Author: Jason Zingale (Page 27 of 154)

Lost 6.6 – Sundown

As a fan of Sayid who was disappointed by how small of a part he played in last season’s events, it’s nice to see him actually factoring in to this year’s main storyline. Every member of Team Smokey is there for a reason, but while it may look like Sayid has gone over to the dark side, I’m not entirely convinced that he’s given up on being good. That would be just like Sayid to sacrifice the lives of Dogen and Lennon in order to ensure his cover isn’t blown, but then again, that evil smirk on his face seems to indicate otherwise. Whatever the case may be, you can’t say that Dogen didn’t have it coming. After trying to kill Sayid twice (first with the poison pill and then with his bare hands), Dogen decides it’s better to just let Smokey do it himself. What Dogen wasn’t expecting, however, was for Smokey to give Sayid an offer he couldn’t refuse.

The allure of bringing back Nadia was always going to win Sayid over, but who would have thought that he still wouldn’t get the girl in his mirror reality? Sayid claims that it’s because he isn’t good enough for her, but I found it a bit weird that he allowed his brother to start a family with her instead. There’s obviously still a spark between him and Nadia, and after his brother was put in the hospital by some loan sharks that he owed money to, I was secretly hoping they would just run away together. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a happy ending in “Lost,” so instead, Sayid went after the men responsible for the attack. It was nice to see Keamy back doing his usual sleazeball shtick, but I’m more interested in how Jin ended up trapped in his walk-in fridge. The last time we saw Jin, he was taken by customs for failing to report that giant wad of money in his luggage, so is Keamy involved somehow?

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It’s going to be awfully hard to find out now that Keamy’s dead, but at least we got to see Sayid kick a little ass. It was a nice parallel to the events on Earth-1, as Sayid has become a cold-hearted killer, seemingly because of the “darkness” inside him. I still don’t buy it one bit, but regardless of what may or may not be true, Sayid is working for Smokey now. And his first order of business is to deliver a message to the Others that Jacob is dead. They can leave the island if they want, but if they decide to stay, the outlook isn’t going to be very sunny. In fact, the moment Sayid drowns Dogen in the rejuvenation pool, whatever barrier that was keeping Smokey from entering the Temple is lifted, allowing him to wreak havoc throughout the entire camp. Amazingly, Miles manages to stay alive thanks to the well-timed arrival of Ilana and Co., but Kate is left behind when she tries to rescue Claire.

That probably wasn’t a very smart idea on the part of Kate, because not only does Claire seem furious to discover that Aaron was taken off the island and raised by a stranger, but Smokey seems a little perplexed she even stuck around. Is it possible that Kate may still have a part to play in this battle, or will Crazy Claire just slit her throat the first chance she gets? Anyone that knows me well enough already knows how I’d vote, but there’s no way the writers are going to ditch the Jack-Kate-Sawyer love triangle any time soon. Ugh. At least this time around, there’s a good story to balance out the silly romance.

Lost 6.5 – Lighthouse

I’ve never been a big fan of the Jack Shepherd character (neither as the heroic leader or the depressed drunk), but tonight was probably one of my favorite Jack-centric episodes. Though it might have seemed a bit lame to give him an estranged teenage son, it was a good way of showing just how different Jack is from his own father. Sure, it may have taken him awhile to recognize just what he was doing wrong in the relationship (that kind of ignorance can rub off on somehow who hasn’t exactly had the best parenting experience), but at least he was able to mend the relationship between him and his musical prodigy son before it was too late. With that said, however, I hope we never have to see that moody brat ever again.

Of course, while that subplot took up a majority of the Earth-2 action, there were a few other tidbits that caught my attention as well. First, it’ll be interesting to see how the discovery of Claire’s name in Christian’s will is going to play out further down the road, because I don’t remember that information getting out in the Earth-1 timeline, and I’d be curious to see how Jack’s mom takes the news. I also thought it was pretty sneaky of the writers to slip that small conversation about Jack having his appendix taken out when he was kid, because he clearly doesn’t remember it. Is that scar really from a childhood operation like his mother says, or a remnant of his Earth-1 life? And if it’s the former, then why would she lie?

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As we’ve all come to expect by now, the Earth-1 portion of the episode was infinitely more interesting, with Hurley playing a large part in Jack’s storyline. Let it be said that if you die on “Lost,” you’re never really dead, because even if the writers don’t bring you back in a flashback, a flashsideways, or even as a completely new character (see: Terry O’Quinn), they always have Hurley as back-up. After all, the dude can see ghosts (no wonder he gets along with Miles so well), so it’s as easy as a character visiting him from the afterlife to resurrect them – even if it’s only temporary. Hurley has been seeing quite a lot of Jacob lately (his latest appearance no doubt squashes the rumor that he’s taken over Sayid’s body), and this time around, he wants Hurley to go with Jack to a lighthouse near their old stomping grounds to help a forthcoming visitor find their way to the island.

This mysterious figure (who I’m guessing is either Desmond or Charles Widmore) isn’t going to find it any easier now that Jack has smashed the mirror inside the lighthouse. Okay, so that was probably a bit rash on his part, but seeing as how he could see a reflection of his childhood home in the mirror when the dial was turned to his personal number (yep, the names and numbers are back in play again), it wasn’t exactly out of character. Jack used to be pretty freaked out about the idea that it was destiny that brought him to the island, and now that he’s finally warming up to the possibility that it may be true, he discovers that Jacob has been spying on him all this time. Jacob in turn tells Hurley that he needed Jack to see the reflection in order for him to understand how special he is, but I can’t imagine Jack would ever agree to help Jacob after this debacle. I’m guessing he thinks it’s worth the risk, because he admits to needing Jack and Hurley away from the temple before someone bad arrives.

He’s probably referring to Smokey, but he could just as well be talking about Jungle Claire, who helps Jin out of the bear trap and sews up his leg at her camp. She also brings along the surviving Other that she just shot to interrogate him about the whereabouts of Aaron, who she believes was kidnapped by his people. Jin tries to tell her the truth (that Kate took him off the island three years ago), but she’s so far off the reservation that there doesn’t seem to be any hope of saving her. And I love it. They took the most innocent character on the show and turned her into a squirrely psycho who doesn’t so much as hesitate to swing an axe into her enemy’s torso. That’s what happens when you make friends with Smokey.

Soul Eater: Part One

It would be easy to discount “Soul Eater” as just another quirky shonen for the kiddies, but despite the show’s decidedly immature sense of humor, there’s a lot more to the anime than silly pratfalls and goofy faces. Set at the Death Weapon Meister Academy in Death City, the series follows three teams of students as they battle supernatural forces in an attempt to collect the souls of 99 evil beings and one witch, thus making them powerful enough to become one of the Grim Reaper’s personal Death Scythes. Each team consists of a Meister and a Weapon, and while Maka and Soul (who transforms into a razor-sharp blade during battle) could be considered the main protagonists, they’re also joined by friends like Black Star and Tsubaki, as well as Grim Reaper’s son, Death the Kid. It’s a concept that could have easily fallen victim to a monster-of-the-week formula, but thankfully, it has an overarching story that holds your interest beyond just the fight sequences. The show does take some time to get going (it spends four episodes introducing its large cast of characters), but once all the niceties are out of the way, “Soul Eater” moves at such a brisk pace that you’ll be left wanting more. It’s still mostly targeted towards the teenage set, but thanks to some Tim Burton-esque aesthetics (think “A Nightmare Before Christmas”), there’s no reason you won’t enjoy it as well.

Click to buy “Soul Eater: Part One”

Blu Tuesday: The Informant!, The Damned United and The Vampire’s Assistant

There haven’t been many great Blu-ray titles released recently (at least, not enough worth discussing anyway), and while today’s selection is just as lackluster as those in past weeks, it’s been so long since my last post that I’ve finally decided to write one anyway After all, while many of these week’s releases likely won’t end up in your library, there’s a good chance you’ll want to catch them at least once before making up your mind.

“The Informant!” (Warner Bros.)

I’ve never been a very big fan of Steven Soderbergh’s work, so I was bit surprised at how much I enjoyed his latest effort. Though it didn’t get the attention it deserved during its theatrical release, “The Informant!” is the kind of whimsical dark comedy that Joel and Ethan Coen have been making for years. Granted, the lead character isn’t quite as memorable as anyone in their rogue’s gallery, but Matt Damon still delivers one of the best performances of his career as a schlubby biochemist who turns informant on the agricultural megacorp he works for. The supporting cast isn’t as strong as you’d hope, but between Damon’s hilarious turn as the real-life snitch, the whip-smart script from Scott Z. Burns, and the memorable score by veteran composer Marvin Hamlisch, there’s more than enough to love about this movie. Warner Bros. hasn’t included much in the way of special features, but the director commentary is definitely worth a listen, and the deleted scenes are fairly amusing.

“The Damned United” (Sony)

It may have only received a limited theatrical run in U.S., but for those looking for a solid drama with yet another great performance from Michael Sheen at the center, look no further than “The Damned United.” Based on the novel by David Peace about real-life football manager David Clough, the film follows Clough’s (Sheen) rise to the top of the English First Division with provincial side Derby County, only to see it all fade away due to a jealously-fueled rivalry with Leeds United manager Don Revie (an underused Colm Meaney). Though fans of the sport will likely enjoy “The Damned United” for the history lesson, football is merely the background setting to what is ultimately a very character-driven story. The actor-writer team of Sheen and Peter Morgan can seemingly do no wrong, because while it might be their first movie not to focus on politics (at least, not in the traditional sense, anyway), “The Damned United” is every bit as good.

“Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” (Universal)

Yet another movie based on a series of young adult novels, “The Vampire’s Assistant” is certainly no “Harry Potter,” and from a purely vampire-themed angle, no “Twilight” either. Though the story, about a teenager (Chris Massoglia) who becomes indebted to a mysterious vampire (John C. Reilly) after he saves his friend’s life, is actually rife with potential for a continuing franchise (especially when you factor in the cast that makes up the titular Cirque Du Freak), the movie is hampered by a remarkably bad performance from its young star. I’m not exactly sure what director Paul Weitz saw in the kid, because he’s so dull and unappealing that he sucks the life out of nearly every scene. Reilly at least makes the movie watchable, and Willem Dafoe has good fun in his brief role as a fellow vampire, but unless they plan on recasting the lead, this is one book-based franchise without much of a future.

Also Out This Week:

“Sorority Row” (Sony)
“The Box” (Warner Bros.)
“Nurse Jackie: Season One” (Lionsgate)
“Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths” (Warner Bros.)

Dead Snow

The Norwegian horror film, “Dead Snow,” came out of Sundance last year riding a wave of good buzz. It didn’t exactly sound like a cult classic, but the concept seemed strong enough to make for a fun midnight movie. Unfortunately, director Tommy Wirkola can’t even manage that, instead churning out a relatively dull horror film that fails to take advantage of its comic potential. The story is like so many others before it, with a group of medical students falling prey to a horde of zombies during a sex-and-booze-fueled weekend at a remote cabin in the mountains. What makes this film different, however, is the fact that these particular zombies also happen to be Nazis. It’s a match made in horror-comedy heaven that could have earned “Dead Snow” a spot among the other zombie classics. But instead of finding the humor in the situation like “Evil Dead 2” and “Dead Alive” (both of which are referenced in the film), Wirkola’s movie is an absolute bore until the final minutes when it suddenly turns into the silly romp it so desperately needed to be. Had the blood-gushing, chainsaw-slicing antics started sooner, “Dead Snow” might have won me over, but as it stands, it’s far too little, too late to make any real impact.

Click to buy “Dead Snow”

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