LOST: It Wasn’t About The Answers, But The Journey

In the end LOST was, like life itself, not so much about the answers, but the journey.

The show dealt with issues we all struggle with regardless of religious views - why are we here, what really matters, what happens after we die. Who doesn't think about those things?

The final 15 minutes was shown through Jack's POV. So it was framed by his beliefs, his worldview. I imagine the Kwan's saw or would have seen it very differently. Was it purgatory? Was it a metaphysical room between universes and time? Was the island rewarding the "good" people? Was the sideways time all just that brief moment between Jack's life and his death? Was it something Jacob set up? Or Jacob/Jack? or Jacob/Hugo? I don't know. I don't care.

In the end, the story of LOST, the story that Damon and Carlton decided to share with us, was about these people. I thought the final scenes said so much about community and the importance of the families that we create through circumstance and love.

I'm good with that.

An Appreciation of Coraline in 3D

Coraline is based upon Neil Gaiman's award-winning 2002 children's book and is written and directed by Henry Selick of Nightmare Before Christmas fame. It’s the first feature film from the Portland, Oregon animation studio, Laika. It appeals to all who followed Alice down a rabbit hole or stepped with Lucy through a closet door to visit Narnia. Being a fan of all things Gaiman, I picked up the book last Summer and took it with me on the MegaBus to Chicago. I handed it off to my then 11 year old son who devoured it.

My Other Mother Loves Me...

Coraline (Dakota Fanning) is a child who has just moved with her parents to an old house in a desolate area. She wanders the sparse neighborhood, ultimately running into Wybie (Wylie Bailey Jr.), a boy hoping to spook her. This is a new character added for the movie and really bothered my son, who apparently is a purist. Get used to it kid!

Because Coraline’s parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman), both writers and constantly at their computers, she’s often robbed of their attention. So Coraline's left to her own discoveries. She finds a small door in the living room and opens it, finding a brick wall. But at night, in her dreams the door opens -- and Coraline crawls through a tunnel to discover the Other World where another set of parents adore her and dote on her. Her other father talks and plans things to do with Coraline; her other mother fixes her beautiful meals. Things are definitely greener on this other side. But the old expression, "Beware what you wish for" will soon find it's way into Coraline's vocabulary.

There’s an impish cat (Keith David) and a few goofy characters that inhabit the story. But they're outnumbered by gruesome witches and abnormalities they create in Coraline’s parents and others.

A Modern Fairy Tale

Coraline comes closer to the spirit of the traditional European fairy tale than any other film, animated or otherwise, in recent memory. It's dark, very very dark. It's scary and if your child is sensitive or scares easily, it could scare the living crap out of them and bore fresh new nightmares into their little heads. It's rated PG, but use your best judgement. My 12 year old son has read the book, loves A Nightmare Before Christmas and has my and his Mother's twisted, sometimes dark love of art, books, games, etc. My seven year old daughter however, would be completely traumatized by it! She'll see it in a few years, at home, safely under the covers of a blanket, with a trembling finger poised over the pause button.

Stereoscopy (3D To You & Me)

I wasn't incredibly excited about the 3D. The frame lag on 3D is bad enough with good eyes, my astigmatism plays havoc when I've seen those 3D I-Max movies. It felt as if my eyes were melting out of their sockets. (I did get a slight migraine watching it, but it was well worth it.) Reading about the film, I was excited that Selick wanted to use the stop-motion, 3D technology to give the movie depth, rather than just shove scary things into the audience's faces, and he did just that. You would actually be missing out on aspects and some depth of the film by not seeing it 3D. The glasses were very cool and hip as well. We kept ours and took a picture of them sitting on top of our copy of the book. (See above) Cool huh?

On his blog, John Hodgman (best known as PC in the MAC v PC Mac ads) revealed why he took the role:

I TOOK THIS JOB primarily so that I might sit for hours in a very small room with director Henry Selick, and increase my excuses for having dinner with Neil Gaiman from time to time.

BECAUSE I LIKE HANGING OUT WITH GENIUSES

ONLY NOW, however, two years after I sat in that tiny room, do I realize that THEY ACTUALLY MADE A MOVIE, and it is beautiful and creepy and brilliant.

I've been a fan of stop motion since the old Ray Harryhausen movies and any excuse to see one and I'm there! This film, though dark, was masterfully and lovingly crafted. I don't think I'll say that about Paul Blart when I see it with my daughter. (I'm sure I'll probably laugh more though!) Oh, be sure to stay for the credits, you'll enjoy it.

Lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't post the picture of myself my son made on the Corlaine site. Very funny but kind of creepy! LOL

Jonathan Barnes' First Novel 'The Somnambulist' Thrills and Disappoints

I decided right away that Jonathan Barnes' debut would land on my "must read" list. It was compared to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Neverwhere, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and The Prestige, some of my favorites in the Victorian Fantasy / Steampunk / Mystery genres.

It was probably a mistake going into it with such high expectations, although it was an excellent first book, I felt let down and a bit disappointed after I turned the last page.

The book is clever and witty, setting up the reader with a caveat on the first page saying, "Be warned. This book has no literary merit whatsoever. Needless to say, I doubt you'll believe a word of it." This sets the tone for the tale to come.

The story is everything the narrator promises. You’ve got Edward Moon, a past-his-prime stage magician who doubles as a notoriously famous Holmes-style private investigator (in fact, Arthur Conan Doyle exists in The Somnambulist's London too, and is considered an untalented hack by Moon). The Somnambulist, a giant who never speaks and holds many secrets, such as why doesn't he bleed when stabbed and what's up with the milk obsession? There are warm-hearted housekeepers, sybaritic layabouts, spiritualists, gung-ho police inspectors, and freakish prostitutes. There are also grizzly murders, treks through London's Underground, mysterious disappearances, secret societies, shadowy government organizations, the poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and the long shadow of past mistakes.

The writing is some times awkward and stilted, and the plot's as dense as the Victorian London Fog. It seems at times that he's writing scenes with no other purpose but to say to some LA or London Producer, "Hey! See how good this book would look as a movie." That gets distracting and took me out of the book a few times. It's a good first novel; an interesting, sometimes page-turning but ultimately disappointing read.

I'd be interested to to see if Barnes goes back to answer some questions, especially about Moon's apparently disastrous previous case and the potentially deep mine that is The Somnambulist.

Published
February 1, 2008 by William Morrow

First published
2007

Binding
Hardcover

isbn - 0061375381 (isbn13: 9780061375385)

Pages
353

The Burn Notice

I'm in a review mood this weekend. First a book, now television.

Up front confession time. I don't have Cable TV. *pause for audible gasps* I used to, but when my recent illness forced me to leave one job and do more freelancing than I'd like, or am probably good at, I had to cut expenses. I canceled my cable. I use my Internet connection for work and play and to communicate with long-lost friends, so it had to stay. Cable, I could do with out.

It's not been bad, it just means I've missed some shows, but with so many networks now showing full episodes, I can watch some there. At first, It was harder on the kids, without Cartoon Network, Nick JR. and Disney, but they do just fine now. We play more board games, read books and have even written and produced a couple of plays. Harry Potter Meets Cinderella totally rocked!

One show I missed but was interested in was USA's Burn Notice. (USA, Drama, 1 hour, Thursdays 11/10c) It stars Jeffrey Donovan who's small roles on shows like The Pretender and Crossing Jordan, have been great, but his best was as a witty, disturbed detective on the short-lived USA drama Touching Evil.

Besides Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar (Scent of a Woman), plays a former girlfriend who's ex-IRA. They have a nice Mr. & Mrs. Smith/Adams Rib vibe. One of my favorite B-list actors, Bruce "The Chin" Campbell (The Evil Dead) stars as Michael's boozy, ex-special forces buddy and steals every scene he's in. The wonderful Sharon Gless (Cagney & Lacey) stars as his chain-smoking, hypochondriac, passive aggressive mom, Madeline. A roll that could have been a cardboard cut-out character in other hands. She brings a great deal of depth, warmth and intelligence to it.

The first episode begins as American Super-Spy, Michael Westen, is in the middle of transferring several thousands of dollars to an arms dealer. He gets a phone call telling him he's just received his Burn Notice, spy talk for getting fired. Not just fired, they freeze his assets, cancel his mobile phone and post FBI tails on him. After getting the crap beaten out of him by the arms dealer's thugs, he hops a plane, passes out and wakes up in his hometown of Miami. It's here that he tries to do two things, find employment and, with the help of his quirky underworld friends, track down who burned him.

The series features neat noir touches, such as first-person narrative, including frequent stream of consciousness voice-overs giving bits of exposition. It also deftly employs the currently over-used, over-arching, season-long, mystery plot. This has been used to great effect in Showtime's Dexter, the first season of Heroes and most recently in NBC's Journey Man. The worst example being NBC's Chuck.

It's fun, quirky, well written and stylish. Donovan does a great job with the role. It's very much in the spirit of shows I grew up watching, shows like The Rockford Files, Switch and Banacek. With a little MacGyver thrown in for good measure. Got some duct-tape, a propane tank, and an aerosol can? You've got a bomb!

The first season is out on DVD and the second season begins in July. It's great Summertime TV! I just found out that Battlestar Gallactica's Tricia Helfer (Caprica 6) will be in several episodes of the upcoming second season. Watch the first season online at Hulu.com.

**UPDATE** Read the Chicago Tribune's Mo Ryan's preview of Burn Notice's second season on her TV centric blog, The Watcher

Person June 17th

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a funky wine i like

Last year I had a little problem with my heart. The Dr. asked me if I liked wine. I answered in the affirmative. So he prescribed a glass or two of red wine a week. I've tried different brands, usually in the $10 - 15 range. I'm not going to splurge if I'm the only one drinking it and I feel like I have too. I found some I liked and some that were wretched!

In honor of Robert Mondavi, who died today at the age of 94, I decided to recommend my favorite inexpensive Red table wine. Nothing fancy, but good.

Right now my favorite is:
Funky Llama
Price: $5.99 @ Meijer (sometimes $4.99)
Type: Malbec
Cork: Yellow plastic with the word "Funky" and a picture of a llama.

Alc. by Volume: 13%

The year currently available is 2005 and 2006. I liked the 2004 better, get that if you can find it.

It's from Argentina using grapes from the Malbec vineyards. I'm not an authority on wines, I just know what I like and don't like. I don't like fruity or very weak wines. The 2006 that I found at Marsh was too fruity and watery for my taste. All in all, for a guy who's supposed to buy it for health benefits and rarely finishes the bottle, the pure value can't be beat.

Je leve mon verre a votre sante. Enjoy.

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