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Oh I am getting excited. I am getting very, very excited. Actually, that’s a lie. I’ve been excited since the whiteout of season five and the whole ‘DESTINY FOUND’ bit. It now only 6 days until the final season of the greatest show ever premieres. “The Incident” re-aired last night. I hope everyone watched it. I have even more things to say about the episode that I did not write in either the recap or the ‘dotting my i’s’ entry I did and what I have to write about it coincides with that fantastic LOST Supper III promo picture. So, naturally, I will begin there before laying out my other observations of this very, very cool promo.

NOTE: Here is where I’d post the actual picture but I can’t find it online.

–I wrote one sentence on Frank for The Incident recap. I wanted to acknowledge the character. What I didn’t mention is the candidacy Bram spoke of to Ilana. Frank asks what is he a candidate for And, of course, he gets no answer. One can speculate on what it means and people have. People have speculated about the candidate being Jacob’s replacement which does make plenty of sense, considering it seems like Jacob knew he was going to die. But it’s all speculation. CUT TO the LOST Supper III picture. Ilana sits at the far left of the table, staring (it seems) at someone down the table. That person seems to be Frank Lapidus. As for Frank? He’s looking off into the distance. He’s not looking at Ilana and he’s also the only one who has multiple eyes on him. Ben, Miles, and Hurley share in Ilana’s stare. It’s interesting for a few reasons. Reason number pertains to the fact that Miles and Hurley can both see dead people. How does that relate to Frank, considering he is alive and well? Your guess is as good as mine but consider it a hunch or something. In fact, call it a “Dead Is Dead” moment (named for when I famously (okay only famous to me) declared that episode one of the most important episodes without exactly knowing why). Ben’s stare is most intriguing because it’s his bewildered/shocked/i-really-don’t-know-what-is-going-on look, a look similar to his facial expression when explaining to Sun that dead is really dead on this Island. So what’s up with the fascination with Frank? I don’t really know. I can speculate and speculate but, by now, all should realize there’s a fine line when speculating. It also just occured to me Jacob seems to be a Prospero figure. Hm. I may or may not expand on that little thought during season six. It remains to be seen. Back to Frank, he’s certainly carries the potential for an intriguing story in the final season and LOST Supper III lends to such an idea for potential and intrigue. BRING ON TUESDAY NIGHT!

–Ilana is the character I’m very, very eager to learn more about. The writers really eased her into the fifth season and the story. She remains mysterious in the promo, simply sitting and staring while Richard and Claire enjoy a bottle of wine. There’s been plenty of speculation about Ilana elsewhere on the interweb. I’m no commenting on speculation because, well, I don’t want to speculate.

–I focus a lot on Kate’s gaze in this promo. She’s definitely looking at Claire and Richard. Why? Well, again, one can speculate. Kate looks troubled like she’s trying to figure Claire out or something. I’m so excited for Season Six and to find out where in the world Claire Littleton was for the past 3 years. Doc Jensen offered some interesting words about Richard/Claire in the promo in the issue of EW the promo appears in. I used ‘in’ way too much in the previous sentence.

–As for the rest of the promo, I could write and write about it but I’m getting redundant with this ’speculation’ stuff that I don’t like to do but LOST Supper III is worth looking at and enjoying.

Moving on now to a Missing Pieces webisode. I know I wrote something around December or November about covering every Missing Pieces webisode but I obviously didn’t because I forgot about it. I constantly evaluated and re-evaluated this thing during the hiatus. But the time calls for me to embed the video for the “So It Begins” webisode. Here’s why:

-It’s a fun new perspective on the opening of LOST and provides newer context for the story. I’m not positive whether or not the webisodes are considered canonical. I recall hearing Damon and Carlton stating that the show itself is the only canonical thing because they don’t wish to alienate non-obsessive fans. Fair enough. Still, it’s one hell of a webisode to make.

-Christian utters the famous ‘He’s got work to do’ line that’s been spoken by Walt, when Walt appeared to Locke. The presence of NotLocke seems to be there in both instances. But who knows. All will be told in good time.

Here’s the webisode:

And that wraps it up for this entry. I’ll be back with an all-new episode of the day on Monday Feb. 1 and the official LOST preseason rankings will be posted Feb.2.

Yes, indeedy, “LA X” looms in 6 days.

To quote Jacob: “THEY’RE COMING!”

 Random Musings from the Entertainment Desk

“Hurt Locker” a thriller you won’t soon forget

  It is my solemn vow to you that I will go this entire review without resorting to horrible puns like “explosive” or “incendiary” to describe “The Hurt Locker,” which chronicles the exploits of one of the US Army’s elite E.O.D. (explosive ordinance disposal) squads operating in Iraq circa 2004.

            After all, that would be just too easy and just a smidgen insulting to your intelligence. After all, it is a movie about bombs right? So the very subject matter calls for it to be explosive does it not?

            Clichés aside, “The Hurt Locker” just happens to be one of the year’s best thrillers, and if it wasn’t for a little ditty from Quentin Tarantino, it would be the year’s best war movie. I suppose you could say it is the year’s best war movie that won’t make history professors wag their fingers in shame and outrage.

            As I mentioned earlier, it follows a group of E.O.D’s as they make Iraq safer, one road side bomb and improvised explosive device at a time. Think of these guys like a souped up bomb squad. Not only do they have to disarm bombs, but they have to do it deep inside enemy territory, under constant threat of enemy fire, riots and worse. You think your job sucks? Not so much.

            The E.O.D. team is lead by SFC William James (Jeremy Renner), a hot shot adrenaline junkie who actually gets off on risking his life on a daily basis. He regularly ignores protocol and common sense in an effort to get his fix of life on the edge. SFC James’ nonsense doesn’t fly well with fellow team members Sgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Spc. Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), neither of whom takes too kindly to James constantly risking their lives in addition to his own.

            “The Hurt Locker” does an incredible of depicting just what living in an almost constant state of danger can do to different people. Every decision they make just may be their last, every order they give could be the last that someone else obeys. The situation is not pretty, but each member of the E.O.D. team gets by in their own way, whether it be clinging to a set of principles or dreaming of the life that could await them as their deployment winds down.

            Or in the case of James, he just doesn’t give a damn what happens to himself. He just does things, not thinking of the consequences or possible repercussions. He constantly acts. Perhaps somewhere inside he fears that reacting might just be the thing that ends up killing him.

            Director Kathryn Bigelow actually manages to up the ante in terms of the devil may care attitude that flowed through one of her biggest successes, 1991’s “Point Break.” With “The Hurt Locker” she has created an unbelievably tense thriller that will have even the most jaded and cynical movie goers on the absolute edge of their seats. She even manages to turn audiences’ knowledge of movies against them at certain key points so effectively that it will likely keep Wes Craven up nights.

            Her film is a down and dirty look at the lives these men lead and what compels them to do the job that they do. At times it becomes easy to forget that you’re watching a work of fiction and not a straightforward documentary.

            For the most part, Mark Boal’s script barrels along like a tank, until the third act where it briefly loses a tread and gets bogged down in a character’s misguided attempt at revenge. The delay is only momentary and the film manages to shake it off with ease and finish strong.

            I could say that Jeremy Renner is dynamite as PFC James, but I won’t. What I will say is that Renner is fantastic. He’s able to convey both James’ lose cannon nature, while still allowing the character to feel like a real person. It would have been easy to turn him into a cowboy caricature, but in Renner’s skilled hands, James is a living, breathing person. Chances are good that you’ll be seeing a lot of this guy over the next few years and rightfully so.

            The film boasts an incredible supporting cast headed by Mackie as Sgt. Sanborn, who must learn to coexist with James for both their sakes. It’s easy for the audience to find themselves in Sanborn’s shoes, wondering just which higher up they pissed off to be saddled with a crazy man like James.        

            A stellar cast and razor sharp writing and directing make “The Hurt Locker” one of the best modern era war films ever made. It’s a movie that will embed itself in your head long after the end credits have finished rolling and is an absolute must see.

            Verdict: A-

 Random Musings from the Entertainment Desk

“Leap Year” ain’t half bad

            “Leap Year” isn’t likely to win any Academy Awards this year when the big ceremony rolls around. I hope you were sitting down for that. Sorry, I should have provided adequate warning there.

            That being said, “Leap Year” isn’t a bad movie. It’s basically cinematic cotton candy. It’s sweet, fluffy and it will make you sick if you eat too much of it. Honestly though, who doesn’t love cotton candy?

            Sure you may not fess up to liking it when you’re around your health nut friends, but you know that somewhere, perhaps buried in your breadbox behind the wheat bread with “Flintstones” vitamins crushed up in it, is a bag of cotton candy. A wonderfully guilty pleasure.

            Some of the snobbier movie goers out there may turn their noses up at a romantic comedy like “Leap Year,” preferring instead to lavish praise on foreign films about people’s houses or fairy tale characters killing each other in the woods but there is nothing wrong with the movie. It’s an unpretentious, funny and entertaining bit of escapism that doesn’t try to pretend to be anything else.

            No identity crisis here.

            The always great Amy Adams stars as Anna Brady, an ambitious staging expert who is looking to settle down with her long time boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott). For those out there who don’t spend their free time immersed in the wonders of HGTV, allow me to explain what a staging expert is. Basically, they doll up your house to help you sell it faster. Think of them like Avon representatives, but for your house instead of your face.

            Anyway, it turns out that Jeremy, a cardiologist by trade and a jerk by nature, isn’t all that keen on popping the question. After he heads to Ireland for one of those cardiologist conventions that are so big there, Anna decides to try and take advantage of an old Irish tradition that allows women to propose to men once every four years on Leap Day, Feb. 29.

            She secretly follows Jeremy to Ireland, intending to surprise him with the proposal, but her plane is forced to land due to turbulence. And so begins an epic struggle with a bout of luck so bad that it would make a black cat seem like a rabbit’s foot by comparison. She hires a charming and ruggedly handsome local barkeep named Declan (Matthew Goode) to drive her across the country to her would be groom and surprise, surprise their initial horrible incompatibility soon reveals itself to be massive compatibility. I don’t think I’m stepping on too much by telling you that, unless you’re an absolute newbie when it comes to the romantic comedy formula.

            Sure “Leap Year” is a bit conventional, but the cast is just so darn likeable. Adams is absolutely bewitching as Anna, who has gotten used to applying her staging skills to her personal life, covering up what is actually going on with her. Adams has impeccable comedic timing and handles the physical gags and pratfalls like an old pro.

            Everything about Matthew Goode in “Leap Year” can be adequately summarized in the scruffy perfection of his beard. If you need more then that, well, he pulls off the mysterious and appealing Irish lad, even though he himself is in fact English-born. His onscreen chemistry with Adams makes for a very believable twist on the old “I don’t like you, ok now I do” cliché.       

              “Leap Year” is also served well by its supporting cast, which includes cameo appearances from some of TV’s better known and remembered talents, including Scott who made a name for himself as Griff on “Boy Meets World.” At this point in his career, I’m pretty certain that he could play a scum bag in his sleep, he’s done it so many times but he’s just so good at it.

            Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel deserves a ton of praise for stunning shots of the Irish countryside that populate the film. He takes an already gorgeous country and showcases it to perfection. Cheers.

            There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a bit of cotton candy every now and then. A great example of “it is what it is,” “Leap Year” won’t expand your mind but, thanks to its ridiculously charming leads, talented supporting cast and gorgeous locations, it’s still worth the price of admission. After all, you can only have your mind expanded so many times anyway. Too much of that nonsense will make you sick.

Verdict: B   

It’s a special Saturday update here in The Foot thanks to the newest promo ABC has released. The promo features ONE frame of new footage but it happens so fast that I had to take the easy way and follow EW.com’s exact mark to the new footage. The new footage just drives the anticipation more so for me and will probably lead to yet another dream about the premiere. Anywho, here’s the video and, following the video, is a good ol’ breakdown:

–Well, the new footage is of Claire holding a gun, POINTING IT AT SOMEONE. Did not see that coming at all. And she looks pretty angry. One thing the frame suggests is support of my ‘there will be no time reboot’ thoughts; however, we just witnessed a season in which two groups of characters were separated by 30 years. I will probably regret writing this sentence but hey, no one reads this so it doesn’t matter, and nah I will not write what I’m thinking. Should I be correct, I’ll mention it in the recap/thoughts/whatever you want to call it for the season six opener. I gotta keep telling myself ‘nearly only one week remaining til it returns.’

–The promo is, in LOST fashion, intentionally ambiguous. The first 14 seconds reverse scenes from the show. John Locke is seen ascending to his father instead of falling away after being pushed out of the building. Jack is seen pushing the door close and keeping the water out, reversing what he actually did in “A Tale of Two Cities.” The Hatch countdown is counting upwards, suggesting detonating Jughead achieved the desired outcome. Following that, Oceanic 815 does not break apart but, rather, comes together. And then we get a split-second of Claire holding and pointing a gun followed by events on the Island that are as they were. There’s even a shot of people flying out of Oceanic 815. Again, intentionally ambiguous. EW.com writes that the newest promo provides a clue. One could say it does but it’s intentionally ambiguous more than anything. I am open to absolutely anything. I trust Damon Lindelof’s and Carlton Cuse’s vision.

–On a final note, let’s all enjoy “The Incident”  re-air on Tuesday night and then enjoy the realization that new LOST is very, very close. I’ll be back with an all-new blowhardy entry Wednesday.

Above is a summary of LOST in 8:15. It’s impressive how quickly season five is summarized. Anywho, if you’re not an insane, obsessive fan like me then watch the video because it’s a good refresher.

I had planned on delivering an episode of the day for “Numbers” but decided against it. It’s one of my favorite episodes. It introduces the numbers into the show but I think I will hold off on another episode of the day until LOST begins again.

Next week, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the final LOST supper poster that first appeared in last week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly. I also might offer even more thoughts on The Incident after re-watching it yet again. Who knows. But before this entry ends, allow me to link you to some fun LOST stuff:

–Jeff “Doc” Jensen wrote another great essay on LOST. This time it deals with Jack and the idea of addiction recovery. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20313460_20337825,00.html.

–There’s a new LOST video podcast available which takes you behind the scenes of the LOST TCA panel. http://abc.go.com/shows/lost/podcasts. It shouldn’t be hard to locate it.

NOTE: I wrote this in August and it ran in an online-only version of The Quad in August two weeks for the first print edition of the semester was released. It probably would’ve been more effective to post it now rather than in August but oh well. Heck it might even be a better idea to re-post it on Feb. 1 or Feb. 2 but, you know, it’s already available on wcuquad.com so it doesn’t really matter. So, if anybody actually reads this, please read it. It’s decent prose. I’ll post an all new entry tomorrow or Friday. It won’t be too exciting. I’ve got some ideas floating in my head for next week so keep checking back, if anybody actually reads this, for there will be new content up to and through the sixth season which is now less than two weeks away. WOOOOHOOO! Oh, and don’t forget ABC will be re-airing The Incident on January 26 at 9PM.

Originally printed (digitally): August 17, 2009

One the finest aspects of LOST is its mystery. I know many fans will be clamoring for answers and will feel like they’ve been following the show for six years for nothing if Lindelof and Cuse don’t provide a satisfactory amount of answers to the abundance of questions raised during the show’s run.

The problem with this, as noted by Doc Jensen, is the subjectivity of the audience. What are the most important questions? Depends on who you ask. Some want the nature of the Numbers unearthed. Others want to know about the Monster. Those stuck in 2004 are still puzzled about polar bears.

But really, the endgame of the show will not be constructed on what the audience wants. The endgame of the show is going to reflect the vision Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have worked five plus years to create

In the end, LOST is a story. It’s not a complicated math problem that needs to be figured out and solved. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end like any other story. It’s a story about these characters, their problems, their weaknesses, their past. It’s a story, like all of the great stories in Western literature, that touches on the big questions in life: death, life, religion, philosophy, relationships, uncertainty, and destiny.

The evolution of television programming has lost the art of storytelling. Reality television is devoid of it Those shows are a series of happenings stringed along by a ‘theme.’ Scripted television also suffers from a lack of storytelling. There’s barely a whole picture now at the end of a season. What happened in the beginning of a season has no bearing on the conclusion of the season. There’s no cohesion, no building towards a climax. The end of Buffy marked the beginning of the end of serialized, story-based storytelling. The fifth season premiere of Dawson’s Creek marked the end of any hope for honest storytelling in a teenage drama and these procedural dramas have no idea what a season of television entails.

The blame can be placed on the television industry of course. It’s hardly a safe haven for storytellers. A new show exists on an episode-by-episode basis. Money drives everything. Advertising runs television. Commercials are responsible for three minutes being trimmed off an hour long drama. However, to blame the industry for a world of hollow storytelling is to make the industry a scapegoat when blame can placed on the shoulders of creators and showrunners. While the current structure of the television landscape is not in the best interest for a series, it is still the responsibility of the creator to have some sort of vision apart from the pilot and the first batch of episodes.

Take for example Joss Whedon, a veteran of the television business. He’s run two successful television shows (Buffy, The Vampire Slayer and Angel). His one abrutly cancelled television series, Firefly, ended up on the big screen in 2005. His secret to success? A plan. He believes in what I like to call ‘The 5 year plan.’ In interviews he gave following the cancellation of Firefly, he repeated that he had five years of story for his show. Likewise, prior to the debut of Dollhouse, he said that he also had five years of story for Dollhouse. Of course he made a critical mistake of starting off the series terribly slowly but, that aside, when the story really kicked into gear, when the show found its focus, it took off creatively and made waves critically. And is still on the air.

The viewing public can sense this focus, this sense that there’s actually a story. The most remembered television series of the last decade won’t be any lousy police procedural or reality show. The most remembered shows will be shows that told a damn good story like The Wire, Mad Men, The Sopranos, and, of course, LOST.

Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, on numerous occassions, have compared the structure of LOST to that of how Charles Dickens published his novels. Dickens published his novels in a serialized fashion, in increments. In addition to their love for Dickens, they have constantly alluded to great works in Eastern and Western literature. The battle between science and faith as represented by Jack Sheperd and John Locke was represented in a season two episode by the authors Ernest Hemingway and Fyodor Dostoevsky (and used by Ben (under the guise of Henry Gale then) to mess with an already fragile psyche). The Chronicles of Narnia, Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Flies, Watership Down, The Little Prince, and Ulysses among many, many more novels have been alluded to throughout the series. LOST knows how to tell a story.

Consider then that some of the mysteries are meant to remain just that–mysteries. Consider: maybe it’s better to not know who the skeletons in the cave are (personally, i would like to know because i think it would be a very satisfying). Consider maybe that it’s best for the skeletons to remain a symbol of the long history of The Island. Consider that it IS better to not know the mystery of the Numbers or who ran over Nadia or why people who are dead appear to our favorite characters on The Island. The most important thing with all of the mysteries and intrigue is that they led to excellent character development and helped progress storylines.

Nestor Carbonell (Richard) echoed a sentiment that I myself agee with: there has to be some mystery at the end. Yes, they need to provide answers. We need to know why Claire disappeared, we need to know what the Others are definitevely, we need to know the deal with the whispers as well as why Richard doesn’t age. They will indeed provide answers.

Simply, do not judge the worth of the show on answers alone. First and foremost, the show is about the characters. Their struggles, weaknesses, problems, their destiny, and biggest of all, the show is about why these characters were brought together on an Island of miracles. And remember, it’s Damon and Carlton’s show, and that it’s a story and not a math problem that needs to be solved.

Random Musings from the Entertainment Desk

“Avatar” unlike anything you’ve ever seen but you’ve heard it once or twice before

After the mega-success of 1997’s “Titanic,” James Cameron dubbed himself “the king of the world” and honestly after $7 gazillion in worldwide box office and hundreds awards— who was going to argue with him?

            For the next decade or so, Cameron contented himself with directing documentaries and the occasional fictional aquatic blockbuster on TV’s “Entourage.” Things were good but this calm before the directorial storm couldn’t last forever. 

            And so now, as his latest, the reportedly-budgeted $300 million “Avatar,” storms towards his own box office records, one can only wonder— what should we call Cameron if he surpasses his own king’s ransom? I propose: Universal Overlord James Cameron. All hail and fear his cinematic money-making power.

            “Avatar” is set in the very distant future and plays like a jumbled up version of “Return of the Jedi,” “Aliens” and “The Matrix” with some “Pocahontas” tossed in for good measure. Humanity has set its sights on the lush tropical planet of Pandora, which is home to an extremely valuable mineral conveniently called “unobtanium.” It is also home to a host of dazzling creatures, including huge hammerhead/ rhino things, majestic flying lizards and the Na’vi, a strange humanoid yet cat-like race that is very in tune with the natural world. Very.

            Of course, not all humans greedily want to strip mine Pandora and leave. Some want to live with the Na’vi and study their ways. It’s this conflict that paralyzed Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) finds himself thrust into the center of. Sully travels to Pandora to operate the avatar, a genetically engineered hybrid of human DNA and Na’vi, of his recently deceased twin brother. Think “Matrix” but with tall blue aliens on the other end of the connection instead of leather and cool shades. Eventually Sully gets caught up in the world of his avatar, learning the ways of the Na’vi from the chief’s daughter (Zoe Saldana) and begins to lose his grasp on which body is really his.       

            “Avatar” is a visual wonder, a sight to behold created using photo-realistic CGI technology that Cameron created specifically for the film. The 3-D effects are absolutely seamless. I’m not normally huge on this gimmick, not for any purist or artistic argument, but simply because it gives me a headache. Usually around the 30 minute mark, I’ll just pop off the glasses for a bit and imagine that is what movies must look like to Mr. Magoo.

            Not the case with “Avatar.” I actually forgot that I was wearing the bulky plastic glasses and even once flinched at the sight of a burning ember that I thought was going to land on me.

            From a strictly visual sense, “Avatar” is a movie that you can’t miss. This is the “Toy Story” of its time. The technology pioneered here will forever change the way movies are made. It’s also a theater operator’s dream. Not just because it is making money hand over fist thanks to those jacked-up 3-D prices, but because no TV, no matter how expensive, no matter how plasma-y it is can truly recreate the experience of seeing “Avatar” unfold on the big screen.

            James Cameron, Universal Overlord, Maker of Moolah, the Savior of Theater Chains Everywhere.

            As much fun as “Avatar” is to look at, it does suffer a bit in the story department. It’s a rather straightforward story of greed and exploitation of the natural world. Big corporations are bad. Humans? Well… we kinda ruin everything. Intentionally or not, we suck. The major beats of the story have all been hit before and repeatedly.

            Question: Are you directing a big budget sci-fi action film? Need a broodingly handsome leading man? Scared of Christian Bale? Hire Sam Worthington, who is rapidly ascending the ranks of Hollywood leading men. He is the human center of “Avatar” and continues the personal hot streak he started with this past summer’s underrated “Terminator: Salvation.”

            The rest of the cast is just as strong, with my personal favorite being the typically underrated Stephen Lang as the tough-as-nails Col. Quaritch, who is about as intimidating and psychotic as they come while manipulating the situation on Pandora to suit his own wants.

            Also in the greed and manipulation corner is Gianvani Ribisi, who essentially reprises Paul Reiser’s “Aliens” role of corporate stooge.

            On the other end of the spectrum are the tree hugging scientist portrayed by the always great Sigourney Weaver and the Na’vi princess Neytiri played excellently by Zoe Saldana. Weaver’s exchanges with Ribisi are a kick, especially if you loved “Aliens.”

            “Avatar” is an eye-candy heavy fairy tale of sorts. Not only does it transport you to a far off world that seems as real as the sticky floor of the theater you’re sitting in, but it takes you back to a time when those 3-D images on the screen seemed real and there was still a sort of magical quality to the gimmick. When you thought you could reach out and grab that snowflake and accidentally wacked the guy in front of you in the head. Forget the hullabaloo surrounding the film and just go see “Avatar” expecting to be ferried off to the realest-looking fake place you’ve ever seen.

Verdict: B+

Random Musings from the Entertainment Desk

Stars shine in ”Invictus” while story falters 

            Clint Eastwood’s latest effort, “Invictus” tells the true story of life in South Africa immediately after the fall of the apartheid system as new president Nelson Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman) attempts to forge healing in the racially divided country with some help from a fairly unlikely source— the country’s rugby team, the Springbok, lead by captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) as they compete for the 1995 World Cup.

            Or maybe the Springbok were actually the perfect place to begin healing. For years they were seen as a symbol for apartheid, so much so that black South Africans would root for whoever the Springbok were playing against just to see the team and their predominantly white fan base be disappointed. Mandela ignored his advisors who thought that he was crazy, not only for associating himself with a symbol of the old ways, but because the country had much bigger issues to contend with then with then a sports team.

            The film, based on the book “Playing the Enemy” by John Carlin, opens with a shot of apartheid in action. On one side of a road a group of black children dressed in rags play soccer on a dusty and barren plot of land, while directly across the street a team of white kids are practicing rugby on a beautifully manicured field, all dressed to the nines in flashy uniforms.

            In Eastwood and Freeman’s hands, Mandela is treated as a human being rather then a deity. He is a “man with man’s problems” as one character says in the film. He works too hard, he can be single minded, but he is still a great man because great men, like all of us have their faults.

            For Freeman, this is the role that he was born to play, which is nothing to shake a stick at considering the shear volume of unforgettable parts he’s played throughout his career. Going further then just appearances or recreating a voice, Freeman manages to exude the grace and dignity of the man he portrays.

            Damon holds his own opposite Freeman, as a man caught up in something much larger then himself. Each actor immerses themselves in their respective characters to the point where it becomes easy to forget that you are watching two of the biggest performers in Hollywood.   

            With each movie that he makes, Damon is becoming more and more of a chameleon. For last year’s role in “The Informant!” he packed on the pounds and grew a sweet moustache. For “Invictus” he lost the belly and the ‘stache and replaced them with a whole lot of muscle and an even sweeter South African accent. The trade-off is more then acceptable.

            The only downside to the film? Well at the end of the day, “Invictus” is a sports movie and if you’ve seen one sports movie, you’ve basically seen them all. Underdog team up against the world. In this case that last part is actually true, not the cliché that so many athletes are fond of throwing around. I mean, it is called the “World Cup,” after all.   At times it seems that the only things keeping “Invictus” from turning into “Any Given Rugby Match” are the top notch performances by Freeman and Damon and Eastwood’s fantastic directorial eye. 

            Another problem is the matches themselves. Now, I know nothing of rugby, so I won’t even pretend to try and criticize the film’s depiction of the game. As far as I can tell, it is essentially football with a bigger ball, no pads and a sprinkling of “American Gladiators.”

            My grudge with the matches is the crowd. Yeah, that’s right here comes the nitpicking. Now I’m not new. I know that Eastwood and company aren’t going to hire 60,000 extras to fill up the arena, but did they have to crib their crowd graphics straight from “FIFA 10?” Every time the stands were shown, I instinctively groped for the start button on my imaginary controller to move things along and get back to the action. I’m sure that Clint Eastwood doesn’t spend a ton of his free time dabbling in sports videogames, but for those of us who do, the crowd shots are absolutely painful.

            “Invictus” runs a comparatively brisk 134 minutes but somehow still manages to drag in certain places. This is especially true during the last act when the genre clichés are on full display.

            If you see one movie about apartheid this year, make it “District 9,” Neill Blomkamp’s stellar sci-fi blockbuster about segregated aliens. If you are in the mood for a more history book friendly approach to the topic— as if somehow aliens aren’t historically accurate— then “Invictus” is the movie for you. Outstanding performances and an iconic director almost manage to fully make up for a slow and at times generic storyline.

            And of course the shoddy FX.

Verdict: B  

THE ‘LOST’ EPISODE OF THE DAY

The episode: Raised By Another

Original Airdate: December 1, 2004

Written By: Lynne E. Litt

Directed By: Marita Grabiak

Content: After experiencing terrifying nightmares two days in a row, Claire begins to think that someone is trying to hurt her baby. In response, Hurley decides to start a census of all the survivors. Flashbacks in this episode focus on Claire’s struggle with accepting the fact that she has to raise her unborn child herself.

Why It’s Worth Re-Watching: This space isn’t going to be about why the episode is worth re-watching as much as it’ll be a space I use to share some thoughts about Claire. The recent Lost Supper promo picture has people’s minds in a tizzy. It’s now the backround of my laptop so I spend a good amount of time looking at the picture. Claire is the most fascinating of the whole picture. Forget about the other characters present. It’s all about Claire. Doc Jensen of EW.com noted that Claire’s the only character whose shirt is not visible. Furthermore, I add, she is the only one who is completely covered. Doc Jensen suggests Claire is one of the major mysteries of season six. I agree wholeheartedely. She hasn’t been seen since “Cabin Fever” in season four. Miles offered veiled morbid opinions about her condition, telling no one in particular that she could very well be dead or dying or who knows. Remember, she was in the house Keamy blew up. Soon after that, Christian visits her by the fire and she leaves with him, leaving Aaron in a tree.

Naturally, the teaser of “Raised By Another” takes on a grander kind of significance with five seasons completed. Here is that teaser:

I’m aware of the context of this scene. I know I’ve written about my disdain for theories and this entry might turn into a semi-theory. Contextually, the teaser sets up the central story of the episode. Claire desires to give her baby up for adoption in the flashback but Malkin, the psychic, states that only Claire can raise the child, that Claire’s goodness is essential to Aaron. So a very eerie looking Locke tells her she gave him away and now everyone pays the price as he draws psychic cards from a deck.

However, with what we know now, the scene takes on new significance. John Locke is no longer John Locke. Symbolically speaking, Locke’s right eye is black, his left white. Of course one thinks about Jacob and Not Locke! And one can infer, based on Christian’s interactions with Locke and the insistence that Locke had to die when it appears that Locke did not have to die at all and that he was simply being used, Christian is not a friend of Jacob. Also, Christian used to hang in the Cabin. The Man in Black could very well be every one of the Walking Dead but that’s no concern of mine. Remember, I have a bad relationship with the theory world.

Anywho, this episode sets up the essential relationship that is Claire and Aaron. I remember when I realized Claire would not be getting on the helicopter with Aaron, I began yelling to no one in particular that Claire and Aaron are supposed to be together. Heck I haven’t stopped yelling about that since that 2008 episode in which Claire disappeared. Even Kate suffered in the rankings for assuming the role of mother in Aaron’s life. This episode made such a believer out of me in Claire’s importance to Aaron that I in no way bought what Malkin tried to sell, a year and a half later in tv audience time, to Eko in season two’s episode “?” about him not being a real psychic because this man was convinced AND possessed about making sure Claire alone raised the child. I fully believe Malkin knew Oceanic 815 would crash on that Island. Yes, I am aware this is only a fictional television show. Re-watching this episode will only pique even more interest in Claire and Aaron’s story.

As for the rest of the episode, Hurley has the idea to figure out who is who in the Island and goes about a census. There’s a fantastic exchance between Hurley and Locke and Shannon utters the famous “rape caves” line. Jack doesn’t believe that Claire is actually being attacked. I wonder if he’d be more sympathetic to her if he knew then that he was Claire’s brother. Charlie sort of tells Claire about his feelings for her to which she doesn’t react well but, by episode end, they are friends and she does trust Charlie. And, of course, we find out Ethan is part of The Others in one of my favorite moments of LOST. I remember flipping out doubly because I would miss the next episode due to a school retreat. Oh, LOST. What a show.

Overall, Claire’s story in this episode is as potent as it was that magical wednesday December 1 night in 2004. I re-watched it last week and it still had my mind going about the stuff I brought up above. Emilie de Ravin is superb in this episode. It’s her best episode of LOST. The writer and director of this episode (Lynne E. Litt and Marita Grabiak) are no longer with the show but both did a masterful job with the episode as did the entire crew of LOST.

Suffice to say, Claire’s story is one of my Most Anticipated as the days dwindle until season six begins. As always, here in The Foot, I try to go back in order to (sort of) look forward. I wrote an entry on Par Avion a few months ago and spent some time discussing Maternity Leave in my Whatever Happened, Happened recap so there’s plenty of Claire thoughts in The Foot.

LOST Rewind: Season Five

What a poster. I want to marry it.

As I think I wrote yesterday, seasons three and four unfortunately do not get a rewind. But if you search through the Jacob’s Foot archives, you’ll surely find season three and season four finale re-posts that do both seasons justice. Plus, there’s that whole entry in which I compare seasons of LOST to Mars Volta albums. But anywho, it is time to finally to do the ultimate recap to season five of the show.

I’m a big fan of season five. LOST fandom seems to be split about this season. Some have it ranked highly and others have it ranked just above the second season. The season doesn’t kick into full gear until the sixth episode, “316.” The first five episodes contain a massive amount of set-up for the rest of the season. Ms. Hawking insists the emotional and physical circumstances of Oceanic 815 must be re-created. Since they are only half re-created, the Oceanic 6 get separated by 30 years of time. This is confirmed by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse on the LOST special “A Journey Through Time.” The left behind Losties are foreshadowed to be in Dharma in the teaser of season five, the rules are established and established and established for time travel so the characters can later test the theory of whatever happened, happened, Faraday discovers Jughead and tells Ellie that her people need to bury it, the Aaron stuff with Kate prepares us for Whatever Happened, Happened, and etc etc. Once time stabilizes, the meat of the story takes place.

As the season aired, I always wanted more 2007 stuff. I enjoyed the happenings in Dharmaville but the 2007 stuff fascinated me. I then realized after rewatches that the 2007 story was/is a sort of set-up for what’s to come which furthers my thought that there will be no time reboot. Dharma is the central story of the season. It’s basically complete and will be complete once season six unwinds from that cliffhanger. 2007 just gets started in “The Incident.” In “Dead Is Dead,” Ilana and Bram prepare to move the box with Locke’s body in it. Ben asks what’s in the box and they say nothing. It’s a small moment but it’s something I should’ve been all over in my recap. Oh well. In “The Incident,” a ton of things happen in 2007. We discover Locke is not Locke, Jacob’s murdered, Ilana becomes very, very important, etc etc. The story just STARTS! It’s so damn cool!

Well, by now the rewind dealy is pretty clear. It’s more of a list thing than it is long-winded paragraphs. Oh, the long-winded entries are coming again but not in this entry. There’s a good chance my final thoughts on the season will be long-winded. I’m changing a few things with this rewind. There will be no episodes you need to watch list because the whole season should be rewatched. Actually, that’s all for the changes. In lieu of that will be my top 7 favorite episodes of the season.

JACOB’S FOOT FAVORITE EPISODES OF SEASON FIVE IN DESCENDING ORDER!

7. The Variable–The show’s 100th episode does not disappoint. Faraday returns from Ann Arbor to tell our losties that everything he has said about time travel might be true because they themselves are the variables. We also find out Faraday’s mother knew she killed her son all of her life and her son’s death takes place in this very episode.

6. The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham–A journey with noble intentions ends only with John Locke’s death. But he does send Jack into suicide beard mode.

5. 316–Lindelof and Cuse knocked it out of the park in back-to-back episodes. They wrote this gem and they wrote the Bentham episode. The scene between Ben and Jack as they look as The Incredulity of St. Thomas is remarkable.

4. Jughead–Occupied the 1 spot for quite a bit of time during the season. I love Young Ellie, loved the Jughead stuff, the Desmond stuff is fantastic (especially Des finally having the upper hand on Chucky Widmore). Faraday’s such a badass in this episode. It’s great. Oh, Jughead. What an awesome episode. And the bomb plays such a large role by season’s end.

3. Dead Is Dead–In my recap I wrote, “this is one of the most important episodes” in the series. I didn’t know why then and feel vindicated after that reveal in “The Incident.” I think more light will be shed on the events in this episode in the final season. One of the best scenes in the episode is when Ben tells Sun that he’s seen a lot of wonderful things happen on The Island but dead is dead. Little did we know that Ben spoke the truth on that porch.

2. He’s Our You–Sayid’s best episode of the series. This is an example of what makes LOST so good. An extremely gripping and moving character story. The ending always manages to stir some strong emotion as well.

1. The Incident–A finale that basically tops the immense finale that is season three’s Through The Looking Glass. I wrote 4,000+ words on it. I haven’t stopped thinking about since the season ended. Jack and Sawyer have a fight that was five seasons in the making, Bernard and Rose have one of the most touching scenes in LOST, there’s the jaw-dropping reveal of Locke, the Ilana stuff. It’s terrific.

THE SEASON FIVE MOST VALUABLE CHARACTER AWARD!

Yes, indeedy. Who will be the five MVC candidates? Continue reading to find out:

John Locke: Saves Juliet and Sawyer from the 1950s version of The Others, Refuses to shoot one of The Others because he is now their leader, Finds The Others camp proving that he knows the better Island than one Charles Widmore, tells Richard to see Locke two years in the future when he is born, Seeks to Know what he must do to stop the Flashes, Is Willing to Die if it means saving his friends, leaves the Island but before doing that STOPS the time jumps with a broken leg and absolutely no help at all from Christian but saves his friends regardless by stopping the time jumps, returns to real world, Visits Walt and acknowledges his existence, attempts to get all of the Oceanic 6 to return but that doesn’t work out for him, AND manages to make a believer of Jack. Unfortunately, the man is murdered by Ben and the Man in Black seemingly hijacks his identity so the John Locke credentials here since the real John Locke falls out of the crate dead.

Sawyer: Becomes the leader of the Left Behinders, comforts Rose and Bernard, makes fun of Frogurt, is very proactive during the initial stages of the time jumps, wants to go to the Hatch for supplies, shows emotion about the freighter explosion because he thinks everyone he cares about just blew up with the boat, rescues Juliet from the flaming arrows, makes sure Faraday isn’t killed by Young Ellie the Other, witnesseses the birth of Aaron but chooses to not interfere with the past (nor does this experience make him wonder ‘oh we should try to find Claire’ but I hold no grudge), protects his friends with the help of Juliet when they are being shot at while using the Outrigger canoes, Becomes LaFleur once they are in the mid-70s, saves Amy from The Others, works out things with Richard so the truce isn’t broken, convinces Juliet to stay with him in hopes Locke (but for Sawyer probably Kate) returns, helps Horace after he’s found throwing dynamite and drinking alcohol, becomes the head of security for Dharma, manages to seamlessly integrate Kate, Jack, and Hurley into Dharma when they return via Ajira, tries to help Sayid as much as possible when Sayid is mistakenly identified as a Hostile, helps Kate bring Young Ben to The Others so that he can be saved, tries to cover up taking Ben to The Others, is forced to bound and gag Phil because Phil saw the videos, suggests either leaving via sub or hiding in the jungle when discussing with the group how to save their asses, Is Eventually found out and Gives up the information in exchange for a trip off the Island with Juliet, Wants to stop Jack from detonating a hydrogen bomb, gets into a brutal fist fight with Jack, does not achieve his goal of stopping Jack, Tries with all his strength to save Juliet after she’s pulled into the hole but can’t pull her out.

Daniel Faraday: Is the only character able to explain the time flashes, the rules, etc. Tries to save Charlotte but cannot, is able to contact Desmond in the past so present Desmond can help them, Tells The Others to bury Jughead after informing Ellie to fill the crack with lead, Stays with Charlotte as Locke and the others make their way to The Orchid, Leaves The Island for 3 years to study in Ann Arbor, Returns and tells everyone that whatever think the rules are and was supposed to happen are wrong, informs Dr. Chang of the impending incident referencing the pocket of electromagnetic energy of his group and advises Chang to evacuate The Island, wants to meet with The Others, on the way tells Jack that his entire view changed on whatever happened happened and that people can change the past and that he plans to detonate a hydrogen bomb to prevent The Incident from happening so Oceanic 815 lands safely at LAX and the freighter would have never went to The Island, is murdered by his own mother.

Juliet: Figured out anything she and the others had with them would travel with them through time which is why Sawyer never lets go of the rifle, Suggests using the Zodiac to find shipping lanes, has Sawyer’s back throughout the entirety of the season, tries to aid in Charlotte’s recovery, translates the latin Charles Widmore and his Other friend are speaking in because, as she explains, Latin is the language of the enlightened and, therefore, the language The Others prefer, Becomes part of the motor pool in Dharmaville, delivers Amy’s baby, is able to get Kate’s name on the manifest before Phil finds out she’s not meant to be there, does as much as she can to save Young Ben’s life because he’s just a kid and not the man he’ll eventually be, has the idea to bring Ben to The Others so that his life can be saved, takes control on the sub in order to go back to The Island, is pulled down to the bottom of the well, finds Jughead undetonated, grabs a rock and bashes it 8 times as she yells ‘come on you son of a bitch’ until all goes white.

Frank Lapidus: Is the pilot of Ajira Flight 316, lands that aircraft safely on Alcatrez Island after expering major and tremendous turbulence, makes sure Sun and the people on the flight were safe and taken care of, accompanies Sun to New Otherton where they meet Christian and find that the other members of the Oceanic 6 are in ‘77 and members of the Dharma Initiative, tries to figure out what the heck Ilana and Bram are up to, follows them around as they burn the cabin and search for someone who can answer their question posed in latin, is the first of our beloved characters to see the dead body of John Locke.

THE SEASON FIVE MVC AWARD GOES TO…John Locke. If he didn’t fix that frozen donkey wheel, all of the left behinders would’ve died. Here’s the order:

2. Sawyer

3. Faraday

4. Juliet

5. Frank Lapidus

FINAL THOUGHTS

As I wrote earleir, fans are split with this season. I enjoyed the season thoroughly. Where would I place it with the other seasons? Good question. I won’t answer that.

Damon and Carlton, in a recent interview, stated that they wanted fans to be thinking about the implications of detonating jughead as well as about Jacob and his “friend” but Damon makes it a point to tell the interviewer that mythology will remain secondary to the characters and that the mythology has been a device to explore and know these characters. With that in mind, my final thoughts concern only the characters and their respective arcs.

Time-travel allowed the show to do many things. What I’ve been thinking about lately, in regards to using time travel as a narrative device, is the theme of regret and reflection. This theme dominates the season when you think about it. “The Little Prince” brings the characters to 2004 on the night Boone dies and Aaron is born. As the characters walk in the jungle, Locke can be heard banging on the Hatch. Later, Locke reflects on that moment with Sawyer and he tells Sawyer that he needed that pain. Sawyer then chooses to not approach Kate when he sees her delivering Aaron. These two moments are sort of a microcosm of some of the things I think the writers wanted to accomplish this season. One is reminded of each character’s arc during this season, where they’ve been, where they are, where they might go.

Damon and Carlton said these characters are connected in ways they don’t even know yet on the recap that aired before the finale of season five aired so I think the big part of this season, in the midst of a tremendous amount of mythology, is to set the audience up for the final chapter of these characters.

There were tremendous character moments in this season like Sayid’s struggle with his own selfhood, Kate’s decision to go back to the Island to find CLAIRE. Ben’s own arc is refreshed in our minds: his abusive childhood, the pain he felt over losing his daughter, his love for the Island, etc. There’s Juliet FINALLY delivering a child successfully on the Island, Sawyer embracing his potential, Jack willing to believe, Jin sacrificing his wedding ring as a means to keep Sun away from the Island for her own safety, Sun desperately trying to find Jin, Miles reconciles his issues with his father, Desmond still doesn’t want to go back to the Island but he travels to Oxford and then Los Angeles because he thinks he is helping his friends. Terrific character moments abound in season five.

Overall, I think the character arcs and mythology blend together very well as per the usual with LOST. They did a lot of bold, inventive things with the narrative, the structure, etc. I enjoy season five immensely. Do re-watch the season before season six begins.