Okay so let's get right down to it. Won't bore you with too much work-related stuff today. Except to say that holy lord I can't believe it's almost Monday already. This week should be another long one, though it will be interesting since yet another new crop of pages will be starting this week. Being on assignment in the development department, I doubt I'll see them much if at all, but still, always interesting to see who the latest recruits are. I am being pulled once this week, tommorow actually, to work at Ellen, so just when I thought I'd seen the last of those crazy fans, heard the last of that awesomely bad 90's techno music, and done my last round of duty escorting lines of shaky-kneed women to the restroom before the show - well, they keep pulling me back in.
It really is hard to manage to get enough sleep though to be alert and ready at work. Honestly, I don't know how you're supposed to do it. You get home at 7:30, eat dinner, and then it's time to go to sleep before you know it. I have so much I want / have to do. There's tons of stuff I'd like to read, movies I'd like to catch up on, writing I'd like to make progress with, people I'd like to keep in touch with. But when? WHEN, I ASK YOU?!?! What inevitably happens is that I stay up too late, get too little sleep, wake up feeling like crap the next day, struggle to get to work on time, and the cycle begins again, until the day comes when I fall asleep in my clothes on my bed and unintentionally get 10 hours of sleep, though its never really good sleep since I'm in my clothes and probably sleeping on top of my keys or something. So again I ask, how do people do it? And don't tell me coffee - tis' the devil's drink, I tell you!
Anyways, enough of this depressing crap. The good news is that my flight is booked - I'll be home in CT from December 17th to the 26th, so if you're going to be around let me know! Aaah, I can already feel the arctic winds and picture the gloomily grey New England skies of Connecticut in late December.
REVIEWS-O-RAMA:
- JARHEAD Review:
Caught a free screening of the latest picture from Sam Mendes this weekend, and it definitely turned out to be one of the best movies I've seen over at the Universal lot since starting as a page. Now I've read a lot of reviews of this film that start off by discussing whether or not it's a war movie or whatever, or whether it's political, or whether it's this or that. The bottom line is that this is a very well-acted, well-shot, and beautifully put-together character study of young soldiers, and everything else is secondary. On the other hand, while the movie has no real overt message, political or otherwise, it ultimately does work as a commentary on the Gulf War, and on the pointlessness and futility of war in general, particularly in the modern era where corporate interests and political gain tend to dictate who we fight and why more so than in previous generations of warfare. It's an intense movie, and a thought provoking one at that. But much of the credit has to go to the actors, who are all stellar in their performances. Jake Gyllenhall gives easily his best acting job yet as the lead - a conflicted, tense, confused young "jarhead" who is trying to come to terms with the harsh, alien world of the armed forces that he's been suddenly thrown into and encompassed by. Peter Starsgaard (sp?) is solid as an emotionally bottled-up, slowly-losing-it marine, and of course Jamie Foxx brings badass charisma to the necessary role of take-names and kick-ass drill seargent, in his first real followup to his Oscar-winning role in Ray. Watch out for cameos by Jim from The Office and President Palmer from 24 as well. And oh yeah, Sam Mendes direction is amazing - with stunning images that look like paintings. The arid desert, the burning oil wells in the night, the all-americana of the soldiers returning home - all have a darkly storybook quality about them. But this movie is down and dirty, unrelenting and yet uneventful. Nothing really happens, and that's kind of the point - this is "the suck," where it's more about waiting and hoping for a moment of glory and getting hyped up for a war that is being fought less on the ground and more in the offices. So in that respect the movie never really achieves greatness, because it just lacks a real narrative - it's more a collection of scenes that are etched together to prove a point. But the superb acting of Jake G carries those scenes and weaves them together to form a poignant character study. So no, it's not a great movie, in the real sense of the word great. This isn't a movie that will make you stand up and cheer. What it does it it immerses you in a foreign place - it puts you there in the desert, in "the suck" and almost seems to make you an honorary jarhead. It makes ou feel what the characters on screen are feeling in a way that few other movies I've seen have been able to do, and that is probably it's biggest accomplishment. Not great, but damn good nonetheless, and refreshing in its honesty and realism. My grade: A -
SUNDAY NIGHT TV REVIEWS (AND MORE!) :
King of the Hill - nice to have Hank and the gang back on TV, in what I stil lsay is one of the most underrated shows of the last few years. Unfortunately this wasn't one of its stronger episodes, despite the usual top-notch voice work, especially from the always hilarious Stephen Root as Bill (you may also know him as the Stapler Guy from KOTH creator Mike Judge's Office Space). Anyways, just happy to have the show back on the air, as its a real comfort show in my book. My grade: B
The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror - Well, no big surprises here, as let's face it, the Halloween episodes have sucked pretty badly for the last six or seven years (in addition to rarely actually falling on or before Halloween - come on FOX!). But the idea alone of the annual show is just so rife with potential hilarity, and those early editions of the Halloween eps were just so freaking classic, that every year I loyally tune in hoping for the best. Guess what, as per usual, the ep had a few funny jokes, particularly the third segment which saw a witch turn all of the Springfield characters into their halloween costumes, but overall things feel very flat more often than not. I mean come on, an AI parody? A freakin' I? Are you kidding me? MAYBE I'd care if this was oh, four years ago, but now? Just sad, really. The saddest thing is that, I don't mean to brag, but I could so write a better Halloween episode, in my sleep. HIRE ME, Matt Groening!!!
Family Guy - Well, even when this show is struggling to be funny, it sure is one ballsy program. This entire ep was basically one huge rip on the FCC , which was kinda funny on premise alone. Now obviously the random 80's references are getting WAY old (hey look, it's APACHE CHIEF, who is clearly inherently funny, so we don't even have to write an actual joke, just SHOW HIM and people will laugh! Yeah, that's the ticket!), but I gotta admit that seeing GI Joes' DESTRO as head of the FCC was pretty amusing. And even though the jokes were hit or miss, wow they really pushed it all the way to 11 in this one. I gotta wonder what the FCC ppl think. So yeah, points for effort, that's for sure. My grade: B+
Malcolm in the Middle - Yeah, yeah, I know this was on Friday, but it SHOULD be on Sundays instead of the super lame War at Home, so that poeple might actually watch new episodes of tone of the best and most influential sitcoms ever. Let's give some credit to Malcolm, because were it not for its single camera style and lack of laugh track, shows like Arrested Development and My Name is Earl would never have seen the light of day. Yes, the show is past its prime, but its also consistently inventive and funny, unlike say The Simpsons at this point in its lifespan. I taped Friday's ep and watched it today, and it was as quirky and funny as ever. The Dewey traps Reese in a box subplot was ingenious, and how many other shows would CGI-animate a killer bee and send it on a madcap carchase arounf the city in pursuit of a hapless Hal? Something this good should not be in TV timeslot hell. My grade: A-
Speaking of Arrested Development - PLEASE watch the double episode dip from 8 to 9 pm tommorow (Monday) on FOX. This show is way too good to get such low ratings.
The OC - Finally watched Thursday's ep, and things COULD be on the way to getting better with a seeming end to a number of major storylines. But for now we were still stuck with more Dean of Discipline lameness, more pointless meddling from Jeri Ryan (six or so eps in and we still have no clue what she is really up to), and more "tension" between Ryan and Marissa in their neverending on-again off-again romance (ooh, next week is even MORE trouble! excited?). I hope it's not the case, but we may be witnessing one of the fastest total shark-jumpings ever for a show that was once the end all be all of primetime teen soaps. On the plus side, I can never get enough of Sandy Cohen's bagel-and-schmear jokes. My grade: C
Smallvile - meanwhile, has been really good. Whereas they once had cheesy plots that totally dragged down the characters, they now still have the extra cheesy storylines but seem to be having a lot more fun with it, and are remembering to highlight the character stuff too. See this week's ep as an example, as Lois infiltrates a strip club (~!), but guess what, there was lots of cool character stuff mixed in, some good action, and classic good vs. evil conflict. Let's hope Bryan Singer is watching and taking notes. My grade: B+
Oh yeah, I never really watch it but I did catch part of tonight's LIVE debate on The West Wing on THE BEST TV NETWORK EVER - NB-Flippin'-C. If only our actual politicians were so articulate and well-spoken when faced with live TV cameras rolling.
Alright, on that NBC-related note, I must bid you all goodbye for now. For tommorow, it's Monday once again. As the jarheads say: "Welcome to the Suck."
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