BafflingBeerMan
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Quote:Well, he was their boss. You gotta toe the company line.Originally Posted by Unknown_User
Would love to see this, but I doubt I'll see it happen any time soon. From what I get the writting staff of the Spider-Man series seem to back Joe up on the Peter and MJ's split.
What this means though is the next team that comes in may want to reunite MJ and Pete and the guy in charge is not the same guy who ordered them apart, so AA may be more open to a reunion.
It will be interesting to see. I get the feeling a new EiC is like a new Athletic Director at a college: wants to get his own guys (ideas) into place eventually. -
Upon hearing the news, Peter Parker got down on one knee in front of Mary Jane Watson...
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Quote:Exactly.Originally Posted by TrueGentleman
Another one of my favorites, particularly for the character of the ironically named Clementine and Kate Winslet's performance. Her line "Too many guys think I'm a concept, or I complete them, or I'm gonna make them alive. But I'm just a ******-up girl who's looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours." blasts the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope into the dust. Ramona's not quite as wise, nor as self-destructive, but she similarly resists Scott's attempts to cast her in this role in their relationship.
Also, they share the habit of regularly dyeing their hair strikingly odd colors.
Remember, Ramona is literally the girl of Scott's dreams. Scott doesn't know what that means, other than he has to have her and that she is significant in some way. But Ramona tells her no, she isn't here to change him or comfort him. She's as messed up as he is. (Interesting sidenote: Clementine could be seen as Joel's dream girl as well, since most of the movie takes places inside his memories/dreams as the procedure takes place while he sleeps).
But here's the kicker, like Clementine and Joel, Scott and Ramona do change each other. Even if the relationship ultimately doesn't work out, Joel is now more open to love (before Clemmy, he had a horrible breakup), Clementine really wants to be more grounded and find someone to share her life with (frozen lake scenes), Scott is ready to throw away his immature view on relationships, and Ramona, as she says herself, is done with being a ***** but needs Scott ultimate niceness to firm that up in her mind.
The Manic Pixie Dream Girl is supposed to spur an epiphany in the male character. The MPDG is supposed to be perfect, spunky, infallible. In SPvsTW and ESotSM, both sides in the relationship change each other. In that way, both sides need to start out as imperfect. And they need to do horrible things to each other to eventually spur that change. -
I like Laura Prepon better as a redhead
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Quote:They are the closest people to the distress signal that could feasibly help. Doesn't mean that the Vulsmiths on Alpha Centauri XII hears the distress signal from home and don't rush back home. The Vulcans rely on Starfleet, their resources diverted elsewhere, but that doesn't mean those resources aren't near, just that they probably can't help in a significant way in a crisis.Originally Posted by Durakken
nope... We saw all the ships that rushed there. They used the "we are the closest people to the distress signal" thing, which means any other ships other than the academy ships we would have seen would have come after the Enterprise arrived.
Since the Vulcans aren't as warlike as the Romulans, for example, it is feasible that many of their ships are exploratory in nature or scientific and, while they wouldn't be useful in an attack scenario, would still rush to Vulcan to help and be caught in crossfire. They could have come first (don't you think Vulcans would first lean on their own people to help?), been ineffective and then called Starfleet. Even if that all happened in a span of a few minutes.
Also, remember what Alt-Spock said at the end of the movie: he had already found another planet to help relocate the survivors. This means there aren't many, if any, Vulcan outposts out there. They had to start completely from scratch. So it seems to stand for reason that if any significant number of Vulcans were living off-planet, they were in starships that could easily have reached Vulcan (not to necessarily to help, but to simply return home in a crisis) and been destroyed. -
Having just read the complete series of Scott Pilgrim, I have to say the characterization of Scott and Ramona on the big screen is pretty much spot on. The book expands upon their relationship more, which helps explain why Scott is fighting, but Scott is as self-absorbed and jerky and idiotic in the comic as he is on screen. And I feel both on the screen and in the book, Ramona is supposed to be sympathetic, but still weighed down and directed by her past mistakes. Scott represents a new break for her, and eventually, Ramona signifies the same for Scott. They are supposed to be flawed characters, and you are only really supposed to root for them after their respective epiphanies near the end. In the book, it is made clear that they two are somewhat meant for each other because they are both children refusing to face their problems and grow up while their friends do grow up.
And Knives ending up with Scott would have been horrible. First of all, that's NOT how the book ends (Scott and Knives even try to make out to see if there is anything...there is nothing) and it would signify that Scott is taking the "easy" way out, by going with someone who will always love him more than he loves them.
I've made this comparison before: SPvsTW and Eternal Happiness of a Spotless Mind. Both are non-traditional romances framed around people who are jerks and maybe aren't meant for each other (or at least, their relationship won't be smooth). Both end on an ambigious note as to whether or not their relationship will work. Both are shot in a non-traditional manner. And I enjoy both, because they treat their characters and their relationships are messy. Which life is. -
Remember, Vulcan sent out a distress signal to Starfleet for help. It is possible that a lot of Vulcans "rushed home" at that distress signal and abandoned their posts/faraway lands.
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Let's ask Mark Benford...
HE WAS LOADED! -
More seriously:
Best Movie
It's a tie!
Inception: When is an action movie not an action movie? When Christopher Nolan directs. For a movie with lots of action, it is the dazzling effects and the story of going into another's mind but really going into your own that made this a standout movie.
Toy Story 3: Pit of Fire. One Last Playtime. 'Nuff said.
Best TV Show (Comedy)
Another tie!
Community: Like your comedy silly and meta? This show has them in spades. Always winking, it can shift gears from out-and-out spoof ("Modern Warfare") to pathos ("Mixology" and "Abed's Christmas Special")
Modern Family: While Community subverts cliches and tropes, MF embraces them. From goofy dad Phil to often-exasperated patriarch Jay, the story of three diverse, yet related, families brings the chuckles and the laugh out louds
Best TV Show (Drama)
Castle: Okay, so it's the only drama-like show I watch anymore (Glee doesn't count). Still, Stana Katic and Nathan Fillion have great chemistry and the show doesn't take itself too seriously. It's not "Must Watch," but it's definitely a "Will Watch"
Best Send-off
Lost: Okay, for reals this time. You all know how much I dug the show. You may also know the drama I personally faced this year. It is no coincidence, I believe, that my three favorite Hollywood things this year (Lost,Inception, and Toy Story 3) all dealt with letting go. In the end, the debate over whether or not Lost was meant to be a mystery-driven or a character-driven show was resolved: it was all about Jack, Locke, and the rest of the Oceanic 815. And it wouldn't be Lost if we watched the finale and had nothing left to say about it, even nearly 7 months later. I don't think a show will ever affect me that way again. Which may be a good thing!
Honorable Mentions: Scott Pilgrim, [i]The Social Network[i], Glee, The Simpsons -
Best Series Finale: Heroes...
...what, you thought I was going to say Lost?
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Quote:That's not a remake though, that's just a rejiggering. Remakes imply a whole new cast and new script and so on.Originally Posted by Ironik
This isn't a prediction but is actually in the works: James Cameron's Titanic, remade by James Cameron... in 3D.
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/JackSeeingHisDadontheIsland
Thread? -
I think the Cabin mystery was one of the ones that suffered with the writers' strike. Along with learning more about the Freighter Folk.
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Quote:I know. We've had some epic debates about it.Originally Posted by Rylas
Meh, I think this is the only thing I disagree with you on. I think the cabin definitely was soemthing Jacob used. Remember, team Illana went there in search for him.
I think Jacob used it as a means to meet with Richard. It's not far fetched. If you're Jacob, you may want a place that Richard can meet you at, but want to allow him the assurance that when he goes there MiB won't be waiting there to trick him. Voila, an ash ring. Also, maybe Jacob didn't want Richard to be followed to his real "home." The only restriction it seemed Jacob wanted to enforce on his brother was that he couldn't leave the island.
Maybe it was Jacob's cabin at some point, but I think for the majority of the time the series took place (so from the plane crash on) and maybe even earlier, MiB was using it. Remember, Christiangeist hung out there, it is there that Locke heard "Help me!" and there he learned that he had to move the Island (which led to Ben leaving, then returning, finding the loophole needed to kill Jacob). Plus, it was surely MiB who sent Locke the image of Horace building the cabin and showing him where to find the blueprints.
The problem I have with Jacob using it as a meeting place for Richard is that Richard knows about the Foot and eventually leads (F)Locke there. If it was a meeting place and Richard knew Jacob was no longer residing there, why didn't he tell Ben, who knew about the cabin? Was he allowing Ben to meet a "false prophet" because Richard knew that Jacob didn't really choose Ben? It seems dangerous to allow your leader to meet with the evil you are trying to contain.
Illana going there first may have been because she wanted to check the prison where MiB was held. She was carrying Locke's body and maybe was worried that MiB had taken over a Candidate. If she went to the cabin and saw that MiB was still locked (heh) in there, she wouldn't need to rush to Jacob to show him Locke's body and warn him of misdirection. Remember, after discovering it was empty, she burned the cabin. Why would she destroy a "holy place?"
I think somehow the cabin's backstory lies with why The Purge happened. I think that MiB somehow manipulated Widmore and the Others to kill the Dharma Folk, like how he was manipulating Sawyer and Sayid to kill the Lostie Candidates. -
Quote:It was Ben last time I read the Fantastic Four with any regularity who died. About 7(?) years ago. That's when we got to see Kirby GodOriginally Posted by Hyperstrike
Likely it's "Old Blue Eyes". They just reverted him to human for "a short period". So he'll probably be normal when the Annihilus bugs eat him.
Then, about a year down the road, one of them will crap out a pebble and we'll have The Thing back.
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Quote:Yup, I concur.Originally Posted by LunarKnight
IDK, I can see getting that impression out of Scott from the videogame, but he's pretty darn whiny and uncertain in the comic. He only has flashes of determination here and there, but for the most part, "scared lil manchild" is exactly how I'd describe the guy. Most of the book beyond the first chapter involves Scott failing at something (usually a fight with an Ex) and then giving up and moping until one of his friends (usually Wallace) gives him the kick in the pants he needs to win the day. Particularly in the last 2 chapters he spends a LOT of time escaping his problems instead of facing them.
Scott is a little more confidant in the books, I guess, but when a problem comes up, he usually disregards it and it becomes a bigger problem, or he runs away. In fact, I'd say the entire last volume is made up of his friends basically saying "We've grown up, we've faced our problems and come to terms with them, why don't you?" -
Having seen the movie twice in theaters, I was amped to read the six volumes that the big screen epic was based on. How did the two differ? How were the two the same? And, the most important question, does Sex Bomb-Omb make it?
Sadly, the answer to the last question is no. But the comic is a good solid read. I liked the movie a little better, mainly because the fights were better "choreographed" and more dynamic (by virtue of it being a MOTION picture). But really, the one complaint I have about the comics is that Scott fights each evil ex like 2 or 3 times in each volume and, if you pardon the pun, those confrontations lack punch. In particular, the fights against Lucas Lee and Todd Ingram (The Vegan) are much better done in the movie.
One thing the comic has over the movie is the development of Scott's and Ramona's relationship. As was talked about in the thread about the movie, the movie takes place over the span of a week, maybe slightly longer. The books take plae over two years, so there is more "time" to explore the relationship. Maybe this is why there is much more fighting in the comic. The fights are supposed to be little annoyances, bumps in the road in a relationship in the comic, while in the movie, they are supposed to be epic hurdles to have a relationship at all. If you want to go with the analogy that the fights are representative of the emotional baggage we all have, the comic treats them as something that comes up ever so often in a relationship while the movies treat them as pre-existing and immediately apparent problems.
The other big thing the comic has is the explanation, of sorts, of Scott's past and his present, video game-like outlook in life. In large part, it is because he can't admit his own mistakes. We learn that most of his stories/flashbacks are NOT accurate and he actually is a unthoughtful, though sometimes caring, jerk. Like Ramona, he is good at the relationships, but when they turn sour, or there is a challenge, he runs away and gurts people. Heavily implied in the movies (especially the jerk part) but spelled out a little clearer in the comic.
Going back to the movie, I like the character portrayal (besides Ramona and Scott, who are a little more relatable/believable in the comic)
Kim Pine: I like the sardonic, sarcastic Kim in the movie more than the almost peppy (though through the filter of being sarcastic) Kim in the book. But again, the book's characters are more "realistic."
Stephen Stills (the talent): The nervous wreck character of the movie plays out better than the Stills in the book, who is regulated to sometimes less than supporting character in a few volumes.
Young Neil: More fleshed out in the movie.
Knive Chau: Here's a hard one. In the first few volumes, I hated her. She was vindicative and over-the-top. I much prefered the movie tragic Chau interpretation. But after a few volumes she shifted into more reasonably lovelorn and made her likable again. Her ending though is less triumphant than the movie ending and I liked her movie ending (as quick as it was).
Wallace Wells: Another tough one. He's awesome in the movie. Awesomer in the comic book just cause he's in it way more.
I also Edgar Wright moved some of the lines said by characters in the book to other characters in the movie correctly. Some of the lines said by Stills, for instance, are better said by Kim. Especially the sardonic Kim.
To Continue This Discussion, Please Insert Post -
Oh, and this is a good opportunity to (re)plug my Lost Dissertation
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Yeah, but I don't think the Nadia and Keamy we saw in the sideways were really their "souls." Especially since Keamy was shot and killed by Sayid in the sideways.
And Sarah (Jack's wife) was pregnant last time Jack saw her. After their divorce and when she had to bail him out of jail for attacking Christian. Now, it may have been his, but we are never told. -
Also, The Others tried to live peacefully with the Dharma Dudes, but that didn't turn out so well, at least for Dharma.
Quote:Remember, the ash ring was broken. My bet is that Smokey could induce visions (like that of Ben's Mom to Lil'Ben) but couldn't actually wander outside (maybe like how Chrisitan appeared to Jack off Island, but Smokey couldn't physically leave the Island). As Ben said, the Smoke Monster was really summoning him all this time. I bet Ben even disturbed the ash ring at some point (I need to rewatch "The Man Behind the Curtain" to see if he remarks upon it).Originally Posted by TrueGentleman
I can buy the cabin as a prison for the MiB with its ash ring, but since the Smoke Monster had more or less free run of the Island outside the sonic barriers and could take the (corporeal) form of Christian Shepherd, etc., what kind of half-baked jail was it? The only thing I can think of is that it prevented the MiB from enjoying extended periods of time in corporeal form since that's the chief difference between MiB-as-Christian Shepherd and Smock. (Also, Ben didn't seem to be aware of the existence of the MiB since Smock had to inform him that he, although the Smoke Monster, is a who, not a what.)
I admit it was a copout of sorts to just throw away the David character like that. Lost has a tendency to throw characters at us at the start of a new season, only to make them insignificant at the end (Nikki and Paolo, Cesar, Illana, Libby).Quote:Originally Posted by TrueGentleman
And that encapsulates my dissatisfaction with the reveal of the flashsideways arc. It's not as bad as the once-popular theories of the Island being just a dream or a computer simulation, but it's no less unreal. This last-minute thematic reversal of the series' watchwords "Whatever happened, happened." and "Dead is dead" must have been intended to match the rug-pulling "We have to go back!" of Season 3's finale. For some people, this worked. For myself, well, the final shot of Jack's eye closing will have to do.
I don't think the sideways universe reversed "Whatever happened, happened." I think, in fact, it proved it, in the end, by revealing that the Island wasn't really sunk, that this alternate timeline isn't a timeline at all. And it is still fundamentally adhering to "Dead is Dead" by virtue of saying all these people ARE dead, this is just them between life and the real hereafter.
What the sideways-flashes ultimately were though was a waste of half-a-season if you didn't like the final reveal. If you didn't care that much about the characters, knowing what personal hell/heaven they would build for themselves and test themselves with doesn't really amount to much. Jack's situation is interesting to me, because I've been a long time Jack fan. Hurley's is intriguing as well, because he gave himself everything except love, Sawyer's is him wondering what would have happened if he could have kept on the straight and narrow after his parents' death, and so on. But the problem, at the basic level, is that there was this big mystery during the season as to what the sideways uni was. And when the final 15 minutes of the show revealed it, if you liked it, great, if you didn't all that watching this season was for nothing.
I am intrigued to know what people who weren't found of the reveal think upon rewatching Season 6. Are the flash sideways better or worse? Or the same now that we know what is going on? -
Yeah, the Walt thing is unfortunate, but that's not Lost's fault, per se, just the fact that Malcolm David Kelly grew really fast (another power!) and they couldn't use him while the show's timeline remained in 2004. And by the time they go to the Flash Forward's, they probably rewrote a lot of Walt's storylines into other characters (I can see him turning into something like Miles).
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Quote:Was that on the special Laserdisc complete set? I only have the series on Betamax.Originally Posted by Wayfarer
You didn't hear? Roger Rabbit did it with the Lassiter on the Death Star.
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This reminds me of the Lost episode where the Smoking Man tried to trick Hiro into killing Laura Palmer. But I am still upset at the show for never solving the mystery of "Who Shot J.R.?"
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Who you gonna call?
ANGUS YOUNG! -
An actual good list that isn't nitpicking...that much
However, being the resident Lost expert, some of the mysteries' answers were heavily implied.
SPOILERS
2. The Incident was caused by both the drilling AND the bomb. From the drilling/electromagnetic energy, Dr. Chang's arm becomes impaled (the result is a fake arm seen in the Swan Orientation video). However, if it was just the electromagnetic energy and the impaling, he would have probably died there. Because Miles was there to detonate the bomb and Miles rescued him, we can concluded that the two things put together caused the Incident. Also, remember that Faraday said, that if they let the EM energy go unabated it will kill everyone on the Island. Since that never happened in the "original" timeline, it must be "Whatever Happened, Happened" and the bomb + the EM caused the Incident.
4. Pretty clear that Widmore and his company killed the Ajira survivors. Zoe was found right by there. And for some reason, Smokey didn't want to go the second Island himself. Widmore has shown he is willing to kill to protect the Island. He probably didn't want the Ajira Survivor's to interfere with his battle with Smokey or join his side (we did see Widmore kill the followers of Smokey by long-rangle missile)
Of course, there is a small possibility that Smokey killed the survivors and sent Sawyer over there as an intimidation factor, but I think Widmore makes mroe sense. He was there already.
6. I am not convinced Jacob was ever in the cabin. The ash ring, the fact that Jacob lived in the Statue during Richard's time, etc. all indicate to me that the cabin was some sort of prison for Man in Black, not Jacob. Richard may have told Ben that Jacob lived there to keep Ben, someone Jacob never cared about apparently, away from Jacob. Or Ben knew that the false prophet MiB lived there and wanted Locke to be a heretic of sorts and lead him there.
7. The Lighthouse was not necessarily built by the Egyptians. The Island is home to many structures built over the eons by visitors brought by Jacob: the Statue, the Black Rock, the Dharma Stations and Homes. The Lighthouse could have been built by someone in between the Egyptian times and now.
9. It is clear that Eloise was tracking Desmond for a long time and trying to guide him. She could have known about Desmond's religious period in advance (through Faraday's journal) and became friends with Campbell in order to influence him later about the decisions made to kick out Desmond and keep the Scot on his designated path.
11. This is sorta explained in a deleted scene from the finale. There, Desmond tells Ben (I think) that when he switched over to the otherside (in "Happily Ever After"), he knew the Island was sunk. Desmond implies that it made him happy that the Island never existed (at least, it never could influence his life on the otherside). I think the Island is sunk on the otherside so the survivors can't use it as a crutch to blame their problems and it forces them to confront their own troubles. In a way, with it being sunk, it allows the survivors to solve their problems in the "real world" that they constructed.
12. David Shephard is not real. Like Nadia, like Keamy. They are merely props used in the construction of the sideways to help the main players get over their regrets and inadequacies. Jack needed David to get over his own daddy issues.
13. Michael betrayed the Losties, commited a heinous act (by accident or purpose, doesn't matter), turned his back on the Losties, and ultimately got caught in the soul magnet that is the Island and hence his soul couldn't be in the sideways. But I also, I think the Losties didn't want him there. As Christian said in the finale, the sideways universe was something they all constructed so that they could be reunited and remind each other that they needed each other. Why would they want the man that betrayed them and kill two of their own in secret there? He barely made a positive impact on the other characters. Even Ben was redeemed and an essential part of the group in the end, and at least Locke recognized the importance of Ben on the himself and the larger group.