Hmmm. I wonder if that hand there is supposed to offer assistance? Does it shake for you? The mind reels.

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http://tinyurl.com/o89bu



Most of the entrants for the contest are a waste of time but as usual a few gems in the lot. These stood out as exceptions. I think we all know why.

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Since I've been so sadly behind in my commentary for the past few weeks, maybe just some general thoughts to catch up…



For the most part, I've really enjoyed the turn that the show has taken after the end of the terrorists (so far). No more city-ending catastrophes, no nuclear missiles, no chemical weapons, just political intrigue. While I think that 24 probably thrives on the explosions and continuous change of plots from episode to episode, I find the change of tactic somewhat re-invigorating. Characters become more important, and it's letting Logan in particular really come through as much more complex in his evilness. Audrey too is much more fun, as are the 2 Homeland people at CTU. And Peter Weller just gets better as it goes along.



High points…

- Heller walking back into the hangar and clubbing Jack before going to Logan.

- Henderson slitting Audrey's arm and threatening to let her bleed to death to get the recording.

- Pierce getting disappeared, even though I love the character.

- Henderson and Audrey in the barn…and Audrey nearly losing it.

- Homeland woman cutting through it and calling Buchanan.

- Heller driving off the cliff.



Not so high points…

- The worst was Jack 'sneaking' onto the diplomatic plan 'in disguise' under his hood and carrying luggage. Not to mention any sneaking around with that much security.

- I question the introduction of the behind the scenes guys on their headsets. Too dot com and too 24 in its throwing another thing in-ness.

- Chloe setting up shop at Bill's house…with the absolute need to use the flat panel monitor. Though her commentary was amusing.

- The bank robbery…unnecessary. I did appreciate the setting off of the alarm to get the cops there however.



8 whirrs overall…

Related posts:

1. 24: Season 5: Ep 20
2. 24: Season 5: Ep 15 and 16
3. 24: Season 5: Ep 21

Director: David Slade

Writer: Brian Nelson



Hard Candy



I want to write a review for this, btu I am too emotionally drained from watching it.



What I can say is that it is a slow build. but once it gets there it has you by the... er... balls, for lack of a better word.



The only reason I wasn't COMPLETELY exhausted after this movie was the people who felt the need to crack jokes and the inappropriate laughter from everywhere. It kept breaking me out of my fixed horror. Of course, I'm not sure whether to be angry or not.



*********

First, a few words on directorial/editing style. Slade used very interesting set ups for shots. There were lots of close ups and strange pans. This all works toward the overall disturbing nature of the film. There were points where I could see the sweat on the actors faces, standing out in the extreme close ups. Like wise there were shots occluded from anything other than bled out colors. These colors were very copasetic with the scene.

The use of motion and action were also quite good. Many dynamic shots were used to establish physical and emotional states. These scenes also paced well with the movie. There were no juxtaposition of content and pace. This can be a killer for a movie. A slow sequence when the actual content would suggest a quick sequence. The overall feel is very personal and tight. It was almost as if every shot in the film was from character’s or bystander’s point of view.

With respect to writing I will address the elements as I would rank them as to their influence over the film as a whole. The dialogue was outstanding. The Mystery of the piece had me guessing constantly which party was lying. The characters were slow to build and quite dynamic. The hierarchy does not imply that the dialogue outshined the characterizations, but that in order of power, the dialogue was the best. Each of these three elements was stellar in their own right.

The dialogue was the driving force of the film. The sharp witty banter the actors toss back and forth is neither dry nor contrived. The lines drip with emotion and follow the pacing of the scenes well. I did not feel that the lines were forced or inappropriate for the situation. Likewise, the back and forth was compelling to the point where you were anxiously awaiting the next line.

The movie is slow to build, but once it starts, it never lets go (as the critics say). The actual grip comes from the tidbits the writer provides. Slowly the story unfolds, but it never gives you enough to decide one way or the other who is really the guilty party. The exhausting aspect of the story is that you are constantly tossed from believing one side to believing the other side. I do not attest that this will be the reaction for everyone, but it was the reaction that my roommate and I had. When the story finally presents the resolution it is timely, and appropriate. All in all a very well thought out story.

The characters would not be half as powerful without the stellar performances from both actors. Ellen Page is one of my favorite up and comers. You can get more of her in the up coming X-men 3 as Kitty Pride. If you enjoy bizarre doctor dramas, I would suggest the Canadian ReGenesis in which she plays the main characters daughter. Regardless, in everything she does, she gives it her all. With as many close ups as Slade uses, it is very important to have good face chemistry with the camera. Luckily, Ellen has this in spades. The eye flicks, the mouth quirks, and the sharp jagged delivery of her dialogue all works. It is especially amazing in comparison to the character that we meet in the beginning of the movie.

Patrick Wilson also delivers a dynamic performance. I am not familiar with his work, but will be looking for him in the future. While it is hard to provide much range from a distraught position, Wilson shows a believable evolution of a person in his predicament. He showed raw emotions which could be snap off or on depending on what Ellen is feeding.

As a pair they work excellently together, but the real credit goes to the novelty of the interaction. It is rare to find a film where the female has constant control over the situation. As such, it provides such a high degree of tension that when it breaks the only thing that runs through your mind is, “Oh fuck, he is going to destroy her.” And you expect it. And you wait for it. Which is a very important factor.

Overall, this movie is a gem that I pray for every time I sit down in a thriller. I desire a movie that will make me forget that my butt is going numb in the seat, or that the lemonade I drank really wants to get out. This movie made me forget I had a butt or a bladder for that matter. I highly recommend this film, but I warn you, you have to make it through a third of the movie before it takes off. However, this ground work is important and you can’t ignore it. A witty, sharp film that delivers shock and awe and I don’t mean that just because of the novelty of the torture.



9/10 crunches

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OK, scary. Meat shirts not reccommended...

:::





(04-24) 08:39 PDT FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) --



Police hunted Monday for chimpanzees that escaped from a Sierra Leone preserve and mauled a group of American and local sightseers, killing one man and injuring four people.



The U.S. Embassy warned Americans against traveling to the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, where the chimps escaped before Sunday's attack on a taxicab.



The Sierra Leonean driver died as the chimps ripped his body apart, and three Americans were treated at a hospital for minor injuries, said Oliver Somasa, a top police official.



Another Sierra Leonean man in the group had his hand amputated after the mauling, Somasa said. U.S. officials had no further comment. The Americans were in Sierra Leone to help build a new embassy building, Somasa said.



Armed police were searching Monday for 27 chimpanzees, Somasa said, while four others had already returned on their own accord to the reserve.



Somosa said it was unclear why the chimps attacked or how they were able to escape.



Chimpanzee attacks are unusual but not unprecedented.



Two chimps that escaped from their cages in a California sanctuary severely mauled a man in March 2005 before the man's son-in-law shot the animals to death.

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So I found these...



Bard-Ninja Battle







and



Card-board-Bot







Just wanted to share.

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Yeah, that's RIGHT!

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This week’s episode revolved around the past, and present, state of affairs between Ruth and Bernard, seemingly the island’s oldest couple, but perhaps it’s youngest, excluding the Jack/Kate/Sawyer/Vincent four-way going on. We learn, through flashbacks, that Ruth and Bernard appear to have met, through a kind favor of Bernard’s, somewhere in upstate New York. After six months of hootenanny, Bernard pops the question at Niagara Falls, surely a symbolic setting, given what he would soon be experiencing, and learns that his love of loves has been battling cancer, and has kept it from him, a point they do not address at present. Bernard recovers conscious thought, and perseveres and soon, they are in the middle of Australia, searching for a faith healer purportedly able to channel mystical, magical, magnetic energies from proximally located Ayers Rock. The healer backs away slowly, however, and Ruth learns that while his energies cannot help her, supposedly ‘other’ energies might. She chooses, in yet another deceptive act, to hide this from faithful Bernard, and claims to be healed. On the way home, half of the ass of Oceanic Air 815 falls off, and so here we are. The present day plot involves Bernard’s attempt to rally islanders into building a massive “SOS” in the beach, a symptom of what Ruth describes exhaustedly as his “need to always be DOING something.” In the end, folks lose interest in physical labor, Bernard suffers his own crisis of faith, and when Ruth reveals that she wasn’t healed previously, but IS healed now, Bernard accepts the mysterious, magical, magnetic powers of the island, and starts homesteading. Additionally, Jack, with Kate in tow, has journeyed to the Line You Don’t Cross, Buddy. After some nettery designed to force a nose-to-nose sexual tension moment, they are freed, not by Kate’s supposedly experienced hand, but by the latest in Jack’s eerie Special Forces style skillsets, this being sharpshooting at 100 meters, sideways, without bracing, with an unfamiliar sidearm. Eventually, after hollering and building fires and talking about a kiss I don’t remember seeing, out of the jungle comes… Michael, bearded and haggard and wild-eyed. Cue next episode’s teaser, in which we learn Michael is hot shit to get back to the Others’ camp and practice a little William Tecumseh Sherman policy. That being scorched earth.







Thoughts! We have three weeks to collect them…



1. "They'll never give you Walt." This was notHenry’s creepy statement for the episode, once he learns that Jack plans to seek out Zeke, aka Mr. Friendly, and propose an ours-for-yours trade, notGale for Walt. Now, I don’t clearly recall if Walt was named up until this point, but perhaps it doesn’t matter any more. NotGale professed awareness of Walt’s existence, of the Others as a group, and the former’s importance to the latter. Season finale, here we come!





Libby? Lulu? Who's Lulu? FUCK!



2. The camera panned briefly across the faith healer’s keepsake message board, which was littered with thank-you cards and children’s drawings and other mementos designed to either keep him On Message, or keep the donations flowing, or whatever. One note was on-screen fro a ¼-second more than the rest. What did it say? Not even HD illuminated me on this one.



3. All this talk about Walt… what about the other kids? The Tailies lost a pair of em in their first few nights on the island, and Ana-Lucia, Eko, Libby and the nameless ones haven’t peeped about it since. It could simply be because there’s no angsty single parent flipping out all the time about their absence. But I wonder.



4. As the islanders are collating their drop shipment of Dharma goodies, we are given plenty of time to regard the fact that all of these sundries are carrying the same serial number or product code. No producer or castmember initials to be identified here. Note also that the food Hurley found in the storage room in the Hatch all had different serial numbers. So what gives there?



5. What was the faith healer’s ability? To "harness" the magnetic energy and "give it to others." There’s Dharma objective no. 487264830 for you.



6. This one isn’t mine, but courtesy of one of the Lost forums, where the fanbase there have been reading the ‘recovered diary’ of an islander that showed up on one of the Lost-affiliated dummy websites.



The latest diary entry reads: "they lied about having my brother in the hatch."

So who dat? Someone who knows the Leadership have Henry Gale in the hatch? But real Henry Gale from Minnesota (which would suggest Ruth most likely, since Michael is still off on Walkabout at this point, and I haven’t spotted any other dark-skinned islanders fiddle-faddling in the periphery… unless you want to go in the direction of non-biological siblings, in which case let’s just drop it, because it could be anyone) or notGale, in which case it could be an Other plant in the group, all signs pointing to Libby (yes, yes, Hurley flashback… proves nothing.) The thing about such off-show continuity is that it is apparently, according to the producers, still canon. So huh.



7. Yesterday it was released that Cynthia HotMom Watros has signed on as ‘guest-star’ on Tom Cavanagh’s third pilot of the millennium, My Ex-Life (Ed started fun, ended badly; Love Monkey was actually pretty interesting, and I’m disappointed in it’s cancellation) which does beg the question: will Libby be taking a dirt knap on the island at some point before the end of the season? Same rumors swirled around Dim Bulb when her House of Wax or whatever it was sold a few tickets. Denials all around. Soon, gut wound. Related? Who knows. But I, for one, would be sorely somber if Libby takes a powder, because she’s a GREAT female foil, along with Ana-Lucia, for the perfectgirl trifecta. Plus, less Libby mean less Thorazine dreams, and those are fun.





8. Speaking of those nameless ones, who dey? We got lots of close-ups this episode. It’s really a great opportunity for the writers to inject some new blood into the mix. We know there were what, 48 or so survivors? 47? Lots of new characters lurking off-camera. Except these, now on.





PitnB encapsulates them for us…



9. Back to magnetism. The Hanso film spoke of the importance of it. Ruth certainly believes it’s tied to her internal fuzzy knowledge that she’s light 10lbs of tumors. And we’ve had a few other islanders who’ve skirted death just a tad, from Charlie’s hanging to the sheer number of supposed-to-be gangrenous open wounds early on, to obviously John Locke’s first, and soon second, startling bipedal recovery.







Which was a great little detail, by the way, one of the best scenes in the episode, flashing back to John and Ruth meeting at the airport, and Ruth having hidden her knowledge of his handicappery all this time, sharing the same deception. Deception, deception, once again a theme. OK, so magnetism, and the island. Sure, it was fun to speculate about that magnetic wall. And sure, it throbbed and hummed and whined a bit when the blast doors came down. But, in a possible Lost Answer that rivals the Reverse Dipper/Tesseract theory in obscurity, but not in interest, comes this:

http://www.crystalinks.com/gridmetaphysics.html

This pile of New Age mysticism , Grid Metaphysics, involves, among several other details I’m not pharmaceutically-enhanced enough to grasp, magnetic field flux points across the planet of great metaphysical power… which just so happen to be mapped out, and lookie there, our ‘Sacred Geomotry’ includes an hotspot on gridpoint 43… yes… and it’s between Australia and Africa. Does this at LEAST explain how we have a small turboprop from Nigeria, and an airliner from Australia, crashing in the same place? Anyway, have fun with that link. Tell me if you figured it all out. Me, I can’t take more than about 43 seconds of metaphysics.



7/10 Clicks

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Holy heck this is harder than I thought. Now if we just imagine that acting ability is not a factor:



Here we go.



Maybe for Babs:



Toni Collette



or





Linda Fiorentino



Maybe for Huntress:





Morena Baccarin



And For Black Canary:



Three almost, but not Quites:





Jennifer Hawkins: Has the Statuesque and Model look





Kimberly Davies: Has the build and attitude





Laetitia Casta: Can LOOK the part in the right light



And Just becasue she scares the hell outta me:





Jodi Foster's Character from The Inside Man



So if we could make a AFrankenActress out of the four ladies we'd be set.

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At a loss which category to place this, but Monkey Robot Culture gets it, because 2 of the 4 are already represented.



Imagine my astonishment, when watching the Academy Awards this year... first a tight Ninja strike!







Then, after I calmed down, came this cheeky Monkey!







I picked myself up off the floor, and ran around the house like a headless buccaneer. Soon, this Pirate spotting, with Monkey attachment!







After all of this, I was crestfallen... no robots in the remaining broadcast. However, in reviewing these images, I doscovered a certain Wrongrobot in the frame...



So there you have it! A quadrafecta.



Back to what you were doing...







All that was left was a robot...

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