My views on the TV series: LOST

Most people have heard of the TV show LOST on ABC. It is about a group of plane crash survivors that become stranded, on what seems to be a deserted island. They find that there are many secrets that are found on both the island, and in their own lives.

Each episode continues the story of the survivors on this mysterious island, and shows flashbacks of various characters stranded there, prior to the crash.

Basically, in my opinion...the show is about character development. Each character, from the heroic Jack, mysterious John Locke, optimistic Hurley, and iron-jawed "Sawyer" has continued to change throughout the series.

I can't deny that the show does have a lot of plot holes from time to time. And on every episode you seem to be parched for some kind of resolution. However, the inspiring music, well-preformed cast makes up for this. I can admit that some characters flashbacks are less interesting than others (Jacks vs Hurley's), mostly because some characters seem less crucial to the overall plot. But they are usually entertaining nonetheless.

I can honestly say that the first season of LOST is by far the best. There is a certain feeling of "uncertainty" the show gives you. And character introductions, in epic stories like this, are always fun to watch. If you are a fan of the show, you would have to agree one of the best moments was when "Ethan" was found to be NOT one of the survivors of the crash, but one of the "others" from the island. Overall the quality of the production in a whole, for the first seasons feels very well thought out.

The second is season is probably my second favorite, but very close to the first. With the inception of the hatch, you were basically watching each episode to find out what the heck would happen if they didn't press that damn button, a brilliant idea from the LOST writing staff. As the plot thickened in the second season you became very comfortable with most of the survivors, and even had a special place for the ones you didn't like from the first season (i.e. Sawyer). Many interesting, yet believable plot twists occurred, and the main villain was introduced.

The third season seems to be where a lot LOST's criticism has derived. The never-ending plot twists and seemingly absurd stories seem to be wearing down on most viewers. Though I think this is my least favorite of the three seasons, I still think it is a great one. As I said before, I believe this show is more of a character study, and throughout this season, it has done a great job to make each character evolve into something you wouldn't have expected. A lot of the ambiguity was removed from this season, in place of episodes filling in a lot of the plot holes the show left behind in the earlier seasons. Overall, the last episode of this season is what interests me the most, with the first episode to introduce a FLASH FORWARD, we really don't have any clue where the show will take us. But I know I will go along for the ride.

Is it possible to make a good film based on a video game?

Most would say no.

Over the years we have seen a plethora of movies come out based on their video game counterparts. From Super Mario Brothers to Lara Croft : Tomb Raider, each as horrendous as the next. My question is: Why are these movies so bad? And what could happen to produce a good one? Some other questions I'd like to ask are...

Is it the horrible plots?
Poor acting?
Budget related?

Or is it just the fact that the target audience, is only those who have played the actual game.

There have been some diamonds in the rough in my opinion, the Silent hill movie, for example. That movie took an almost direct adaptation from the game and gave us a pretty nice depiction of the game's plot line. Although the acting was quite terrible, the movie was overall pretty scary, and fun to watch.

But, this one movie does not make up for the box-office blunders these usually are.

I believe that like any other good story, most of these films have lacked good scripts, writing, and overall creativity. Most of the video games you can play nowadays are really quite good, and the scopes of their stories rival that of a J.R.R Tolkien, or George Lucas epics.

Take for example, the Legend of Zelda video game.



The game has created a cult following for almost three decades. The story is great, the characters are there...so why can't this be turned into a great film? My guess is that production for such a film would require a huge price tag. It also would NEED to be successful, for the sake of keeping the franchise prestigious. Boasting a star studded cast could also ruin the believability of the series.

To make this film successful it would need to be very similar to the structure of the Lord of the Rings films.

I believe examples such as The Legend of Zelda, are the reason why studios don't make good video game films. They are too nervous on investing so much money in something that could potentially flop, and will instead, produce a low-budget poorly structured film based, just to turn a small profit (The Resident Evil Movies).

I hope in the future we will see a good movie based on a video game, but for now I will just have to simply keep playing them.

Why don't people like Onions?

Seriously, why don't people like them? I can understand that the smell may be a little pungent, and sticks with you...but that is the beauty of the onion!

The onion adds so much flavor to almost any dish, I could hardly imagine eating anything without it. Some people say that an onion gives people lackluster breath, and to this, I say: PSSHHAWW! Go chew some gum or have a mint afterwards!

The best foods including onions (in no particular order): Hamburgers, Potatoes, Stir Fry, Salads, Sandwiches, Soups, Pizza, Dips, Chicken, Tuna, Sausage, Meatloaf...just to name a few!

During the creation of these dishes you are greeted with the lovely smell of onion throughout the entire house! Who can deny that? Hey - If you don't like the smell, just cook those babies on the stove and they won't smell as much!

People who don't like onions, are picky eaters, and picky eaters are just LAME. Nobody likes having company over, and having them deny the food you offer them...it's just RUDE.

In conclusion, if you want to be a square, obnoxious, an overall jerk in life, hate the onion. And hate yourself while your at it!

Movie Review - 28 Weeks Later

Last week I picked up this movie at the Blockbuster video after reading overall good reviews from most websites. I enjoyed the previous film 28 days later, and loved how it was directed by Danny Boyle (the director of Trainspotting).

This film takes the same approach as 28 Days Later did, only you are centered around how the devastation of outbreak effects a small family. WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD.

Basically the movie takes place 28 weeks (obviously) after the previous film, and focuses on a man in hideout with his wife and several other people. Soon after the film begins, the "infected" find them in hiding. The man and his wife flee from the infected until they are trapped. The man finds himself in the position to either save his wife, or run way. He runs away, and leaves his wife behind, with the infected. Eventually he is found, and meets up with his children (who were abroad at the time), and explains what happened to their mother (not exactly truthfully). Later they find his wife alive, infected, but not acting vicious. They find that she is a carrier, she herself is immune, but can pass on the infection to others. The man, thinking his wife was dead, goes to meet her and apologize. In a sad moment, he kisses her contracting her fatal affliction. He then becomes one of the infected, and the rest of the film is basically a huge zombie romp from the events after, as more and more people become infected by his attacks.

The acting by Robert Carlyle (also from Trainspotting) was excellent, and they did a great job at showing his point of view throughout the film. I was shocked to learn that most of the movie was film on such a small budget, having such realistic special effects.

The film was well cast, brutally violent, decent script, and good cinematography. I'd say it's definitely worth renting.

3.75/5