Friday, February 15, 2008

"Sorry, dude." LOST & SMALLVILLE - Reviewed!

What's up - hello again everyone and Happy Friday. One thing I need to say off the bat: I need more comments! I know there have to be those of you out there who share my enthusiasm for the Indy IV trailer, disagree with me in my support for Obama, or just have some theories you'd like to share about last night's episode of Lost. So, don't playa hate and don't hesitate - leave one!

So about last night's LOST ...

- Overall, this was another pretty riveting episode, continuing Season 4's streak of keeping me totally enthralled and on the edge of my seat. It's just amazing, watching Lost, how well-produced the show is. From the spot-on music cues to the wonderful acting across the board to the cinematic camera-work, Lost is simply heads and tails above and beyond most other TV dramas. I especially took not of this last night, where the Sayid-centric flash forwards really felt like scenes out of a big budget crime thriller. But about those flash-forwards, they told a pretty good story, set up an intriguing scenario of a post-island Sayid as a hitman-for-hire, and then delivered one hell of a twist, revealing that Sayid's employer was in fact ... (SPOILERS) ...

... Ben Linus ...

Damn, okay, didn't see that coming. I assumed it'd be one of the new big-bad characters or else Charles Widmore or someone. Very interesting indeed. As for the goings-on on the island in this ep, there was some good drama with Sayid vs. Locke and his crew. The Hurley red herring was especially surprising. However, I still feel a bit in the dark about why, exactly, some of these people would opt to follow Locke into the proverbial heart of darkness. Why not take your chances with Jack, and at least see for oneself if the rescuers harbored some secret ill-intent. I mean, strength in numbers, right? And I don't know, it still seems kind of hard to swallow that someone like Sawyer legitimately does NOT want to get off the island. Don't get me wrong, the current storylines are pretty gripping, but they are starting to feel just slightly manufactured. Hopefully, the next week or two will reveal that Sawyer, Claire, Hurley, and some of the others had a bit more to their decision to join Team Locke than meets the eye.

Some stuff I loved this ep: the interaction between Jack and the pilot guy - the line about the Red Sox was classic. Loved everything with Jeremy Davies performing his little experiments - I'm still amazed at how each of the four new characters is already proving to be pretty fascinating. This ep just crackled with great dialogue - Jack and Kate's little exchange about staying behind, the asshole-ish Miles and his indifference to anyone or anything, and Hurley's response to him "oh great, another Sawyer." Overall, Sayid's flash-forwards were pretty fascinating -- who are the people he's killing off, who do they work for, and why did he agree to work with Ben? And then the other big question - what is going on with the island with regards to its existence in space/time? Crazy stuff, dude.

So yeah, I still object to the sometimes iffy characterization, but in the end, LOST is simply on a roll right now.

My Grade: A -

- SMALLVILLE, last night, was ... really good?!?! Yeah, I'm as surprised as anyone, that, even though its plot was heavily tied-into this season's litany of semi-lame story developments, last night's ep brought them all together into one entertaining package. For once, Smallville had a serious, dramatic, and epic-feeling episode that really packed a punch. It didn't hurt that this one shone the spotlight on the Luthors, and gave both Lex and Lionel a real chance to develop as characters, helped by some great acting as well. I enjoyed Clark in Lex's mind, and his encounters with the young "Alexander" Luthor. I also enjoyed Chloe's role, as the show finally addressed her newfound abilities for the first time in a while. And finally - the flashback structure of the episode, taking a page from LOST, really worked well, a welcome change from the show's typical, uber-straightforward style. Slowly seeing how Lex secretly pursued a relationship with Kara made for some interesting reveals, and I'm actually curious to see where this storyline goes. So, bravo Smallville - keep it up.

My Grade: A -

Alright, the parents are in town this weekend, so I'm about to embark on three days of Baram family fun. Wish me luck ...

No comments:

Post a Comment