POP JUNKIES

guess who's back?
Due to the introduction of El-Boogie into our mix, movie watching around the Mizang household as been in precipitious decline but god bless Tivo for making sure that we still get our share of television in. Some thoughts on the current (or is it now last?) season:

Lost: I had my skepticisms about this show throughout the season but I have to say: it's been the most consistently entertaining show on network TV. I still think it flirts too close with X-Files or Twin Peaks-type mystique, creating more questions for each one it answers. J.J. Abrams' last show, Alias (see below) has tried to master that balance as well, with mixed results (though apparently, ratings are up on the show). I don't expect Season 2 to bring that much more resolution but so far, I'm more intrigued than annoyed. Verdict: Winner.

American Idol: Carrie won? WTF? Honey, Barbara Mandrell called - she wants her coif back. Am I the only one who finds it odd (if not disturbing) that at a time when Black music is undeniably kicking ass in terms of record sales and media exposure, three of out of the four finalists this year were Whiter than white? They didn't even have a blue-eye soulster in the mix at the end. Vonzell was robbed. Verdict: Loser.

The Amazing Race: I had heard early rumors that Uchenna and Joyce were going to win and it was satisfying 1) to see two people of color come out on top and 2) their come-from-behind win was impressive as well. Unlike most, I really enjoyed watching Rob and Amber - there's little doubt they were the reason this oft-ignored show had some of its best ratings in years. Rob's a bastard but he's a kick ass competitor and that's always fun. At the end though, Uchenna and Joyce won on luck and merit - maybe it's karma for a couple that worked for Enron and WorldCom respectively. Verdict: Winner.

The Shield: Wait - the season's almost over? What the hell? This has been a far superior season compared to last, both in terms of the overall story arc as well as character development. Shane and Vic's relationship provided the necessary focus to provide drama - something that I found lacking from last season's meanderings around the money train and what not. I still think Aceveda's character should have been written off two seasons ago. Likewise, after promising starts, Claudette and Wambaugh's characters have fizzled out. Glenn Close hasn't been as powerful a presence as you would have thought but she's a good (temporary) foil to Vic and his crew. Three more episodes after tonight - damn, that was a quick sesaon. Verdict: Winner.

Deadwood: For a strange reason, I haven't been able to get into this season muchl. I have all the shows recorded but I'm about a month behind in watching them. I think I've subconsciously come to the conclusion that Deadwood can be rather taxing to sit through, not because of the language or violence (we like those things) but plot-wise, there's too many threads to follow, especially when they get knotted up in one another. One could say the same thing about The Wire (aka "the best show on television") but there's a nice, slow meditative feel to how The Wire unfolds whereas Deadwood feels like it's pumping out adrenaline all the time. Verdict: Draw.

Law and Order: It's been fun to see Michael Imperioli do a 180 from his wise guy status on The Sopranos to being a cop on L&O. That said, it's all about the return of Chris Noth, vis-a-vis L&O: Criminal Intent in the fall. Forget Mr. Big - bring back Mike Logan (with Annabella Sciorra tapped to play his partner). Verdict: Winner.

Alias: This season and last, the show has felt listless and lacking in creative spark. Forget Rimbaldi: just because everyone read The DaVinci Code doesn't mean people still give a s--- about some other mystical/magical Italian inventor. And Nadia aka "the sister" is one of those characters you associate with shark-jumping, only further confirmed by the introduction of yet another Direvko sister. This said, the last three episodes of Alias were a saving grace, not only in bringing Lena Olin back to the show (Season 2, which featured her, was easily the best Season so far) but also in ending with a far more intriguing cliffhanger than that whole, "you've been missing for 2 years" nonsense that kicked off Season 3.

AT THE MOVIES

Gotta do this even though it's already been talked to death. S and I finally caught Revenge of the Sith. SOME SPOILERS (SORT OF)

1) Whoever said it was better than the original Star Wars was clearly puffing on the pipe. Maybe I don't remember this correctly, but EP IV didn't bore me to tears for everything but the last half hour. This movie wasn't even better than Return of the Jedi, Ewoks and all. This was better than EP I and II but that, of course, isn't saying anything at all.
2) "Where is Padme" = words that James Earl Jones should not be uttering. Include also within there, "Nooooooooo!!!", a reaction so corny, it makes all of William Shatner's overacting in Star Trek seem like DeNiro instead.
3) "Hold me like you did by the lake at Naboo." GTFOOH with that BS. This is destined to be one of the all-time worst movie lines. Ever.
4) Speaking of Natalie Portman, I feel for her. This must rank as one of the greatest wastes of talent ever. More to the point, in one of the balcony scenes, her skin looked terrible (her hairstyles weren't so hot either) and I thought to myself, "isn't this all in digital? Couldn't they have fix the lighting or something, wtf?"
5) Ewan McGregor is the only thing really watchable in the film and his, "you were my brother" speech at the end was one of the few pieces of dialogue that felt real.
6) Chewbacca's cameo was pointless and looking back, so was C3PO's and R2D2's. Their inclusion in EP I - III doesn't really bridge much at all. Seriously, who cares if Anakin built C3PO or that R2 originally belonged to Padme? What does this add to the narrative? Maybe they should have included the Han Solo cameo (rumored to be him as a young boy, being raised by Wookies - yeah, the mind reels). What more could they have had to lose?
7) As others have noted, the last five minutes of the film were very powerful - not because they're inherently great scenes but because they tap into the strong well of emotion and nostalgia we have for the original Star Wars. At least Lucas showed enough common sense to include that.

--O.W.