Lost Season 4 Finale

SPOILERS.

No time, so just a few things off the top of my head:

The phone call Kate received... Sounded like the person on the other end was speaking in reverse. I'll look forward to hearing that when some industrious young fan turns it around.

I don't think that was a visitation from Claire, just a dream. When she spoke, she spoke with Kate's voice.

I wonder if they tried to get Adewale back for a Mr Eko cameo... (Still, it was pretty effective as an empty chair.)

If we had seen into that coffin at the end of last season, I really don't think it would've been Locke in there. So I guess it's good we didn't see into that coffin at the end of last season!

Something tells me we won't be seeing much, if any, of the island until they get back... presumably at the end of next season. That'll be frustrating, given all the "bad things" that happened.

BTW, I thought Michael Emerson was seen in London, too, but he didn't appear in the scene with Sun and Widmore. Maybe he was watching... Should be interesting to see if Sun has truly joined forces with Widmore, or whether she's playing him. She certainly seemed on the up-and-up -- and she'd make a brilliant villain.

ETA: Oh, and that truly *was* "a kiss that stops time," as Cuse or Lindelof predicted. *sigh* Hope that's not the last we see of Des and Penny. (The Sawyer-Kate kiss was also pretty spectacular.)

You Go, BlindGuv!

ALBANY— Gov. David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada.

In a directive issued on May 14, the governor’s legal counsel, David Nocenti, instructed the agencies that gay couples married elsewhere “should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union.”

The revisions are most likely to involve as many as 1,300 statutes and regulations in New York governing everything from joint filing of income tax returns to transferring fishing licenses between spouses.

In a videotaped message given to gay community leaders at a dinner on May 17, Mr. Paterson described the move as “a strong step toward marriage equality.” And people on both sides of the issue said it moved the state closer to fully legalizing same-sex unions in this state.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Review

SPOILERS

One of my friends left in disgust about 15 minutes in. Can't say I blame her. The opening sequence positively SUCKED -- The brief glimpse of the Ark couldn't begin to salvage it.

I can't quite wrap my brain around where all the love is coming from -- both here and in the plentiful good reviews. I have to disagree with Rov's assessment, too -- The biggest spliff in the world would not have made this movie watchable, though maybe that explains why Harrison Ford seemed drugged throughout, especially in the first act.

Cate Blanchett and her henchmen were entirely unmenacing, and her accent was slip sliding all over the place--I'm surprised at her!

The FBI guys were far more effective heavies in their brief minutes on camera, and Indy coming up against the Red Scare raised the tantalizing possibility that the movie would go in an entirely different direction with regard to the baddies... which of course never materialized.

Poor Karen Allen was entirely unnecessary and there was simply NO spark between her and Harrison Ford. It just wasn't there, in the chemistry OR (to be fair) in the script. The wedding scene at the end was tacked on.

I did think Shia LaBouef was terrific -- though the whole, cloying "go back to school" theme was incredibly irritating (albeit not unexpected).

Once they escape from the Reds, it's one mad rush to the end, and the various set pieces (the jungle chase, the killer ants, the waterfalls, and finally, the hidden city) were fairly diverting, though really nothing special, especially by comparison to the previous films.

A while back, my buddy Zack posted the following to the Ex Isle message board:

Please no aliens, please no aliens, please no aliens.

SOL on that one, I'm afraid. My other friend (the one who *didn't* walk out) said I looked "devastated" when the flying saucer appeared.

I'm sure I did. Shoe-horning Indiana Jones into B sci-fi movie genre conventions of the 50s was just ill-conceived. They should not have made this movie. UGH.

Ah, Sue Simmons...

...you saucy wench.

Still, that's charming compared to you-know showing his true colors.

Iron Man

Loved it! While the superhero "origin story" format is becoming all-too-familiar, like a subgenre of its own, this is one of the best iterations I've seen... if not *the* best.

Downey Jr and Bridges elevate it to a whole 'nother level. Also liked Gwyneth Paltrow and the decision to do Jarvis as an AI rather than a butler... That let them give Pepper a lot more presence than she would've had otherwise, and it let the "you're all I have" line ring emotinoally true. It also let them put AI Jarvis in Tony's head while he's in the suit. Very clever.

I'm especially impressed that they added not just SHIELD, but also the Avengers (Initiative) wrinkle as well. Hope everyone stayed for the after-credits bit with Samuel L. Jackson -- who is as perfectly cast for Nick Fury as Downey Jr and Bridges were for Stark and Stane.

Marvel now seems intent on launching a full-scale feature film version of its universe, and they're using a much more streamlined, organic approach to world-building than Warners, which is doing a Justice League movie that exists in a separate film universe from both the Batman and Superman tentpoles... which are themselves separate from each other... Silly rabbit: take note! This is how it should be done.

On top of Nick Fury in this movie, Downey Jr has a cameo in the new Hulk movie. My guess is we'll see Stark recruit Banner for the Avengers. An Avengers movie could follow on that basis alone--with Downey Jr and Norton--if the plot centered on resurrecting Captain America.