The new television season is upon us. I watched two shows this week and you'll see my comments below. I still have a few more shows that look promising so I'll review them in coming weeks.
Film: Lars and the Real Girl
As promised, here is my review of Lars and the Real Girl. It is awesome! This 2007 film is about a young, socially awkward man (Lars) who buys a sex doll and treats her like a real woman. The story is really about a man finding his place in life and the people around him who love him and help him to get there. When Bianca (the doll) is first introduced, you may cringe from the extreme awkwardness, but soon you will find yourself treating her like a real person. This movie is very sweet and everyone should rent it. Had Daniel Day-Lewis not been nominated for the Best Actor Oscar this last year, Ryan Gosling would certainly have won for his portrayal of Lars. This quirky romance will make you feel good about humanity and will make you wish you lived in a close-knit, small-town community.
Television 1: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chonicles (Mondays at 8)
I am so glad that Sarah, John, Cameron, and Derek are back in action. The season premiere was not as good as I had hoped but still very enjoyable. Cameron is not evil, thankfully. And they brought back the T-1000. How cool! Derek didn't get as much play time this episode as I would have liked. Detective Ellison looks like he's going to be an interesting character this year. Will he or won't he knowingly work for a Terminator? And, more importantly, can the second-generation Terminators learn how to love? Good questions asked but not answered this past week.
Television 2: Fringe (Tuesdays at 8)
I have to say that I'm not sure I'll make it through the whole season of Fringe but I enjoyed the first episode. First the likes. I actually like Joshua Jackson in the role Peter Bishop. I think the dynamics between Peter and his father will be an intrguing aspect of the show. His father's insanity, however, will get old fast if not done well. I also like the secretive aspect of Olivia's government bosses. That could get interesting. And of course J. J. Abrams knows how to spin a serialized yard. Now the concerns. This could prove to be an X-Files clone. I'm rather concerned about that. Bones works because it's something a bit different (no supernatural angles). Fringe, however, could easily become a Mulder/Scully, government-conspiracy, "the-truth-is-out-there," paranoia-fest. That would be bad. A less brilliant writer/director would fall into that trap. Abrams may be able to pull it off; time will tell and I'll certainly stick around for at least some of the ride.
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5 comments:
Lars, yes, yes, yes, and while its a cruel trick to either only post things I like or have never seen as to deny me my pleasure of registering my aesthetic outrage in this forum, I have to agree with you. The cringe-worthy moments only make this film more interesting. I also found this film to be compelling as a document of our times. After all, we work harder for less money. We do less for ourselves and certainly less for others. There was that rather fameous survey a few months ago saying that people have fewer good friends today than people did in previous eras. We are a culture that prides itself on individualism but we also forget that the downside of rugged individualism is isolation. Lars and the Real Girl is a compassionate tale of an individual who is alone, even when he is around others, and he takes an extreme measure to overcome this lonliness, but at the same time I find Lars to be utterly recognizable and his story familiar because of the times we live in.
I love Ryan Gosling (spelling?; who didn't love the Notebook? Need to rent Lars. Glad you liked it.
What?? No book review this week?
Since my trip this summer, I've been reading a lot of historical books lately -- the Birth of Venus, The Queen's Fool, etc.
What I enjoyed most about Lars was that everyone (no matter how uncomfortable they were in the beginning) treated Bianca as a real person so that Lars could deal with whatever it was he facing. People don't support each other like they should--especially when one is having some sort of crisis through which he/she needs to work. We always hope there's some "bloke in the Essex Road" who will take care of it for us so that we don't have to deal. Strangely enough, I was also reminded of another character who had mental illness (or did he?). Jimmy Stewart in Harvey convinced me (just as Lars did with Biana) that Harvey was a real bunny, and I loved Harvey by the end of the film...just as I loved Bianca. Like Harvey, she felt real to me, and I cared what happened to her. Ryan Gosling is most talented, and I'm looking forward to what he does next. If you get a chance, check out his film Half Nelson--if you haven't already. It's worth taking a look at because he stretches his acting chops once again.
I also liked the Fringe pilot. Not as good as the Alias or Lost pilots, but the show definitely has potential.
In terms of your concerns, J.J. Abrams has addressed the mythology issue in nearly every interview about Fringe. He has flat-out said that it won't be as complicated as the X-Files. He says he personally learned that lesson from the ridiculousness that became Alias in its later seasons. So I think Fringe may be OK since they're keeping that in mind from the start. Plus, the show may actually make it because it's on after House in the fall and American Idol (ick) in the spring.
The pilot was SO similar to Lost--the music, editing, shadowy powerful corporation--I expected that plane to be Oceanic Air! (And I keep thinking of Joshua Jackson as Pacey! It doesn't help that he's basically playing Pacey with a brain.)
Matt, I am very sorry to disappoint you! Perhaps one of these days I'll watch a terribly fun mainstream film and post about it.
I like that J. J. Abrams has already set up the bad guys. I think that will make the plot far less complicated in the end. It's sometimes good to know who's who at the beginning.
Last night's T: SCC was a bit disappointing. When are they going to do more with Uncle Derek? Does Sarah know that Derek knows about his brother and Sarah?
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