Recent Posts
Archive of articles classified as' "TV and Films"
Back home24 Season 8: Episode 5
26/01/2010Well it seems like Renee hasn’t lost her touch and manages to convince Jack that cutting off thumbs is not a bad idea.
More boring back story with Starbuck and her ex-boyfriend……oh, no, I’ve already got drool on myself. If only she was “Starbuck”, he’d be flat on the ground by now. The plot of this side story is quite simple – squeeze the girl for inside info from CTU. Wow, like that’s never been done before.
Oh yea, what’s with the name “Arlo”? I just chuckle every time I hear it :p
Seems like Mr. Prez likes to control people with fear; he also has his first spat with MPAT. Round two is with his wife; do we care? No.
The episode finally gets to the only relevant bit – Texas Chainsaw Walker gets to meet Vlad. It seems these bad guys have PhD’s in reverse psychology. This is how it works:
(1) “Hey, you’re a rat I’m going to shoot you”. “Noooo please don’t shoot” = DEAD!
(2) “Hey, you’re a rat I’m going to shoot you”. “Oooh, please shoot me. Shoot MEEEEEEEEE, I have no reason to live or anyone to go to…so KILLLLL MEEEEEEEE”. “Oh, you’re cool. You’re back in!”
…and that’s how Renee gets back in. I think Jack let out a brick right there in the car.
Higgs Boson Particle…
21/01/2010This was rather brilliant!
Sheldon explains: “Hydrogen Atom, ‘H’. Three Pigs – “P” from pea = igs, Bow + General Zod stuck in the Phantom ‘Zone’, Pear + tickle.
Higgs, Boson, Particle!”
Thoughts on 24 Season 8…
21/01/2010I will admit, Season 8 did crawl up on me rather unexpectedly but I think it was a great idea for them to air the first four episodes right off the bat.
You will see some familiar faces this season – starting with the game show host from “Slumdog Millionaire”; this is certainly a step up for him and to have the honour of battling it out with MPAT (Madam President Allison Taylor) is quite something I guess. Next up is Starbuck, the hottie from Battlestar Gallactica – I guess it’s one of the perks of working at CTU; you’re life may be at risk but at least you’ll have something nice to stare at while you’re dying, well, that’s if the CTU blows up or something. That’s the draw back of field work…but is it?
Not if you’re Jack, as HAW (Hot Agent Walker) is back and can I say “Hot Damn”, her hair looks incredible :p Freddie Prinze is playing the role of “head of field ops” and is a pretty good one at that. Chloe is also back of course, minus her rather annoying ladies-shoe-sniffing’ husband.
Whilst Jack’s reputation precedes him – nothing has really changed in 24-land. CTU is still being run by some dumb schmuck, and they are focussing on the *wrong person* yet again. But then again, if they ever just *listened* to an iota of what Jack was on about, the show would be called “12″ or maybe “6″ :p That would be bad for business so there it is.
Another delightful character is the brother of President Hussan – Mr. Toupee – cause he has such a bad hair doo, it’s rather amusing. The highlight of the show so far though, at least for me, has been HAW. She’s back, and she’s like Jack when he was in Season 3. She’s hopped up on drugs, just loves torturing people, and making bad guys cry.
Jack has gotten rather soft since season Season 7, and I think she might make him cry in episode 5. So, do I prefer the “I’m going down a dark ally” HAW, or the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” HAW? Not sure tbh, she’s still hot but there is an odd glint of “crazy chick” in her eyes now…it’s definitely got Jack worried and maybe just a wee bit hot for her too? Ah, only time will tell I guess.
I would highly recommend following Eddie @ TheBauer, once you see each episode for his brilliant take on affairs in 24-land. Most of the names above (apart from Mr. Toupee) were originally coined by him.
Inglourious Basterds: The Jewel in Tarantino’s Crown…
22/11/20092009 has been quite a slow year for Hollywood. Up until five minutes ago I would have said that Star Trek was the best film of the year. However, the reasons that dictate its brilliance has almost nothing to do with raw cinematography.
Inglourious Basterds is a smorgasbord for any lover of film, especially those who have followed Tarantino’s work in the past. The scene with the SS officer in the bar was quite possibly one of the most suspenseful. It brought back much memories of Samuel Jackson reciting from Revelations in Pulp Fiction. The sudden jump from an intellectual dissection on the part of the SS officer to ‘guns blazing’ action is also quite similar to the “I love you too Hunny Bunny!” intro to Pulp Fiction, although far less subtle.
The first scene in the film is also quite powerful, where Col. Landa describes how one tends to naturally give a rat a rather cold greeting – simply because it is a rat. This was his sick justification for the German hate of Jews.
By the end of the film, however, we get to witness a ‘Jewish’ retribution as it were with the Germans initially (and Hitler in particular) quite ecstatic with the depiction of much allied dead on screen. In an instant, this is a stark contrast against the brutal massacre of much of the German high command and all the occupants of the cinema.
Many believe Tarantino wanted to blur the line between “good” and “evil” while some simply say he’s even tried to erase it. The Basterd’s themselves, as the film was considered, considered them as good guys – yet they did unspeakable things to Nazis.
The shining performance that made the firm for me, at least, was by Christopher Waltz portraying Col. Landa. Of course, his efforts would be in vain if it also wasn’t for Melanie Laurent’s portrayal of Ms. Dreyfus. While Pitt seemed to have mastered his Tennessee accent, at times he did not seem completely convincing.
It is an extremely powerful and exhilarating movie that is paced incredibly well. While Kill Bill as a whole was a tribute to bushido culture of film, and is still one of his best work, Inglourious could very well be his masterpiece.