Lost: The Shape of Things To Come

Benjamin Linus is one of the most complex characters in the history of television. This is a fact. From Henry Gale, to last nights Ben-diana Jones, he's proven to be versatile, manipulative and the smartest person on the island. Ben is in control of every situation he gets himself in and isn't easily shaken. Well, every situation but one. The execution of Alex was one of the heaviest and most shocking moments in Lost history, and up until the moment Keamey pulled the trigger, I never thought the writers/producers would go through with it. *BANG!!* With one shot they, as Ben put it, "changed the rules".

Already there has been a great deal of theorizing on the internetz as to what these "rules" are between Ben and Widmore. I'm skeptical of the idea that the two of them have an agreement of some sort as to how their war is being fought. I see these "rules" not so much as actual guidelines, but more of an unwritten code. Old school Sicilian mafioso, especially "men of honor" used to operate under a very strict code when it came to vendettas. No matter how deep the hatred between enemies, no one ever murdered women or children. Alex's death falls under this set of guidelines perfectly. Ben and Widmore are the heads of two very powerful entities, and both are considered "men of honor" by mafia guidelines, and the murder of his daughter crossed a line that Ben didn't think would be. This brings me to the meeting between Ben and Widmore. If the old mafia code is in fact the set of rules Ben assumed they were operating by, then that explains Widmore's reaction to Ben. Widmore is sorry about his daughter, but reminds Ben that he knows who he is and what he has done. Which I can only assume he is referring to the "purge" where Ben aided/planned the eradication of the entire Dharma Initiative. If Ben was playing by the rules, then killing around 100 people, including women and children, is a pretty gross violation of them. Which also explains Widmore's comment about Ben's audacity in acting like he was the victim. Regardless, it's still impossible to determine who's actually the bad guy, or if there is even a good guy in this situation. Which makes the show even better to watch, as it's up the viewer to make these assumptions until the answers are given.

Now some quick thoughts on the rest of the episode.

• Sawyer's gun fight was a little on the weak side, except for the RPG to Claire's house. If were writing the episode I wouldn't have had Claire in the house, making her survival a little more realistic, but it's really not that big a deal.
• Ben's jacket that he was wearing had a new Dharma symbol on it. I can only assume this is the Orchid Station referenced in the comic con video from last summer. You know, the one with teleporting bunnies.
• How Ben controlled the smoke monster was interesting and I can't wait until that thing is finally explained. Which won't be until the last few episodes of the series I'm sure.
• The bond between Claire, Hurley, and Sawyer is very believable, especially considering their connection to Charlie. So when Sawyer pulled the gun on Locke to defend Hurley, there was some real emotion behind it. That's called good character development.
• The beach developments were small but interesting. The fact that the doctor from the boat washed up on the beach with his throat slit, yet they say he is still alive back on the boat is setting up for some wild time-travel/teleportation story lines in the coming weeks and for future seasons.
• Sayid's reasons for working for Ben were explained and explained well. As manipulative as Ben is, convincing Sayid to kill after Nadia's murder was probably one of the easiest cons he's ever had to make
  
• Kate is hot.
  

The Shape of Things to Come is one of my favorite episodes of the season, and would be on a greatest hits album of Lost episodes if there were such a thing. It shed light on existing mysteries such as the smoke monster and Widmore, while at the same time asking more questions in true Lost fashion. Back in the day, when there was no definitive end date for Lost, this is the type of episode that would have driven the haters wild. Now that Lost has an end, the stringing along of story lines is completely welcomed and necessary. I've always liked comparing Lost to a novel. You don't read books backwards, and when you start reading one, or better yet when people that respect narrative structure read a book, they usually don't skip to the end. Episodes like this one are important chapters, and when the answers do come, the vast layering of the mysteries will have a much bigger impact than a quick one scene solution.

9.7/10

Next weeks episode is called "Something Nice Back Home" and it's the first Jack episode of the season. Until then.....(play GTA IV)

if you want to dive deeper into the mafia code, then I recommend Alexander Stille's Excellent Cadavers, a biographical look into investigations into the mafia in Sicily during the 60's,70's and 80's

Male Nudity and Dracula Rock Operas:My Review of Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Anything Judd Apatow touches turns to gold (except Drillbit Taylor). As it should. The guy himself seems down to earth, and his loyalties to his friends are something to be admired in what is usually is a "me first" industry. Every Apatow hit has been made by his circle of friends that stem from Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared. Jason Segel, the star and writer of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, was in Freeks and Geeks aside from starring in Knocked Up and the 40 Year Old Virgin. The director, Nicholas Stoller, was also a director on the short lived Undeclared. I bring this up because the level of friendship shared by these guys is one of the main reasons they continue to pump out hit after hit. Every Apatow production before this had hilarious dialogue that succeeds because of it's honesty, and it only seems that way because the actors speak to each other like they are shooting the shit in each others basements. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is just like this, and is yet again another movie you can toss on the "Apatow Classic" pile. 

First off I must give props to Jason Segel for the great script. Somehow, these guys continue to take the very stale genre of romantic comedy, and turn them into something fresh. This is due to the smart dialogue, and most importantly, the classic performances of the stable of actors that inhabit the Apatow world. Bill Hader, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel. There isn't much they can't make funny. That's not even mentioning the return of everyones favorite "That 70's Show" hottie, Mila Kunis. She's one of the best parts about Sarah Marshall. She's funny, she makes the story believable, and most of all, she's looking pretty, pretty good. Combine that with Kristen Bell and you have to seriously ask yourself why you wouldn't see this movie. 

I'm honestly having a hard time finding anything bad to say about this movie. I've heard some complaints that Sarah Marshall runs a bit long, but I didn't find this to be the case. I can't really think of anything that needed to be left on the cutting room floor. I've heard some people say that Jonah Hill seems a little miscast, but I didn't find this to be the case either, that guy is funny in any role. From start to finish I was drawn in to the characters. It's also hard not to feel sorry for a guy who gets dumped while he's naked and it's equally hard not to laugh hysterically at it.

Go see it. You will laugh. Guaranteed. 

8.5/10

Debate? Not so much.

ABC News hosted a debate between Barack and Hillary this past Wednesday. However, it was a "debate" in name only. The first 40 or so minutes of the debate focused completely on total garbage that has nothing to do with the upcoming election. Followed by a tag-team effort between Hillary Clinton and George Stephanopoulis (former advisor to Bill Clinton) against Obama. ABC tackled such hard issues as lapel pins and events that occurred when Obama was 8, instead of real issues like the war and the economy. I'm all for debates, but if the rest of these between Barack and Hillary are nothing more than sophomoric b.s., then there is no need. Especially when these debates continue to encourage Hillary to stay in a race she can't win unless she resorts to some very underhanded, party-dividing, Karl Rovian like tactics.

Videogames, I profess my undying love to thee......

If you read this blog (bless your soul), then you know that I love many things, including but not limited to current events, political campaigns, LOST, music and sports. However, there is one aspect of my life that I don't usually write about, and I think it's time to let that cat out of the bag.

Video games. Yes, video games. Since 1987, when I picked up the NES controller for the first time, a connection happened that I can only equate to the formation of the universe or a tsunami fighting an earthquake. It was magical.

Mario, Zelda, Battletoads, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Goldeneye, AKI wrestling games, Grand Theft Auto, Guitar Hero. These are just some of the games and franchises that have helped shape my life (not all of it, just the part of me that likes fun).

In my adulthood however, there has only been one game that has given me hours upon hours of enjoyment, not only gameplay wise, but also from a social standpoint. That my friends, is Halo.

Eat some Battle Rifle biiatch!!

It started with crazy Halo-LAN parties back in 02' (that's Local-area-network for the non-nerds), followed by hours and hours of co-op and split-screen. If it hadn't of been for Halo 1, I have no idea what me and my friends would've done in High School (I do know, but let's just say were much better off because of Halo). Halo 2 came around, and while being a slight step back from Halo in some aspects, was fun as hell online and moved Halo outside of the living room. Halo 3 is the latest (and possibly final) installment of the franchise, and in many ways is a collection of everything that made the first two games great.

I had started to drift a little bit from Halo 3, because I felt the overall collection of multiplayer maps had gone a bit stale. That changed this week. Big time. On Tuesday, Bungie released a collection of multiplayer maps that has brought my love for Halo, and all video games back with a surge of "vengeance and furious anger".

The maps are Avalanche (Sidewinder inspired), Blackout (Lockout remake), and Ghost Town (brand new). These maps have made for some classic games, and make Halo 3 a serious consideration for the best game in the series.

This was fun.

If you are a Halo fan, a disgruntled Halo fan,or a fan of first-person shooters in anyway, I highly suggest you check these maps out (Don't worry, Call of Duty 4 will be there when you get back).

Same fun, different angle.

So consider this the welcoming of video games as a permanent topic on me blog here. I'll be reviewing games, commenting on industry news, and talking about things that would otherwise send non-video game fans into a state of paralysis. It will be good times.

Halo 3 Legendary Map: 1o kills, 0 deaths. Perfection medal awarded! or 10/10

GTA IV in two weeks. I might need to get all of my papers written before then.

"How do I reeeeach these keeeeeds!"

For anyone who believes in justice, this past weeks episode of South Park was for you. In this episode, Cartman teaches inner city High School kids how to cheat like Bill Belichick, only not as Eric Cartman, but as Eric Cartmenez. I'm so happy that Trey Parker and Matt Stone touched on this in a way only South Park could.

Best line of the entire episode, "He said 'Hey, let's go out and win this one for real' and what did they do? They lost."

Here's the link to the entire episode, the Patriots stuff is about half-way through:

http://www.southparkzone.com/episodes/1205/Eek-a-Penis!.html

Yeah, this will work

The U.S. military is issuing handheld lie detectors to troops in Afghanistan in order to help find information quickly. I would love to have been sitting in on the pitch session for this idea. I'm sure it went a little something like this.

General 1

So, we are losing ground in Afghanistan, what can we do to fix the situation?

General 2

How about more troops and better equipment. I hear people respond well to a gun in their face.

General 1

That's the worst idea I've ever heard!

General 3

I have this crazy idea. You know how lie detectors are basically inadmissible in the court of law.

General 1

Yes..I like where you are going with this.

General 3

Well instead of body armor and bullet-proof humvees. Let's give each soldier a hand-held lie detector. That way we can bring stability to the region based on circumstantial and generally inaccurate information.

General 1

(stands and slowly begins to clap)

This will win us the war.

Here's the link to the actual article.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23926278/

There can be only ONE!!!!!

For the first time since seeding began in the NCAA tournament, all four number one seeds have made the Final Four. This sets up the most brutal, ball busting, bracket shredding, dream destroying, baby punching, relationship ending weekend of basketball in the history of man. At least on paper anyways. Some of the most intriguing match ups of the tournament so far (Tennessee v Louisville, Memphis v. Texas, UCLA v. Xavier) have turned out to be complete duds. However, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, and Memphis each match up extremely well with one another. Each team has a strong interior game, each team likes to run the floor, each team plays defense like their lives depend on it. To find flaws in these teams you have to look very deep (except for Memphis, where you have to look no further than the foul line). Who will survive? I won't dare make a pick as I have a dog in this race, but one thing is for sure, out of these ones (Cue Christopher Lambert) THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!