"And the Flames Went Higher ..."

Man, it's been a CRAZY week.

I guess part of it is just that the holiday season is approaching, but things just seem to be moving at a strange, dream-like pace lately, and everything seems just slightly removed from reality.

My last post was on Wednesday, and that post now seems like it was made ages ago.

So Thursday I'm at work, in the middle of the usual craziness. My cell phone rings and I answer it on a whim. It's someone calling from Boston University's Daily Free Press newsapaper. They're telling me that they saw via The Facebook website that I was friends with someone - with a girl named Anne Meadows. I was, but more of an acquaintance, really. I mean, I had had a ton of classes with her at BU together we slogged through professors Cavalieri and Schneider in writing and production classes, and we always got along well, and joked a lot, and she was undoubtedly talented, smart, and one of the nicest people I had come across at BU's College of Communication. One of those people who you can't help but call your friend even if you weren't particularly close outside of classes. I knew she had moved out to LA. I had talked to her online, asked her about her job at Disney, I even invited her to my recent birthday celebration, hoping to get back in touch and reconnect with some of my old BU pals who had moved out here. She was unable to attend, but I always kind of assumed that at some point soon in the near future we'd finally hang out. It wasn't meant to be, I guess ... it turned out that she had passed away. She was dead at the age of 22, and the Free Press was calling me for a tribute story they were doing to run in Friday's edition. My hands shook as I asked the guy on the phone to repeat what he was saying, and I was in complete shock and disbelief. I tried to go about the rest of my day, but my head was swimming. I don't really want to go into it anymore than this on the blog, but suffice to say that the whole thing is just sad, just a tragedy, and just not right. I only hope that for the people who were truly close to Anne - her friends, her family - that they can find peace and solace in the face of a life being so tragically cut short, in the knowledge that Anne made many people's lives better in the short time she was here.

By Friday I had had some time to process, but of course Friday turned out to be just about the craziest and most ridiculous day at work ever. The Current Primetime group who we at Development have shared our offices with are moving out, and on Monday they'll be in new offices down the hall at NBC. So of course nobody in my department stopped to plan for the fact that Current was taking everything but the kitchen sink with them to their new offices. That meant we were left without a fridge, copier, water and soda supplies, coffee maker, paper, microwave, toaster, and few office supplies. And guess who was given yet another trial by fire and suddenly put in charge of getting all of this stuff THE DAY BEFORE CURRENT MOVED OUT FOR GOOD? Yep, that poor soul was me. So with nary an ounce of guidance, I had to order all of this crap online, set up new accounts, go through miles of corporate red tape, and try to explain to all my coworkers what the hell was going on. Not fun. The only positive is that taking on this responsibility hopefully earned me some brownie points with the assistants and execs who I work with, but on the downside it provided for the most stressful day ever. Because as all of our weekly scripts were coming in on Friday evening that needed to be printed and copied, we found ourselves without a big copier that could handle the task of reproducing them quickly. Of course, utter chaos ensued.

All of which added up to the fact that I was more than ready to leave work on Friday and see Harry Potter 4. Now I don't really like Harry Potter all that much, but the sight of wizards couldn't have been more welcome after the two days from hell.

So, yeah, I know it's a bit of a jarring change of subject matter, but here's what I have to say about the latest Harry Potter, namely Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ...

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE Review:

Okay, so I can't say I've really LOVED any of the Harry Potter movies. And I felt basically the same about this one that I have about the others. I enjoy the characters, the f/x, the IDEAS behind the whole premise, but the movies, as a whole, kind of bore me and feel pretty lacking. This one especially had some cool scenes, but felt like it was just that - a collection of scenes with no real sense of a coherant plot that was driving the action. Sure, there's the TriWizard tournament or whatever, but this setup, which was the focus of the movie, felt more like a diversion from the real, more important plot that was happening in the background. And sure, I understand the need for setup, but this is the fourth movie, how much setup can you have? And yes, I realize that obviously, this is just following the books. But guess what, all you Harry Potter elitists ... THESE ARE MOVIES, THEY DON'T HAVE TO AND SHOULDN'T NECESSARILY FOLLOW THE BOOKS TO THE LETTER. WHY? BECAUSE THE MOVIES INEVITABLY SUFFER FOR DOING SO. But Danny, you ask, aren't you the same geek who complains when Alfred Pennyworth doesn't have a mustache in Batman Begins like he does in the comics? Why yes, yes I am. But while I do have a problem with movie adaptations altering key details or plot points for no particular reason, I also have a problem with jumpy plots in movies that lack coherance or dramatic stucture. As they stand now, I see these Harry Potter movies basically as a fun diversion, a collection of cute little ideas and characters that exist in a fun and magical world. But are these anywhere near the same league as, say, Lord of the Rings or even the original Star Wars trilogy? Oh hells no. That being said, let's give some credit to how great the cast is in these films. Alan Rickman is pure money as Snape. Mad Eye Moody, despite a stupid name, was great. All three kids are golden, and totally embody their characters. On the bad side, Voldemort looked like a poor man's Nosferatu, which was kind of a letdown after so much buildup. The movie was entertaining enough, but in the final assesment is merely decently entertaining. But seriously, the whole Harry Potter thing really does kinda scare me with its weird ability to inspire grown men to dress like its lead, KID characters. Are there ANY nerds that are creepier than Harry Potter nerds? I think not. My grade: B -

The next day I took in yet another much-hyped movie, but one that was totally different ...

WALK THE LINE Review:

I've talked on here about my growing appreciation for the music of Johnny Cash over the last year or so. So I have really been looking forward to this movie for a while, and it didn't disappoint. Like a good Cash song, this movie sticks inside your brain and refuses to leave - it's simple yet ressonant, deceptively powerful. Firstly, the performances in this film are great. Joaquin Phoenix is great here. While he looks and sounds differently from the Johnny Cash most are familiar with, at the same time, he embodies Johnny Cash in an eerily accurate way. He lacks the exact look - the craggy face and old-past-his-years visage, and he lacks the exact sound - the deep gravel in his voice and always earnest tone. But yet ... he is very, very, convincing. And in terms of his acting, of his ability to draw you in - well, the mimicry is almost spot-on, but the performance as a whole, well, it's a home run. And Reese Witherspoon ... she has come a long way here from Legally Blonde. In easily her best performance yet, she is charming and subtley pained as June Carter, Johnny's unattainble object of delirious affection. And hey, X-Files fans, Agent Doggett, aka Robert Patrick, does an awesome job here as well as Johnny's disapproving father - in a scene-stealing performance. This movie, for what it is, basically fires on all cylinders with superb acting, rousing musical set-pieces, a deliberate but absorbing pace, and moody, era-evoking cinematography - taking us back to the birth of rock and roll in a land populated with the likes of Elvis, Orbison, Dylan, and more. But what is this movie? Well, it's less a full biopic and more a love story between Johnny and June. And it's a very, very good love story - inevitably an Oscar-worthy one at that. But I did leave with a feeling that it oculd have been slightly more, as the movie stops short of giving us a full picture of the life of Johnny Cash. When the courthsip between Johnny and June is over, so is the movie, even though it feels like there is so much more to tell, and a larger context that the whole thing should be put into. We get intriguing hints of something more - scenes of Cash mixing with other rock legends, of his desire to represent society's outcasts (ie the transcendant concert scene in Folsom Prison). When I got home from seeing this movie, I watched the amazing music video for Johnny Cash's cover of NIN's "Hurt", released in the months between June's death and his own, and it left me dying to see how the Johnny Cash from Walk The Line became the wizened, fatherly, world-weary Johnny Cash from "Hurt." I guess there is only so much you can put into one movie, and I did just complain about Harry Potter's lack of focus, but I do think that an extra ounce of context would have pushed this movie from the realm of "great" into that of "classic." As it is, the main focus, the love story, is presented with all the drug-fueled passion and fiery angst that seeped into so many Cash songs of the time. The power of this movie is that it will make you need to know more about Johnn Cash - you will need to hear his music, need to find out what happened next, and need to learn about his place in rock history. And most likely, you'll have his infectious songs stuck in your head for days to come - I know I do. My grade: A -

Okay, some quick capsule TV REVIEWS:

- MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE: Wow, GREAT ep this week. Maybe with Arrested on the chopping block people will come back and appreciate the original single camera sitcom. This was vintage Malcolm, full of clever plot points and with no shortage of laugh out loud humor. My grade: A

- KING OF THE HILL: Best ep in a while. Classic Hank vs. Everyone Else premise, and even though it mortified Hank, ya gotta love the idea that his precious town of Arlen was founded by a bunch of hookers. My grade: A

THE SIMPSONS: Dayum, this episode was BROKEN. The main plot began TWENTY MINUTES INTO THE SHOW! Worse, if given time, Homer running for mayor could have actually had some potential. That is just terrible writing, and more evidence to the fact that the producers of this show are currently either hacks, barely trying, or both. That Ricky Gervais-penned episode cannot come fast enough. My grade: C -

FAMILY GUY: After a run of a few above average eps, this one was back to the land of lameness, with few legit funny moments and enough totally nonsensical 80's references for four episodes (yet ANOTHER Transformers joke? They should give it up, they will never eclipse the classic "Optimus Prime? YOU'RE Jewish?" joke). Sure, the Disney parody stuff was kinda funny (can't go wrong with a Captain EO joke ...), but we've seen it done better in classic Simpsons (Itchy and Scratchy Land anyone?). This one had its moments, but was kinda pushing it. On the other hand, after careful conisderation, I am upping my grade slightly solely due to the hilarity that is "Peanut Butter Jelly Time!" My grade: B

Last Week's SMALLVILLE - freaking awesome. Superman vs. Milton Fine in full-on evil Braniac mode! The threat of ZOD! Antarctic Fortress battles! Lex for Senate! Lois at the Daily Planet! This episode could do no wrong, and was one of the best, most action-packed episodes ever! Dare I say it was BETTER than that new Superman movie teaser? I might go there, because, unlike the teaser, this week's Smallville didn't need the Donner Superman's theme music or Marlon Brando Jor-El voiceover narration in order to kick some ass! Oh no you didn'. Yes, I did. My grade: A

- Dude, PRISON BREAK is gonna rule this week. Last week's was good stuff, and the question of the TV week is now: WHO is gonna get ousted from the group of prison escapees? My bet is on ... Michael's cellmate - sure, the two are friends, but what does he bring to the table?

- If nothing happens on LOST ... everyone will still watch it.

- Bring on NARNIA, RENT, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, and possibly AEON FLUX (I was a HUGE fan of the cartoon but the movie could suck ...).

Well, sorry for starting the post on such a downer this week, but as you can see it's been a wild ride the last few days and all one can do is keep on truckin'. Thank God for the holidays this week as the prospect of a shortened work week is making the impending thought of the MONDAY OF DOOOM a little bit easier to swallow.

Finally:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my BU partners in crime ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY AKSEL, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERYKA. Don't worry guys, there will be more good times to come. But my question for Eryka, my favorite honorary Wiccan-turned-Jew, is ... did you once again partake of Rabbi Schmooley's Cake of Immorality? Man, has it really been a year since I was in NYC feasting at the craziest Shabbat dinner / duel Birthday party of all time in the house of rabbi turned media mogul Schmooley Boteach? Man how time flies. Seriously, Happy Birthday to the both of ya's - I am playing Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever" right now in your honors.

" ... And time keeps dragging on / But that train keeps a-rolling ..."