Centric episode, but don’t hold me to that! In any case, Happy Viewings!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Lost Episode 5 Recap and Review
Lost Episode 5 Recap and Review
Disclaimer: Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers!
Sundown (a Sayid-centric episode)
Well, if you were looking for some hardcore action, this is certainly the episode you’ll get it in! I’d like to begin by stating that the promos for this episode promised us answers to our questions. Though a kickass episode it was, I felt slightly disappointed at my lack of answers after the episode. That being said, I have been considering Lost for some time now, and generated some theories. Looking back on this episode, IF some of my theories end up being correct (or even somewhat close to correct) then this episode actually may have answered some of my questions (in a subtle, hard to spot, LOST kind of way). At the end of my recap, I will give my thoughts, as well as my theories, AND MY PREDICTION FOR NEXTS WEEK EPISODE (which is sure to be STORY-CHANGING)!
Flashsideways Timeline
Sayid goes to visit a house with a nice bouquet of flowers with him. Nadia opens the door, and they have quite a romantic embrace. Two young children come bustling towards them, referring to Sayid as “Uncle Sayid”! Omar, Sayid’s brother is next to greet Sayid. Welcome to Sayid’s life, where Nadia married Sayid’s brother! Uncle Sayid, Nadia, and Omar sit and discuss life (Sayid works for an oil company, but we learn that he still served as an interrogator in the Iraqi Republic). Omar leaves the table to take what seems to be a pretty important business call, Nadia asks Sayid if he received any of her letters, and why hasn’t he written her back. The lovely little children interrupt and point out that Uncle Sayid carries a picture of young Nadia in his backpack. Omar overhears this.
In the middle of the night, Omar wakes Sayid and tells him of his troubles. Omar borrowed money from a man for his business, and although he has paid back the loan, the man threateningly insists that Omar continue to pay him interest so long as his business is open. Omar begs Sayid to basically “take care of the man” for him (making it all more potent by saying if Sayid truly cares about Nadia, then he will do it). But Sayid refuses, as he is “not that man anymore.
Lo and behold, Omar gets stabbed in a “seemingly random” mugging. Sayid and Nadia rush to the hospital (oh, why hello Dr. Jack Shepherd passing by in the hallway!). Nadia knows that this was no mugging, and begs Sayid not to go messing about with all this, and to just return home and watch the kids. He does so, and when she returns, she says that Omar is recovering. We then have our emotional moment, where Nadia wonders why Sayid pushed her towards Omar if he himself loves her. Sayid gets very intense and dramatic, stating that he has done many terrible things in his lifetime, and he does not deserve her. I could hear the Sayid/Nadia ‘ship fans crying there little eyes out over this.
The next day (possibly?) Sayid is walking to go pick the kids up at the bus stop, when a black SUV comes upon him. The men tell him to get in the car! They bring him to a restaurant kitchen, where a man is making some eggs. Now we get a serious blast from the past! It’s Martin Keamy, everyone’s favourite evil, super-jacked, freighter mercenary! While enjoying a nice plate of eggs, Keamy gets down to business and tells Sayid how his brother owes him money. Obviously Keamy orchestrated Omar’s stabbing, and he wants someone to freaking pay up! Unable to be wooed, Sayid pulls some ninja moves and kills the two sidekicks, before shooting Keamy to death. Right when we think shit’s over, Sayid hears someone gagged and struggling in a room somewhere close by. He follows the muffled sounds and opens the door. There, bound and gagged to a chair is our dear friend, Jin! How and why did Keamy have Jin tied up in a closet? Well, we have yet to find out the answer to that. I think we can all safely assume that it has something to do with all that mula Jin had with him when he was detained by airport security. Anyways, that’s our flashsideways of the week!
On The Island- Shit’s About to get Crazy
Sayid and Dogen have a little chat. This leads to THE GREATEST FIGHT SCENE EVER SHOWN ON LOST. We had some serious ninja versus trained soldier badass hand to hand combat, and it was fucking awesome. In the end, ninjas always win, and right as Dogen gets the upper hand, a baseball drops to the floor. Dogen lets Sayid go (basically banishing him) and picks the baseball up very carefully.
Out in the temple courtyard, our resident island nut job, Claire, shows up to deliver a message to Dogen. She says that “he” (being Flocke/Man in Black) wants Dogen to come talk to him. Dogen knows better than to leave, and decides to send someone else out for him (not before apprehending Claire, of course). He revokes his banishment on Sayid, and takes him aside for this mission. The terms are simple: Sayid must stab Flocke in the chest with the provided dagger, BUT he must stab him BEFORE Flocke is able to say anything.
Sayid travels out to into the jungle, passes by Kate on her way back to the temple, and of course stumbles upon Flocke. Flocke manages to say “Hello, Sayid”, right before Sayid plunges him with the dagger. A bit confused, and obviously unscathed, Flocke pulls the dagger out of himself. Sayid questions what he is. Flocke coyly answers, “Well Sayid you seem to have some idea about that seeing as you stabbed me in the chest without even saying hello.” Sayid recounts how he was told that Flocke was evil. Flocke turns the tables around and tells Sayid that Dogen sent Sayid out on this task with the intention that Flocke would kill Sayid. He then asks Sayid to “deliver a message” to Dogen, and if he does so, Sayid can have anything in the entire world. Sayid says, “The only thing I ever wanted died in my arms, and I will never see it again.” Flocke retorts by saying, “What if you could?” I’d like to mention that it is at this point where my theories begin to take shape.
Meanwhile, Kate returns to the temple and asks Miles what the flip is going on! Miles mentions that crazy Claire is back. “She just strolled in a few hours ago acting all weird. Still hot, though.” Well, it’s nice to know Miles has a thing for dirty, grungy nutters!
Sayid returns to the temple. He delivers his message loud and clear to everyone at the temple. He says in more or less words, “Jacob is dead. And because he is gone, none of you have to stay here any longer. You are free. The man that I met is leaving the island forever. Those of you who want to go with him have the choice. You have until sundown. At sundown, those who stay will die!” I feel the beginnings of an impending war!
Meanwhile in the temple, Kate comes across Lennon. Pinning him against the wall, she demands to see Claire. He brings her to the pit where Claire is being held. In a nice little aerial camera shot, Claire sings (in the creepiest way possible) “Catch a Falling Star”. Kate is thrilled to see Claire, and Claire is equally thrilled. She tells Kate that the Others have her son! Kate tells Claire that they don’t, but she does. She explains how she took Aaron off the island because they couldn’t find Claire, and that she has raised him. She also throws in that he is so beautiful. Kate says she came back to rescue Claire so that she and Aaron could be together. All of a sudden, Claire doesn’t seem so happy to see Kate anymore. In fact, she’s looking super pissed (and crazy). Lennon begins to pull Kate away. Crazy Claire, with a crazy smile on her face, says “He’s coming. He’s coming, Kate, and you can’t stop him.”
Outside in the temple courtyard, chaos and panic ensue. Lennon tries to assure people that everything will be fine. Even so, people begin to leave to join with Flocke, including Cindy the Stewardess and the kids.
Sayid joins Dogen at the fountain. They have a nice little chat. Dogen holds the baseball and reflects when he used to work at a bank. One Friday he was promoted and he got very drunk while celebrating. On Fridays, he would pick his son up from baseball. They had a very bad accident. Dogen survived, but his son… (trail off!) In the hospital, a man approached Dogen, and offered to save his son’s life, however he would have to come to the island and never see his child again. This man, of course was Jacob. It is now sundown by this point, and Dogen asks if Sayid will stay or go. Sayid says he would like to stay. The next second, he grabs Dogen and drowns him in the fountain. Rip Dogen. Lennon runs in and freaks out that Sayid “Just let it in!” Sayid grabs the dagger and says “I know”. He proceeds to kill Lennon. Outside the temple, shit gets hectic, so Miles and Kate decide to bounce. The Smoke Monster then enters the temple and starts killing the fuck out of people. Kate tells Miles to run, and that she will go get Claire. Miles runs into a room and slams the door. The door then slams open, and it is Ilana, Frank, Sun, and Ben! Kate returns to the pit to rescue Claire, but Claire says they’ll be much safer there, so Kate jumps into the pit just as the Smoke Monster flies on through.
Ben stumbles into the fountain room and comes across Sayid in hopes of saving him. Soon he sees what Sayid has done and sees that Sayid has been taken. In a silent, yet extremely powerful performance, a serious scared Ben backs away from Sayid and peaces out! Our friends run down a temple corridor (the same Hurley was in, in last week’s episode). Miles asks Sun where Jin is, and Sun is flabbergasted to know that he is still alive. Ilana searches the hieroglyphics on the corridor to find the secret passageway (how does she know this place so well?). They make it inside and slam the door just as Smokey ravages the corridor.
Outside, Sayid walks casually amongst all the dead bodies. Claire and Kate soon emerge, and Kate cannot believe what she is seeing! Claire and Sayid (who now is mad as a hatter himself) walk to the outskirts of the temple. Kate follows them, grabbing a gun off one of the bodies first. Flocke and the Others who have recently decided to join with him are waiting. Flocke gives Claire a nod of approval. He sees Kate, gives her an ominous look, then turns. She looks terrified, but follows anyways. Sayid, Claire, and Flocke all have fucking creepy grins on their faces. They begin to walk. FIN.
My Thoughts
Oh my, where to begin. This was a fantastic episode, first off! I think Losties have been waiting and waiting for something significant to happen, and this episode was the trigger. Last season we were told that war was coming to the island. This episode certainly sparked the match to light the fire of war. I have a few simple questions and thoughts to pose before I propose my theories/predictions for next week.
As I asked before, what is going on with Jin being tied up in the flashsideways?
Where is Jin on the island, since we last saw him with Claire and Flocke?
We last saw Sawyer with Flocke also, but where is he now?
Why must Kate always run around like a chicken with her head chopped off?
What is Ilana’s story?
Where is Richard?
I think it is safe to assume Claire is plotting against Kate.
What became of Dogen’s son?
I am assuming Hurley and Jack are still together, hanging at the lighthouse or on their way back to the temple.
Revelations
Disclaimer: My theories are by no means original, or solely my own. I spend time reading other fans’ opinions and theories about Lost, and have come to agree with some of them. So please do not think that everything I am saying is of my creation. Some is, and some are things that I’ve read and have come to side with. With an international hit show like Lost, many people are bound to have the same opinions.
The Man in Black is responsible for creating the flashsideways timeline!
So far, the Man in Black, aka Flocke, aka Smoke Monster, has promised to give those he has recruited something they want. He promised Claire to find Aaron. He promised Sawyer a way off the island. He promised Sayid that he could see what I can only assume to be Nadia, again. In the Flashsideways we have seen so far, we have seen these very promises play out. Claire’s potential adoptive parents for Aaron back out at the last second, and now Claire is given the opportunity to have and raise her son. We have yet to see Sawyer’s flashsideways sequence, but we sure do know he is off the island! Sayid wants to see Nadia again. In his flashsideways, he sees Nadia, but it is definitely at a price. She is alive and well, but married to Omar. This is inconsequential in a way, because Sayid already stated that he did not deserve her, thus erasing them being together. She is not dead, and that is good enough for him. We have yet to see Jack, Hurley, or Kate interact with the Man in Black, so we do not know for certain that they have been offered what they want, but we have seen some evidence. In his flashsideways, Jack has a son whom he builds a trust with, and gives the praise he wishes his father would have given to him. On a mere hunch, I would say Jack wants to get over some of his daddy issues. Kate (whom is not a candidate, remember she was crossed out as #51) wants to be free, and she certainly frees herself from custody in the premiere episode. Hurley is always looking out for everyone else. He would wish something along the lines of being able to help his friends. In “The Substitute”, we see Hurley very successful, his fortune bringing him luck, and he ultimately helps John procure a job. He also has given Rose a job as well. For argument sake, let’s take Locke under this theory as well. He may be dead, but can we not agree that he may with for problems solved with his father and a life with Helen if given the chance? In “The Substitute”, we see a picture of a happy Locke and his Father aside his work desk. He is also happily engaged to Helen. Continuing on, Dogen would want his son back more than anything (I would assume). In Jack’s flashsideways, we see Dogen with his son. There may be some kind of deception in these offers that we have yet to see, but this would explain the purpose of the Flashsideways Sequences, as well as establish them as actually happening, and not as an alternate reality, as the creators of the show have firmly denounced. Consider now, what would Ben want most of all in the world? Keep reading, because I’ve thought of that myself and will make a prediction about that very thing for next week’s episode. But first, another little theory.
JACOB AND THE MAN IN BLACK ARE ONE IN THE SAME!
Yessir, I went and said it! I’ve seen this theory here and there, but what pulled me over to this belief was something I heard in this episode (hence, those answers that we were promised). In the very beginning, Dogen tells Sayid, “In every man, there is a scale, and on one side is good and on the other, evil.” Dogen says that Sayid’s scale is tipped towards evil. So let’s consider that Jacob represents the “good” side of this “entity” (for lack of a better term) and the Man in Black represents the “evil” side. This would account for a lot. For instance, when we saw the Man in Black and Jacob talking on the beach in the finale of season 5, the Man in Black said he would find a “loophole” to kill Jacob. We know that the Man in Black, disguised as Locke, could not kill Jacob himself, so he had Ben do it. So why could he not kill Jacob? Why did he need a loophole? Maybe, it’s because Jacob is a part of him (that would be a bit suicidal if he killed Jacob!). Another piece of evidence is something we saw in the episode “The Substitute”. When Sawyer and Flocke enter the cave, we see a scale. Flocke takes the white stone from one side of the scale and chucks it. This scale could be a physical representation of the “scale inside every man”. The white stone represented “good” and the black stone “evil”. Since Jacob was killed, this “entity’s” internal scale has been tipped to the evil side (i.e. the Man in Black). Plus, the writers have been very clever about not revealing the Man in Black’s actual name. Could it be because it is, in fact, Jacob? Both these beings make offers to various characters. The Man in Black manipulates people, while Jacob gives them a choice. We saw Jacob visit various characters in the finale of season 5. In these visits, he gives them a “push” but in no particular direction. He allows them to have their free will to decide what to do (example, young James Ford writing the letter to the con artist, Sawyer). With a show like Lost, we must look beyond the sense of reason, and accept the paradox that Jacob and the Man in Black can be the same person, and at the same time are capable of existing as two separate beings.
A Prediction for Next Week
This is merely my prediction for next week’s flashsideways. I have no idea if it holds any weight, and I would be very surprised if it panned out in any way. In my theory about the Flashsideways being the characters achieving what they want most in the world, let’s consider what Ben could possibly want. Due to the promos, I am under the assumption that next week is a Ben-centric episode (yes!). If this is the case, then perhaps his flashsideways sequence will be what he would want most in his life. Think back long ago to the episode “The Man Behind the Curtain”, when we first met Young Ben Linus. This little boy had a childhood friend whom he cared for VERY deeply, named Annie. Annie carved two little dolls representing each of them, and gave him the Annie doll for his 12th birthday. We have seen Ben look at this doll with obvious deep emotion. The creators of the show said awhile ago that Annie will play a role in Ben’s life, though we have had yet to see her do so. So I predict that in this Flashsideways, Ben may have his perfect little life with Annie. We already know he is a high school European history teacher. Perhaps he is married to Annie. Also, I feel like he’s got to have a kid (maybe it is even Alex). There was a lot of fan speculation that the reason Ben was SO obsessed with the fertility issues of the women on the island, is not only because of his mother dying in childbirth, but also because perhaps he and Annie were to have a child, but she died during the pregnancy. Perhaps this is why he took Alex (to replace a child he lost) and why he was SO adamant about Karl not getting Alex pregnant (although, what Dad isn’t concerned with that?) Anyways, it’s just a thought. Either that or his mother is alive in his flashsideways. I think my main point is that, if Ben’s flashsideways is in some way or another something that Ben would want most, then it certainly gives my theory about the purpose of the flashsideways timelines some credit! In any case, Alex and (at least) Ben’s father, Roger, WILL be in next week’s episode in some shape or form.
Next Week: Tuesday, March 9 at 9pm/8c
Episode Title: Dr. Linus (a Ben-centric episode)
Summary: Ben deals with the consequences of an uncovered lie
Side note: In the promo for this episode, the announcer states that “the character who has caused the most suffering and torment will meet their demise” all while showing snippets of Ben. THIS WORRIES ME. Ben Linus is my FAVOURITE character (Desmond comes in at a close second). They cannot POSSIBLY kill Ben Linus, or a part of me will die too. On one hand, the promo seems very obvious about what is to come. On the other hand, I wonder if the promo would REALLY reveal and spoil a main character’s death like that. Why on earth would they tell us they were going to kill Ben a week before the episode premieres? Perhaps, someone else will be killed. The promo did not say “Ben will meet his demise”. They made no obvious references to a male or female. They just showed us images of Ben. It could be a trick (I hope!). In my opinion, the character who has caused the most suffering and torment is KATE! Maybe SHE will be killed (hopefully by Claire). Anyways, I have no idea what is to come, but I hope to GOD Ben does not die.
Disclaimer: Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers!
Sundown (a Sayid-centric episode)
Well, if you were looking for some hardcore action, this is certainly the episode you’ll get it in! I’d like to begin by stating that the promos for this episode promised us answers to our questions. Though a kickass episode it was, I felt slightly disappointed at my lack of answers after the episode. That being said, I have been considering Lost for some time now, and generated some theories. Looking back on this episode, IF some of my theories end up being correct (or even somewhat close to correct) then this episode actually may have answered some of my questions (in a subtle, hard to spot, LOST kind of way). At the end of my recap, I will give my thoughts, as well as my theories, AND MY PREDICTION FOR NEXTS WEEK EPISODE (which is sure to be STORY-CHANGING)!
Flashsideways Timeline
Sayid goes to visit a house with a nice bouquet of flowers with him. Nadia opens the door, and they have quite a romantic embrace. Two young children come bustling towards them, referring to Sayid as “Uncle Sayid”! Omar, Sayid’s brother is next to greet Sayid. Welcome to Sayid’s life, where Nadia married Sayid’s brother! Uncle Sayid, Nadia, and Omar sit and discuss life (Sayid works for an oil company, but we learn that he still served as an interrogator in the Iraqi Republic). Omar leaves the table to take what seems to be a pretty important business call, Nadia asks Sayid if he received any of her letters, and why hasn’t he written her back. The lovely little children interrupt and point out that Uncle Sayid carries a picture of young Nadia in his backpack. Omar overhears this.
In the middle of the night, Omar wakes Sayid and tells him of his troubles. Omar borrowed money from a man for his business, and although he has paid back the loan, the man threateningly insists that Omar continue to pay him interest so long as his business is open. Omar begs Sayid to basically “take care of the man” for him (making it all more potent by saying if Sayid truly cares about Nadia, then he will do it). But Sayid refuses, as he is “not that man anymore.
Lo and behold, Omar gets stabbed in a “seemingly random” mugging. Sayid and Nadia rush to the hospital (oh, why hello Dr. Jack Shepherd passing by in the hallway!). Nadia knows that this was no mugging, and begs Sayid not to go messing about with all this, and to just return home and watch the kids. He does so, and when she returns, she says that Omar is recovering. We then have our emotional moment, where Nadia wonders why Sayid pushed her towards Omar if he himself loves her. Sayid gets very intense and dramatic, stating that he has done many terrible things in his lifetime, and he does not deserve her. I could hear the Sayid/Nadia ‘ship fans crying there little eyes out over this.
The next day (possibly?) Sayid is walking to go pick the kids up at the bus stop, when a black SUV comes upon him. The men tell him to get in the car! They bring him to a restaurant kitchen, where a man is making some eggs. Now we get a serious blast from the past! It’s Martin Keamy, everyone’s favourite evil, super-jacked, freighter mercenary! While enjoying a nice plate of eggs, Keamy gets down to business and tells Sayid how his brother owes him money. Obviously Keamy orchestrated Omar’s stabbing, and he wants someone to freaking pay up! Unable to be wooed, Sayid pulls some ninja moves and kills the two sidekicks, before shooting Keamy to death. Right when we think shit’s over, Sayid hears someone gagged and struggling in a room somewhere close by. He follows the muffled sounds and opens the door. There, bound and gagged to a chair is our dear friend, Jin! How and why did Keamy have Jin tied up in a closet? Well, we have yet to find out the answer to that. I think we can all safely assume that it has something to do with all that mula Jin had with him when he was detained by airport security. Anyways, that’s our flashsideways of the week!
On The Island- Shit’s About to get Crazy
Sayid and Dogen have a little chat. This leads to THE GREATEST FIGHT SCENE EVER SHOWN ON LOST. We had some serious ninja versus trained soldier badass hand to hand combat, and it was fucking awesome. In the end, ninjas always win, and right as Dogen gets the upper hand, a baseball drops to the floor. Dogen lets Sayid go (basically banishing him) and picks the baseball up very carefully.
Out in the temple courtyard, our resident island nut job, Claire, shows up to deliver a message to Dogen. She says that “he” (being Flocke/Man in Black) wants Dogen to come talk to him. Dogen knows better than to leave, and decides to send someone else out for him (not before apprehending Claire, of course). He revokes his banishment on Sayid, and takes him aside for this mission. The terms are simple: Sayid must stab Flocke in the chest with the provided dagger, BUT he must stab him BEFORE Flocke is able to say anything.
Sayid travels out to into the jungle, passes by Kate on her way back to the temple, and of course stumbles upon Flocke. Flocke manages to say “Hello, Sayid”, right before Sayid plunges him with the dagger. A bit confused, and obviously unscathed, Flocke pulls the dagger out of himself. Sayid questions what he is. Flocke coyly answers, “Well Sayid you seem to have some idea about that seeing as you stabbed me in the chest without even saying hello.” Sayid recounts how he was told that Flocke was evil. Flocke turns the tables around and tells Sayid that Dogen sent Sayid out on this task with the intention that Flocke would kill Sayid. He then asks Sayid to “deliver a message” to Dogen, and if he does so, Sayid can have anything in the entire world. Sayid says, “The only thing I ever wanted died in my arms, and I will never see it again.” Flocke retorts by saying, “What if you could?” I’d like to mention that it is at this point where my theories begin to take shape.
Meanwhile, Kate returns to the temple and asks Miles what the flip is going on! Miles mentions that crazy Claire is back. “She just strolled in a few hours ago acting all weird. Still hot, though.” Well, it’s nice to know Miles has a thing for dirty, grungy nutters!
Sayid returns to the temple. He delivers his message loud and clear to everyone at the temple. He says in more or less words, “Jacob is dead. And because he is gone, none of you have to stay here any longer. You are free. The man that I met is leaving the island forever. Those of you who want to go with him have the choice. You have until sundown. At sundown, those who stay will die!” I feel the beginnings of an impending war!
Meanwhile in the temple, Kate comes across Lennon. Pinning him against the wall, she demands to see Claire. He brings her to the pit where Claire is being held. In a nice little aerial camera shot, Claire sings (in the creepiest way possible) “Catch a Falling Star”. Kate is thrilled to see Claire, and Claire is equally thrilled. She tells Kate that the Others have her son! Kate tells Claire that they don’t, but she does. She explains how she took Aaron off the island because they couldn’t find Claire, and that she has raised him. She also throws in that he is so beautiful. Kate says she came back to rescue Claire so that she and Aaron could be together. All of a sudden, Claire doesn’t seem so happy to see Kate anymore. In fact, she’s looking super pissed (and crazy). Lennon begins to pull Kate away. Crazy Claire, with a crazy smile on her face, says “He’s coming. He’s coming, Kate, and you can’t stop him.”
Outside in the temple courtyard, chaos and panic ensue. Lennon tries to assure people that everything will be fine. Even so, people begin to leave to join with Flocke, including Cindy the Stewardess and the kids.
Sayid joins Dogen at the fountain. They have a nice little chat. Dogen holds the baseball and reflects when he used to work at a bank. One Friday he was promoted and he got very drunk while celebrating. On Fridays, he would pick his son up from baseball. They had a very bad accident. Dogen survived, but his son… (trail off!) In the hospital, a man approached Dogen, and offered to save his son’s life, however he would have to come to the island and never see his child again. This man, of course was Jacob. It is now sundown by this point, and Dogen asks if Sayid will stay or go. Sayid says he would like to stay. The next second, he grabs Dogen and drowns him in the fountain. Rip Dogen. Lennon runs in and freaks out that Sayid “Just let it in!” Sayid grabs the dagger and says “I know”. He proceeds to kill Lennon. Outside the temple, shit gets hectic, so Miles and Kate decide to bounce. The Smoke Monster then enters the temple and starts killing the fuck out of people. Kate tells Miles to run, and that she will go get Claire. Miles runs into a room and slams the door. The door then slams open, and it is Ilana, Frank, Sun, and Ben! Kate returns to the pit to rescue Claire, but Claire says they’ll be much safer there, so Kate jumps into the pit just as the Smoke Monster flies on through.
Ben stumbles into the fountain room and comes across Sayid in hopes of saving him. Soon he sees what Sayid has done and sees that Sayid has been taken. In a silent, yet extremely powerful performance, a serious scared Ben backs away from Sayid and peaces out! Our friends run down a temple corridor (the same Hurley was in, in last week’s episode). Miles asks Sun where Jin is, and Sun is flabbergasted to know that he is still alive. Ilana searches the hieroglyphics on the corridor to find the secret passageway (how does she know this place so well?). They make it inside and slam the door just as Smokey ravages the corridor.
Outside, Sayid walks casually amongst all the dead bodies. Claire and Kate soon emerge, and Kate cannot believe what she is seeing! Claire and Sayid (who now is mad as a hatter himself) walk to the outskirts of the temple. Kate follows them, grabbing a gun off one of the bodies first. Flocke and the Others who have recently decided to join with him are waiting. Flocke gives Claire a nod of approval. He sees Kate, gives her an ominous look, then turns. She looks terrified, but follows anyways. Sayid, Claire, and Flocke all have fucking creepy grins on their faces. They begin to walk. FIN.
My Thoughts
Oh my, where to begin. This was a fantastic episode, first off! I think Losties have been waiting and waiting for something significant to happen, and this episode was the trigger. Last season we were told that war was coming to the island. This episode certainly sparked the match to light the fire of war. I have a few simple questions and thoughts to pose before I propose my theories/predictions for next week.
As I asked before, what is going on with Jin being tied up in the flashsideways?
Where is Jin on the island, since we last saw him with Claire and Flocke?
We last saw Sawyer with Flocke also, but where is he now?
Why must Kate always run around like a chicken with her head chopped off?
What is Ilana’s story?
Where is Richard?
I think it is safe to assume Claire is plotting against Kate.
What became of Dogen’s son?
I am assuming Hurley and Jack are still together, hanging at the lighthouse or on their way back to the temple.
Revelations
Disclaimer: My theories are by no means original, or solely my own. I spend time reading other fans’ opinions and theories about Lost, and have come to agree with some of them. So please do not think that everything I am saying is of my creation. Some is, and some are things that I’ve read and have come to side with. With an international hit show like Lost, many people are bound to have the same opinions.
The Man in Black is responsible for creating the flashsideways timeline!
So far, the Man in Black, aka Flocke, aka Smoke Monster, has promised to give those he has recruited something they want. He promised Claire to find Aaron. He promised Sawyer a way off the island. He promised Sayid that he could see what I can only assume to be Nadia, again. In the Flashsideways we have seen so far, we have seen these very promises play out. Claire’s potential adoptive parents for Aaron back out at the last second, and now Claire is given the opportunity to have and raise her son. We have yet to see Sawyer’s flashsideways sequence, but we sure do know he is off the island! Sayid wants to see Nadia again. In his flashsideways, he sees Nadia, but it is definitely at a price. She is alive and well, but married to Omar. This is inconsequential in a way, because Sayid already stated that he did not deserve her, thus erasing them being together. She is not dead, and that is good enough for him. We have yet to see Jack, Hurley, or Kate interact with the Man in Black, so we do not know for certain that they have been offered what they want, but we have seen some evidence. In his flashsideways, Jack has a son whom he builds a trust with, and gives the praise he wishes his father would have given to him. On a mere hunch, I would say Jack wants to get over some of his daddy issues. Kate (whom is not a candidate, remember she was crossed out as #51) wants to be free, and she certainly frees herself from custody in the premiere episode. Hurley is always looking out for everyone else. He would wish something along the lines of being able to help his friends. In “The Substitute”, we see Hurley very successful, his fortune bringing him luck, and he ultimately helps John procure a job. He also has given Rose a job as well. For argument sake, let’s take Locke under this theory as well. He may be dead, but can we not agree that he may with for problems solved with his father and a life with Helen if given the chance? In “The Substitute”, we see a picture of a happy Locke and his Father aside his work desk. He is also happily engaged to Helen. Continuing on, Dogen would want his son back more than anything (I would assume). In Jack’s flashsideways, we see Dogen with his son. There may be some kind of deception in these offers that we have yet to see, but this would explain the purpose of the Flashsideways Sequences, as well as establish them as actually happening, and not as an alternate reality, as the creators of the show have firmly denounced. Consider now, what would Ben want most of all in the world? Keep reading, because I’ve thought of that myself and will make a prediction about that very thing for next week’s episode. But first, another little theory.
JACOB AND THE MAN IN BLACK ARE ONE IN THE SAME!
Yessir, I went and said it! I’ve seen this theory here and there, but what pulled me over to this belief was something I heard in this episode (hence, those answers that we were promised). In the very beginning, Dogen tells Sayid, “In every man, there is a scale, and on one side is good and on the other, evil.” Dogen says that Sayid’s scale is tipped towards evil. So let’s consider that Jacob represents the “good” side of this “entity” (for lack of a better term) and the Man in Black represents the “evil” side. This would account for a lot. For instance, when we saw the Man in Black and Jacob talking on the beach in the finale of season 5, the Man in Black said he would find a “loophole” to kill Jacob. We know that the Man in Black, disguised as Locke, could not kill Jacob himself, so he had Ben do it. So why could he not kill Jacob? Why did he need a loophole? Maybe, it’s because Jacob is a part of him (that would be a bit suicidal if he killed Jacob!). Another piece of evidence is something we saw in the episode “The Substitute”. When Sawyer and Flocke enter the cave, we see a scale. Flocke takes the white stone from one side of the scale and chucks it. This scale could be a physical representation of the “scale inside every man”. The white stone represented “good” and the black stone “evil”. Since Jacob was killed, this “entity’s” internal scale has been tipped to the evil side (i.e. the Man in Black). Plus, the writers have been very clever about not revealing the Man in Black’s actual name. Could it be because it is, in fact, Jacob? Both these beings make offers to various characters. The Man in Black manipulates people, while Jacob gives them a choice. We saw Jacob visit various characters in the finale of season 5. In these visits, he gives them a “push” but in no particular direction. He allows them to have their free will to decide what to do (example, young James Ford writing the letter to the con artist, Sawyer). With a show like Lost, we must look beyond the sense of reason, and accept the paradox that Jacob and the Man in Black can be the same person, and at the same time are capable of existing as two separate beings.
A Prediction for Next Week
This is merely my prediction for next week’s flashsideways. I have no idea if it holds any weight, and I would be very surprised if it panned out in any way. In my theory about the Flashsideways being the characters achieving what they want most in the world, let’s consider what Ben could possibly want. Due to the promos, I am under the assumption that next week is a Ben-centric episode (yes!). If this is the case, then perhaps his flashsideways sequence will be what he would want most in his life. Think back long ago to the episode “The Man Behind the Curtain”, when we first met Young Ben Linus. This little boy had a childhood friend whom he cared for VERY deeply, named Annie. Annie carved two little dolls representing each of them, and gave him the Annie doll for his 12th birthday. We have seen Ben look at this doll with obvious deep emotion. The creators of the show said awhile ago that Annie will play a role in Ben’s life, though we have had yet to see her do so. So I predict that in this Flashsideways, Ben may have his perfect little life with Annie. We already know he is a high school European history teacher. Perhaps he is married to Annie. Also, I feel like he’s got to have a kid (maybe it is even Alex). There was a lot of fan speculation that the reason Ben was SO obsessed with the fertility issues of the women on the island, is not only because of his mother dying in childbirth, but also because perhaps he and Annie were to have a child, but she died during the pregnancy. Perhaps this is why he took Alex (to replace a child he lost) and why he was SO adamant about Karl not getting Alex pregnant (although, what Dad isn’t concerned with that?) Anyways, it’s just a thought. Either that or his mother is alive in his flashsideways. I think my main point is that, if Ben’s flashsideways is in some way or another something that Ben would want most, then it certainly gives my theory about the purpose of the flashsideways timelines some credit! In any case, Alex and (at least) Ben’s father, Roger, WILL be in next week’s episode in some shape or form.
Next Week: Tuesday, March 9 at 9pm/8c
Episode Title: Dr. Linus (a Ben-centric episode)
Summary: Ben deals with the consequences of an uncovered lie
Side note: In the promo for this episode, the announcer states that “the character who has caused the most suffering and torment will meet their demise” all while showing snippets of Ben. THIS WORRIES ME. Ben Linus is my FAVOURITE character (Desmond comes in at a close second). They cannot POSSIBLY kill Ben Linus, or a part of me will die too. On one hand, the promo seems very obvious about what is to come. On the other hand, I wonder if the promo would REALLY reveal and spoil a main character’s death like that. Why on earth would they tell us they were going to kill Ben a week before the episode premieres? Perhaps, someone else will be killed. The promo did not say “Ben will meet his demise”. They made no obvious references to a male or female. They just showed us images of Ben. It could be a trick (I hope!). In my opinion, the character who has caused the most suffering and torment is KATE! Maybe SHE will be killed (hopefully by Claire). Anyways, I have no idea what is to come, but I hope to GOD Ben does not die.
A 2 Part Review: A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Fierce Creatures (1997)
What I’m Watching: A Two-Parter:
A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Fierce Creatures (1997)
(same writer, same cast, two fantastic and unique movies)
A Fish Called Wanda (1988. Directed by Charles Crichton. Starring John Cleese, Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Palin.)
What a gut-busting, hilarious, and unique film! Written by Crichton and Cleese comes this UK comedy about the aftermath of a jewel heist. The four thieves are George (Played by Tom Georgeson), Wanda (Curtis), Ken (Palin) and Otto (Kline). After pulling off the jewel heist flawlessly, Wanda and Otto (a pair of con artists pretending to be siblings in order to procure the jewels for themselves) give their ringleader, George, up to the police. Wanda had been conning George into believe that she loved him, while really her lover is her partner in crime/faux brother, Otto. George is arrested, but reaches out to his right hand man, Ken, a stuttering animal lover. The jewels are moved, the key is hidden, and Ken is given the order to kill the only key witness to the crime (some old lady with some annoying dogs). Wanda sets her attentions on duping her partner and crime, and finding the jewel location herself by seducing George’s lawyer, (or barrister to use the UK term) Archie Leach (Cleese.) Leach is an extremely unhappy man in a loveless marriage. The character naturally falls head over heels for Wanda, who renews a youthful spirit in Leach. Anyways, as the plot unfolds, chaos ensues with extreme laughs aplenty.
I am obviously biased when it comes to my intense love of Michael Palin, and John Cleese. Please take me for my word when I say in the most un-biased way possible that this is one of the funniest films I’ve ever seen. All 4 of these main characters are so odd, flawed, and over-the-top HILARIOUS.
I’ve got two words: KEVIN KLINE. This man MADE this movie. Otto is one of the greatest written characters, in my opinion. A serious narcissist and self-proclaimed philosophical intellect, he is ANYTHING BUT! He is a git and most intellectually devoid person-but don’t tell him that, because he may hang you out a window!
John Cleese as Archie Leach is a breath of fresh air! Here we see a man who is emotionally weak, and very unhappy and unsatisfied with his monotonous life. Once Wanda enters his life, he is renewed and becomes a determined man full of passion and life again. And how couldn’t his Russian reciting turn you on?
Jamie Lee Curtis plays Wanda (note: not the fish!). Wanda is shroud, cunning, sexy, and spontaneous. She is the kind of woman who gets what she wants, no matter what! She manipulates the men around her perfectly. She also is a SUCKER for foreign languages. Speak to her in a language other than English, and things will get dirty.
Oh Michael Palin, how many times must I rave on and on about you? (That was a rhetorical question, of course!) Palin, whose own father seriously suffered from a stutter, brought this knowledge and experience to the stuttering character of Ken. Ken never seems to get a word in edgewise! (Might I add that it is with this performance that he helped set up the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children in 1993). On top of his incredibly debilitating, though extremely funny stammer, Ken is a great lover of animals. He has his own beautiful aquarium. His prized fish is a fish called Wanda (wait a minute; that sounds familiar!) While the rest of these hi-jinxes are happening, Ken is busy with his own mission: kill the witness! This sub-plot breaks up the film nicely, and adds for some painfully hilarious slapstick moments for poor Ken!
Everything about this film, from the writing, to the superb acting, to the rising action, to the fantastic and fast-paced ending, is fabulous. Watching this movie for the first time was one the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had with a film. This is a perfect comedy for just about any type of film lover. Don’t believe me yet? Here are some of the recognitions this brilliant film has received:
- American Film Institute ranks it #21 on its list of “Top 100 Funniest Movies Ever Made”
- Bravo ranks it at #27 on their list of “100 Funniest Movies”
- Kevin Kline WON an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
- Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
- Charles Crichton nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director
- Jamie Lee Curtis nominated for Golden Globe and BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress
- Michael Palin WON BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor
- 96% Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes!
This is a must-see movie!
~ ~ ~
Fierce Creatures (1997. Directed by Fred Schepisi and Robert Young. Starring John Cleese, Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Michael Palin)
The Wanda Dream Team is back again for this fantastic film about the direction of a British Zoo. We cannot call this a sequel to Wanda. It has been dubbed “an equal” instead. It’s a different story, different characters, different situations, but the same fantastic cast and same hilarity.
Rod McCain (Kline) is a New Zealand CEO of Octopus Inc, where any and all businesses they’ve invested in must return a 20% profit margin. One such investment is in Marwood Zoo, which has just been given a new director, Rollo Lee (Cleese). In order to meet this profit margin demand, Rollo decides to enact a new zoo police called the “Fierce Creatures Policy”. This policy holds that only dangerous and threatening animals shall remain in the zoo, in order to boost interest and attract more of the public. The devoted zoo handlers are not pleased, and go to many lengths to prove their animals (most of which are adorable and cuddly creatures) are indeed, harmful. Needless to say, this policy fails pretty quickly.
Willa Weston (Curtis) has just been given a management position at Octopus Inc., and insists to go direct the zoo herself, while somewhat demoting Rollo. She goes, along with McCain’s loony son, Vince (also Kline), who is under false pretenses thinking Willa is in love with him.
Vince, who doesn’t particularly like or even “get” animals, begins exploiting all of the animal attractions for big bucks (my favourite being putting an advert sign for Absolute Vodka on the tiger!). Rollo and the zoo handlers (along with the intelligent but super annoying bug handler, Bugsy (Palin) try to make a plan to figure out if their zoo is going to be shut down. Willa, who loves animals is not happy with Vince, and of course begins a flirtation with Rollo.
The plot unfolds to save the zoo and give everyone, including Vince, who though a bit daft is merely the result of severe fatherly childhood neglect, their happy ending.
This movie is a great example of situational humor. There is a lot of physical comedy, lots of hilarious lines, and definitely many “wrong place, wrong time” moments.
Cleese as Rollo Lee is a lot more demanding and has much more of a backbone than the character of “Archie Leach”. He’s a morally upstanding man, though sometimes gets caught “with his pants down” at the wrong moment (pun intended!). A very strong lead.
At first, I wasn’t sure how to feel or perceive Willa. She starts off with an air of smugness to her, and I was not sure if I was supposed to like her or be against her. Once she was at the zoo, however, she took a turn and was extremely sympathetic view on the zoo’s plight. Curtis once again does a great job playing the strong, independent woman, as she did as “Wanda”. This roll had her much softer and very likeable.
Kevin Kline had his hands full, playing the old, fat, asshole New Zealand CEO, Rod McCain, as well as his aloof son, Vince. Kline is really a great asshole! He absolutely nails it each time. His antagonists are always so dramatic and intense. Rod is simply a (flatulent) douche bag who hates his son and doesn’t care about anything else besides money and his company. Vince is an interesting character. Obviously an antagonist, Vince just “doesn’t get it.” He doesn’t get that Willa has no interest in him. He doesn’t get why people like animals. He doesn’t get what is wrong with exploiting animals. I don’t think it’s that he has no morals. I think he just doesn’t understand morals, or why he should have morals. By the end of the film, after a series of (hilarious) events occur, we sympathize greatly with Vince, however. We see that he is really a product of his environment, and how the neglect of his father is mostly to blame for shaping him.
Bugsy Malone is a very silly person indeed. Michael Palin was finally given the chance to have some serious dialogue in this film, unlike his character, “Ken”, in Wanda. “Ken” could barely stammer a sentence out. Bugsy has no problem talking your ear off! Bugsy is obviously a serious scientific thinker (and a complete nerd), and oftentimes likes to demonstrate this by talking your ear off! He just won’t shut his bloody gob! If anyone tells him to shut it, he completely ignores them and continues talking. Mostly everyone just largely ignores his spouts of scientific mumbo jumbo. It’s quite hysterical though. Bugsy also carries a tarantula around in his pocket named Terry (an ode to Monty Python writing partner Terry Jones). And nothing made me smile more than seeing Michael Palin running around dressed as a giant bumble bee.
There are a few references to A Fish Called Wanda that are subtle, but you’ll certainly catch them if you’ve seen Wanda. Along with that, any Monty Python fans (or unhealthy obsessive diehard fans, such as me) will also catch a few fun references in the dialogue. As I said, they are subtle and don’t mean anything to the plot, but if you’re a fan, you’ll catch them and have yourself an extra laugh!
It is certainly more lighthearted and silly than A Fish Called Wanda. It’s still very funny, performed wonderfully, and written well. I think the most laughs come from the last 25ish minutes of the film. So much crazy shit happens VERY fast. Within the last 25 minutes, we hit the movie’s hysterical climax, and the proceeding falling action is so fast paced, with serious mounted tension. I laughed pretty much nonstop through the end of it. It’s an extremely fun film with lots of laughs and a promised payoff!
A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Fierce Creatures (1997)
(same writer, same cast, two fantastic and unique movies)
A Fish Called Wanda (1988. Directed by Charles Crichton. Starring John Cleese, Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Palin.)
What a gut-busting, hilarious, and unique film! Written by Crichton and Cleese comes this UK comedy about the aftermath of a jewel heist. The four thieves are George (Played by Tom Georgeson), Wanda (Curtis), Ken (Palin) and Otto (Kline). After pulling off the jewel heist flawlessly, Wanda and Otto (a pair of con artists pretending to be siblings in order to procure the jewels for themselves) give their ringleader, George, up to the police. Wanda had been conning George into believe that she loved him, while really her lover is her partner in crime/faux brother, Otto. George is arrested, but reaches out to his right hand man, Ken, a stuttering animal lover. The jewels are moved, the key is hidden, and Ken is given the order to kill the only key witness to the crime (some old lady with some annoying dogs). Wanda sets her attentions on duping her partner and crime, and finding the jewel location herself by seducing George’s lawyer, (or barrister to use the UK term) Archie Leach (Cleese.) Leach is an extremely unhappy man in a loveless marriage. The character naturally falls head over heels for Wanda, who renews a youthful spirit in Leach. Anyways, as the plot unfolds, chaos ensues with extreme laughs aplenty.
I am obviously biased when it comes to my intense love of Michael Palin, and John Cleese. Please take me for my word when I say in the most un-biased way possible that this is one of the funniest films I’ve ever seen. All 4 of these main characters are so odd, flawed, and over-the-top HILARIOUS.
I’ve got two words: KEVIN KLINE. This man MADE this movie. Otto is one of the greatest written characters, in my opinion. A serious narcissist and self-proclaimed philosophical intellect, he is ANYTHING BUT! He is a git and most intellectually devoid person-but don’t tell him that, because he may hang you out a window!
John Cleese as Archie Leach is a breath of fresh air! Here we see a man who is emotionally weak, and very unhappy and unsatisfied with his monotonous life. Once Wanda enters his life, he is renewed and becomes a determined man full of passion and life again. And how couldn’t his Russian reciting turn you on?
Jamie Lee Curtis plays Wanda (note: not the fish!). Wanda is shroud, cunning, sexy, and spontaneous. She is the kind of woman who gets what she wants, no matter what! She manipulates the men around her perfectly. She also is a SUCKER for foreign languages. Speak to her in a language other than English, and things will get dirty.
Oh Michael Palin, how many times must I rave on and on about you? (That was a rhetorical question, of course!) Palin, whose own father seriously suffered from a stutter, brought this knowledge and experience to the stuttering character of Ken. Ken never seems to get a word in edgewise! (Might I add that it is with this performance that he helped set up the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children in 1993). On top of his incredibly debilitating, though extremely funny stammer, Ken is a great lover of animals. He has his own beautiful aquarium. His prized fish is a fish called Wanda (wait a minute; that sounds familiar!) While the rest of these hi-jinxes are happening, Ken is busy with his own mission: kill the witness! This sub-plot breaks up the film nicely, and adds for some painfully hilarious slapstick moments for poor Ken!
Everything about this film, from the writing, to the superb acting, to the rising action, to the fantastic and fast-paced ending, is fabulous. Watching this movie for the first time was one the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had with a film. This is a perfect comedy for just about any type of film lover. Don’t believe me yet? Here are some of the recognitions this brilliant film has received:
- American Film Institute ranks it #21 on its list of “Top 100 Funniest Movies Ever Made”
- Bravo ranks it at #27 on their list of “100 Funniest Movies”
- Kevin Kline WON an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
- Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
- Charles Crichton nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director
- Jamie Lee Curtis nominated for Golden Globe and BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress
- Michael Palin WON BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor
- 96% Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes!
This is a must-see movie!
~ ~ ~
Fierce Creatures (1997. Directed by Fred Schepisi and Robert Young. Starring John Cleese, Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Michael Palin)
The Wanda Dream Team is back again for this fantastic film about the direction of a British Zoo. We cannot call this a sequel to Wanda. It has been dubbed “an equal” instead. It’s a different story, different characters, different situations, but the same fantastic cast and same hilarity.
Rod McCain (Kline) is a New Zealand CEO of Octopus Inc, where any and all businesses they’ve invested in must return a 20% profit margin. One such investment is in Marwood Zoo, which has just been given a new director, Rollo Lee (Cleese). In order to meet this profit margin demand, Rollo decides to enact a new zoo police called the “Fierce Creatures Policy”. This policy holds that only dangerous and threatening animals shall remain in the zoo, in order to boost interest and attract more of the public. The devoted zoo handlers are not pleased, and go to many lengths to prove their animals (most of which are adorable and cuddly creatures) are indeed, harmful. Needless to say, this policy fails pretty quickly.
Willa Weston (Curtis) has just been given a management position at Octopus Inc., and insists to go direct the zoo herself, while somewhat demoting Rollo. She goes, along with McCain’s loony son, Vince (also Kline), who is under false pretenses thinking Willa is in love with him.
Vince, who doesn’t particularly like or even “get” animals, begins exploiting all of the animal attractions for big bucks (my favourite being putting an advert sign for Absolute Vodka on the tiger!). Rollo and the zoo handlers (along with the intelligent but super annoying bug handler, Bugsy (Palin) try to make a plan to figure out if their zoo is going to be shut down. Willa, who loves animals is not happy with Vince, and of course begins a flirtation with Rollo.
The plot unfolds to save the zoo and give everyone, including Vince, who though a bit daft is merely the result of severe fatherly childhood neglect, their happy ending.
This movie is a great example of situational humor. There is a lot of physical comedy, lots of hilarious lines, and definitely many “wrong place, wrong time” moments.
Cleese as Rollo Lee is a lot more demanding and has much more of a backbone than the character of “Archie Leach”. He’s a morally upstanding man, though sometimes gets caught “with his pants down” at the wrong moment (pun intended!). A very strong lead.
At first, I wasn’t sure how to feel or perceive Willa. She starts off with an air of smugness to her, and I was not sure if I was supposed to like her or be against her. Once she was at the zoo, however, she took a turn and was extremely sympathetic view on the zoo’s plight. Curtis once again does a great job playing the strong, independent woman, as she did as “Wanda”. This roll had her much softer and very likeable.
Kevin Kline had his hands full, playing the old, fat, asshole New Zealand CEO, Rod McCain, as well as his aloof son, Vince. Kline is really a great asshole! He absolutely nails it each time. His antagonists are always so dramatic and intense. Rod is simply a (flatulent) douche bag who hates his son and doesn’t care about anything else besides money and his company. Vince is an interesting character. Obviously an antagonist, Vince just “doesn’t get it.” He doesn’t get that Willa has no interest in him. He doesn’t get why people like animals. He doesn’t get what is wrong with exploiting animals. I don’t think it’s that he has no morals. I think he just doesn’t understand morals, or why he should have morals. By the end of the film, after a series of (hilarious) events occur, we sympathize greatly with Vince, however. We see that he is really a product of his environment, and how the neglect of his father is mostly to blame for shaping him.
Bugsy Malone is a very silly person indeed. Michael Palin was finally given the chance to have some serious dialogue in this film, unlike his character, “Ken”, in Wanda. “Ken” could barely stammer a sentence out. Bugsy has no problem talking your ear off! Bugsy is obviously a serious scientific thinker (and a complete nerd), and oftentimes likes to demonstrate this by talking your ear off! He just won’t shut his bloody gob! If anyone tells him to shut it, he completely ignores them and continues talking. Mostly everyone just largely ignores his spouts of scientific mumbo jumbo. It’s quite hysterical though. Bugsy also carries a tarantula around in his pocket named Terry (an ode to Monty Python writing partner Terry Jones). And nothing made me smile more than seeing Michael Palin running around dressed as a giant bumble bee.
There are a few references to A Fish Called Wanda that are subtle, but you’ll certainly catch them if you’ve seen Wanda. Along with that, any Monty Python fans (or unhealthy obsessive diehard fans, such as me) will also catch a few fun references in the dialogue. As I said, they are subtle and don’t mean anything to the plot, but if you’re a fan, you’ll catch them and have yourself an extra laugh!
It is certainly more lighthearted and silly than A Fish Called Wanda. It’s still very funny, performed wonderfully, and written well. I think the most laughs come from the last 25ish minutes of the film. So much crazy shit happens VERY fast. Within the last 25 minutes, we hit the movie’s hysterical climax, and the proceeding falling action is so fast paced, with serious mounted tension. I laughed pretty much nonstop through the end of it. It’s an extremely fun film with lots of laughs and a promised payoff!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
