Long Ball

Long Ball was a mixture of intrigue, crazy death and humor. Just when I thought I had the crime figured out...turns out I was way wrong. Lots of golf humor which I didnt necessarily get. More of the old rich person scene. Also while I was waiting for a Tiger Woods joke....one never came. haha.

The Case: There was only one murder in this episode which meant there wasnt as much confusion. Also with the one case, it allowed the murder story to fully develop and truly take on a more mysterious form. Russell used to be an old pro, one who was more devoted to the game than to a family or any other hobbies. Like any pro, over time he lost his magic. When his son Danny became playing it served as a window back into his old life. So as he became more and more suspicious after a surprise win for Danny, broke old records his world came crashing apart. Allegations of cheating by the father took a harsher turn when he had lost a bet against his son. However unbeknownest to the son, a sex machine laser technician (which is an odd title) had increased the hardness in the center of the ball making it more lightweight so it would ultimately travel farther. At a banquet father challenges son, to meet him at dark, in the closed off teaching station. When Danny shows, Russell challenges him to a tee-off proving that the balls were "messed with". In his perfect plan Russell expected Danny to confess to the judges and to his father, after he stormed off denying it, Russell threw a fit of epic proportions. Somehow in his fit he managed to break the head of the golf club and lodges it straight in his jugular artery. Live by the Game, Die by the Game.

The Characters: The characters kind of had a chance to breath from last episodes major case tycoon in Long Ball. Though they had no primary crime scene at first, No need to fear David Hodges is here! Boring music that was perfect played in the background of the montage grass sampling trace extravanganza. Matter of factly speaking the music in this episode was a mixture of rock and retro....definately crime scene music. Ray made a jab at himself for being obsessive which in turn led to his discussion of dropping golf for forensics. Which in my book is a major step up. I wonder what Ray has? It seems a little more severe than just your plain old case of OCD. Nick and Ray work really really well together, maybe its the common knowledge of golf? Anywho, there was a ton of Hodges in this episode. From the very attractive light magnifying goggles to the defense of his pride. That was very well put from both Catherine's end and his. Catherine by the way is what I think to be a very efficient leader. Sara made some cute little quips this episode regarding the complete blah related to golf. Other than that the mystery played the biggest role along with small golf chatter here and there which was very entertaining!

Favorite Parts of the Episode!:

Montage Grass Scene: David Hodges at his most boring work moment. hilarious.

Ray Obsessive: More interesting plot twists!

Death by the Game: Perfect example of ironySara: She said everything about golf that was on my mind...boring and dull.

Nick and Langston: Budding bromance?

Up in the Air

Maybe it's just the way Up in the Air was filmed but I am now under the belief that the airport is the loneliest place in the world. During the opening as we see the bird's eye view from the plane window flying is distant. Flying is a hassle. Maybe its the uncomfortable plush seats or the fact that there is almost a impossible measures required to pass security. So for someone who has mastered this complicated dance that is the airport, you know their condition is less than perfect. George Clooney's character flies so many flights in one year for his soul-killing job to fire people. Several montages occur showing Clooney firing people of a broad spectrum, those who go crazy and those who silently think of suicide. It's a nasty business. The raw emotion felt by these people who feel like assets to the company compared to the surprising coolness of Clooney shows us the disconnect he has to the outside world. His world contains one suitcase, one suit, a plush seat and frequent flier miles out the wazoo. Its a confined space designed for one to get from here to there but his character doesnt stay long enough in one place to get anywhere. He is a constant road map, endless and complicated. During a stop in a bar he meets Vera Farmiga's character. Their relationship buds out of an insatiable lust for power. While at first it starts as a fling, Clooney eventually falls hard for her. Only to be broken and rendered irreparable. Thats the thing towards the end, he tries to find some means of a life and ends up the same lonely person we saw at the beginning.
The introduction of video-conferencing as the new method of firing people, thought up by the young business woman played by Anna Kendrick, threatens clooney's existance. There would be no more flights, and he would be forced to return to his extremely white apartment which lacks any character. After a flight trip to show Anna's character Natalie the ropes, the world comes crashing down around Clooney. His sisters wedding allows him the chance to re-connect with old family, who either dont remember him or just disregard him. When he expresses interest in walking his sister down the aisle he comes to find out that the fiancee's uncle will already be doing it. Plus when he wishes to experience true companionship with Vera Farmiga, he learns of her family and her exploits to use him for a good time. One of the final scenes is him looking upon a giant posterboard filled with pictures of the cardboard cut-out couple (His sister) all around the world. The look on his face says it all. Its not where you have been but who you have been there with. Which in his case would be no one, and for the rest of his life....no one. Loneliness catches up to him at the resolution of the movie painting the picture of the lack of soul in the careers chosen everyday.

Crazy Heart

Jeff Bridges played a washed up country star named "Bad Blake" in a movie with a similar story to the Wrestler. As an alcoholic and a chain smoker Bad is like a bad habit. After playing in a Bowling Alley we know that his life is at a dead end. A creative void. The most important aspect of music being the connection between the singer and the soul had been dead for years. Bad Blake goes through his life like a distant out of body observer. With the mysterious alter ego and the constant haze he faces life with (or maybe that was just the booze), we see into the soul of a dead man walking. Relationships have come and went but ultimately they go faster than they seem to come. Later in a glimpse of an instant, Bad seems to want to reach out to a person of his past, his son who quickly shuts off from any contact. When Bad then painfully admit to Janie played by Maggie Gyhennal what has happened, he explains quickly that he wasnt there. For most of the movie it appears he isnt there. The camera pans away to show a dismal glimpse of a life torn beaten down from stardom. The only thing left for him is a bottle of whiskey and small bars with the last remaining dedicated fans. We get the sense that Bad Blake is a shadow of what he used to be drifting in and out, with his tight pants and cowboy hat. His relationship with the writer embodies nothing as he tries to see her when he isnt on tour. While drinking one day, he loses her young son in a mall. Bad has lost it, everything his career, his old relationships and he remains crazily running/limping around to find it. At the end he almost does with a new song and a sober life, but Blake lost too much to his addiction, even the song reflects that. "The Weary Kind" refers to the lonely and broken spirited who flit through life like phantoms of their previous selves and thats what Bad Blake or Otus does till the end.

Golden Globes: Hits and Misses

Overall I would grade the Golden Globes with a B- for several reasons. It was obvious that this time around, the awards would be hipper so to speak. I mean I thought the Hangover was a good movie but golden globe worthy?



Hits:



Jeff Bridges!!!!!!!!!!! I am so glad he won for Crazy Heart. Which is the movie to see this January by the way. Plus he has been shut-out from too many amazing parts.



Mo'Nique. Not only was her speech adorable but her role in Precious is a must see. The horrible abusive mother she played reminds me nothing of her-and thats the definition of good acting.



Robert Downey Jr. Speech-Best of the night and hottest of the night.



Christoph Waltz-the Jew Hunter was well deserving of the award.



The music playing to get people to shut up: made me laugh everytime



Awkward shots of Harrison Ford's smile: Creepy or Brilliant?



Jason Reitman: Finally some recognition for the genius director of Juno and Up in the Air



Toni Collette: Funniest show around now-a-days is USA of Tara. Written by Diablo Cody.



Misses:



Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side: There was just something missing for me from her performances. Im happy for her and she is deserving of it. Just not as much as her other category members. I mean Gabourney Sidibe!?



No love for 500 Day's of Summer?????



Julianna Margulies from the Good Wife? That was such a surprise and it really didnt seem to fit her.



True Blood not winning anything along with House.....WHAT!



Ricky Gervais: Not funny...kinda mean and he didnt take well with the audience.



Martin Scorcese makes love to film?!: Weirdest joke ever. Thanks DeNiro.



The Hangover: Doesn't seem deserving of a Golden Globe. Maybe its just me.

CSI: Sin City Blue's

The return of CSI after a month holiday break, was jam packed with cases. It was amazing how they even had time for everyone to have lines in that one episode. (Ahem Hodges got only about one line) However they made up for it with a keeps you guessing plotline and interesting forensic technique, the things the show were originally based on. Oh and surprisingly the crimes didnt end up mysteriously connecting this week....haha.

The Case: The Dr. Jekyl storyline unfolded more this week when the body of a young latino boy was found in a dumpster along with several organs. For a second after the organs and the trash runner boy led Langston/Nick back to the low budget pharmacy Dr. Jekyl looked closer than anyone thought. The doctor was introduced among bone-chilling music and a less than appealing scenery. Only thing that was missing from that seemingly obvious picture was a blood soaked jacket and an operating table. While investigating a backroom the CSI's discover blood in the crack between the tiles covered with new cement, the doctors secret operating room comes under new light. Langston is positive that this doctor who is working he claims to protect his people from the horrors of health care, is Dr. Jekyl. Later though the whole case came out to be just a medical mistake for a man who isnt used to making them. This whole story did reflect the nasty side to health care based on the fact that it doesnt apply to all of those who may be sick or dying while still trying to make an honest living. While all of this was going on in a one hour procedural drama, another case of two gorgeous women dying in a las vegas hotel took Greg and Catherine by surprise. Maybe because one of these women was found in a box spring mattress and the other half naked in the hallway. One of the things about this case was the odd career of the actuary....what is an actuary? There was one in the beginning of the episode and the one at the end who ended up killing both of the pretty ladies for running a costly scam on him. Crazily this actuary actually tried to justify murder of human beings (As catherine pointed out) by spouting statistics. Along with being the weirdest this case, had the coolest forensic technique. Literally at one point Catherine painted the first victim a dark blue color after she was put in some kind of makeshift oven. I have no idea what it did...even now but that doesnt mean it wasnt awesome. Also somehow with perfect calculation Greg and Catherine sawed into a wall and through a pipe to find a sparkly dress that was flushed by the head actuary hancho. Which by the way seems like impossible to do and costly for the crime lab as well. As far as the whole variety of cases last night.....it left me a little overwhelmed as you can tell by the whole story Ive written right here.

The Characters: There are episodes every season of three kinds. The first kind is one where the characters take reign with possibly a comedic storyline in play in the background. The second is one where the case demands all of the time with only the occasional character line and the third is of the lab rat variety haha. There is not much to report on character wise on this episode being that it is of the second kind variety. However when Wendy asks that Ray give her a sample of his DNA to exclude it from a sample taken, he turns almost hostile. Of course its fair to assume that something can be determined from his family on AFIS or his genetic anger problem. Though Wendy is such a sweetheart she stands there looking so dumbfounded afterward. No doubt (prediction alert) that the very situation will go in a report only of something to be discovered by someone later. Plus in the last couple of episodes Nick has had the cool line that happens right before the theme song. Which is pretty cool considering he goes easy on the cheese factor cough Horatio Caine cough could learn a thing or two....or a million. While there wasnt much of my favorite lab tech at all, Wendy my second fav had an amazing episode where I first saw the rest of the teams relations with her (im used to just seeing the wedges relation.) This is good news for her character who we dont see enough of. Other than these things there really wasnt much happening as far as characters go.

Favorite Parts of the Episode:

Nicks Line!: Dr. Frankenstein had Igor maybe Dr. Jekyl has this guy. hahaha epic.

Ray Flipping out: Interesting character plot twist!

Health Care mention: Is an episode of CSI what some people need to see, to convince them that health care reform may be a necessary evil?

Blue Person Technique: I have no idea what that did me and my bro were too busy exchanging smurf and avatar jokes.

Actuaries: Being an analytical a-hole is a profession? apparently so.

Dress in Pipe: Impossible or just a writers last resort. I mean who puts shoes in a vent?

Wendy: Im glad we see more of her now.

Revolutionary Road

Death by mutant mono culure seems entirely relevant after seeing this 50's drama. Filled with over the top dreams in a limited culture and the lives that it destroys. Happiness comes and goes but never seems to last long enough. Most of it is empty. The neighbor relations, The affairs and the marriages. Overall there is barely a happy moment, unless the short time where outrageous things are promised in a desperate attempt to regain happiness lost. Leonardo DiCaprio is perfect as a lost and miserable husband. He has the job that slowly rots away his soul, while providing for a family of two and a fairly decent residence. While Kate Winslet plays the miserable wife who stays at home feeling like a prisoner to life. Both of them are searching for release, a better life yet the destination is never met. The plan unfolds at first with promise. Paris......the center of creativity and love in the whole world. A new beginning with their two children. When reality sets in the downward spiral is too much for the young couple to handle. The situation deteroriates so quickly. Plans of Paris become more and more bleak. With Leo DiCaprio not promised an outright job and the unexpected third pregnancy the almost happy mood is crushed like a bug. Kathy Bates makes an excellent cameo as the gossip queen who judges everyone but herself and her failed marriage. This movie paints a picture of unhappiness, there isnt anyone who seems happy in their relationships or with their children. The moral of the story definately would be, life doesnt follow the restrictions supposededly placed on it by society nor does the truth of emotion ever falter.

New Years Resolutions-POP CULTURE STYLE!

Gah there are so many of these resolutions but i am sorta considering myself in training for the hope of centering my entire career nay my life on pop culture.

1. I need to watch more TV even if it means computer time. Such shows that I must watch include The Big Bang Theory, Dexter, Modern Family, Glee, Arrested Development, 3rd Rock From the Sun, Lost, American Idol, Old Star Trek (William Shatner!), South Park, Jersey Shore, Flight of the Conchords, The Sopranos, Sex and the City, The Office, 30 Rock, Big Love and Desperate Housewives

2. Write more on my blog not only my reviews but more articles in general. About scandal in pop culture or trends. Plus up and coming movie or TV stars like in entertainment weekly.

3. Work on my screenplay for the movie i really want to write.

4. Tweet more. get more followers somehow i guess.

5. Read Writing on Both Sides of the Brain to overall improve my writing skills making it easier to write my reviews in less time.

6. Write reviews of more shows than just the three major awesome ones. CSI, House and True Blood.

7. Collect more pop culture items to totally reinvent my room with the touch of geek awesomeness i need. starting with my birthday its on. I will collect nerdy items! I already have a hamburger phone and now a case of true blood.

8. Collect my favorite movie posters to decorate my room. Maybe like an old retro movie theater.

9. Grow my movie collection so it has more substance and I can have my favs at my grasp 24/7

10. Watch more movies....widening my range also keeps my trivial skills in check. I mean every movie. See every possible movie I can. Like I mean never say no if someone asks me to see a movie with them. Any movie any time. I may be crazy but there is something to gain from every cinematic or couch movie experience. I will even settle for a movie that I actually literally am sure of is terrible ick I will watch. Even if it is the worst movie I have ever seen...after I watch it I will write about it maybe.

11. I am going to write so much this year about everything....so much so that people beg me to stop pestering them with my constant writing.

12. Read more books on the history and changes in pop culture. especially since my senior thesis is on the subject. Mainly the topic will be the changes it has on society.