lost in boston, lost in lost

it's the middle of yet another week (they sure do seem to just keep on coming, don't they?), and that means yet another post. how fucking lucky are we all?

well, let's get this party started. first off, xbox 360. yes, when will i ever stop talking about? a safe "guesstimate" would be never, since i still don't even fucking have the thing. so all this chat doesn't even begin to go in depth on the actual feelings/thoughts i'll have to express about my specific system and games. and boy will that rule.

chances are good though that you too do not have a 360 in your hands. chances are also good that anytime you ask any of the stores that should carry such an item if they will indeed be caring that item, you get laughed at, punched, kicked out, things like that. they'll go and tell you shit like they won't be gettins systems until january, february even. well now you can do the slapping cause those fuckers are liars. fucking liars. yesterday (i think, not entirely sure, but i'll say yesterday) microsoft decided to make official and let people know what many have been speculating for a little while now. xbox 360's will be out this week, and every following week from here on out. will you be able to walk in and pick up a sytem off the shelf anywhere you want? no, that probably won't be until january. but if you keep calling to find out if new systems came in that day, chances are good you'll be able to get your hands on your choice of system (and by that i mean the real/full system) sometime w/in the next few weeks. so keep on checking. but not if you're near me. i'll go ahead and let you know when it's ok for you to go in and pick yours up in the hartford area. for now just sit tight.

i saw rent last weekend, and i gotta say, i really don't know what to say about it. well, no, i know what to say about it, i just don't know what that means about my overall opinion of the film. it is...good, bad, right down the middle, great and awful, depending on what scene/cut/second you're watching. it's a real mixed bag, which is a shame. and if you're not a fan of the play (or of that kind of musical, or think you might be a fan if you've yet to see it), you'll probably think theres more bad than good, which i really couldn't argue w/. if you are a fan though, you'll most likely fall into the other side, w/ some even flat out loving it. in the end i could see it being easier to "hate" and more people hating it than people who "love" it. it's just, those who like it will like it, but i'm not sure too many of those will flat out love it.

let's get the bad out of the way. chris columbus is a fucking hack. this man's name should never have been mentioned while thinking of people to direct this film, let alone actually
allowing him to go ahead and direct it (the same can very much be said about the harry potter films as well, though we'll delve into my unknown hatred for columbus later). he takes source material that should have been treated in one of two ways, and decides that a third, far worse option if available to him. the two ways this movie could have gone would be to make it chicago style. setting it up as almost an incredibly elaborate stage version. something that strayed very little from the original style and format, but expanding in ways that film would allow to create for a richer experience. either that, or they could have stripped the singing entirely, using it (if at all) as an actual soundtrack played behind the film, and shot a movie that had characters and a story that is very deep, emotional and pretty important.

instead chris fucking columbus decides he's got a plan. he decides he's gonna make this a "musical." now before everyone gets all worked up and says, "but it is a musical, dick", let me finish. it is a movie musical. it is not the musical rent as seen on stage. the play is just crammed w/ emotion, which is amazing for what it is. the movie is what you would expect from a movie musical. it's cheesy as hell. that's the biggest complaint, and the easiest way to sum up the bad aspect of this movie. it's so incredibly fucking cheesy, in a way i do not remember the play being at all. as if that weren't enough, columbus seems to think that everyone watching the movie is a goddamn retard, and feels the need to blatantly spell things out for you. an example would be his love of cutting montages into songs for no fucking reason at all other than that he's a shitty director that can't capture what's actually happening, or should be happening, to the character at that time. he does this in "one song glory" and i swear to god if he were sitting next to me when i saw it, i would have punched him right out of his seat. he just flat out butchers most of the movie w/ his utter lack of skill. and what that does is just suck all the emotion and feeling out of scenes and songs. it's pretty fucking bad.

w/o dwelling on the bad, that pretty much sums it up. i could probably go on, but it'd just be more examples of the same. that's the bad though, and trust me, it's not all bad.

the one good thing columbus did do was to get the original cast together for this film. sure people (myself included) can point to their age and how they just don't really seem to fit the characters too well, but when the rest of the film ends up being worthlessly directed, you seem to care far less about how old the characters are. and man do they know their characters, as well they should, but it's just really fun to watch them be roger, or mark or maureen, etc...fun until chris columbus decides he's got some "ideas."

as if the original cast wasn't enough, you wouldn't believe that rosario dawson doesn't suck in this movie. it's by far her best work. that may have to do w/ how little actual acting and line reading she has to do, but it works for her. for a minute i was almost convinced she was hot too, but that's just another testament to how well she fits into this movie. her voice is so close to the original mimi as well, that at first i seriously didn't believe it was actually her singing. that was a real surprise that she wasn't sucking, so thanks to her for that (though not so much thanks for undoubtedly sucking in a movie i'm looking forward to more than rent).

and then there are the actual songs themselves, which, if they're not the number one reason you're there in the first place, i'm pretty sure you just got lost on the way in. and they are fantastic. as good as the original broadway soundtrack? eh, sometimes. sometimes better, sometimes not so much. but it really doesn't matter because it's just a great soundtrack w/ a great fucking cast of voices, that no matter how hard chris columbus tries to fuck up the singing (and trust me, he does), it's just not possible. in fact, the soundtrack to the movie is probably better than the movie itself. though i don't think you'd be picking up the movie soundtrack w/o being a fan of the play, and i'm sure i can't talk you out of seeing the film if you're a fan of the play, but that would be my advice. if you're interested.

p.s. idina menzel is a fucking standout in this movie. her voice is amazing, and possibly more prominent in this version than in the play, and she's a super fox. she's also funny when allowed to be, and i think that "take me or leave me" might be my favorite overall "scene" in the whole movie (which is odd beacuse it's not my favorite song). i think it could have been because that scene wasn't actually part of the play, so it seemed less odd overall. and it was might have been the funniest. it also helps that the other new chick, tracie thoms, has an insane voice as well (and she just "knocks it out the box" in seasons of love). i cannot imagine why idina isn't a more famous film actress, though my lady is quick to point out that maybe she just wants to do stage. ok, sure, but come on. she seems like she could so easily fit into romantic comedy, or an old school/wedding crashers comedy, or even action films. and she looks like jennifer garner and nelly furtado had a kid, which is apparently a-ok w/ me. that's one of those relationships where i don't know who the lucky one is, as i'd have sex w/ both taye diggs and idina menzel. though i always say it's harder to find dudes as hot as taye diggs. man this got gay real fast.

man, now i'm all confused. what's happening? i don't know. this is a late post tonight, because of a sweet fucking evening driving around boston. i had an audition at 7:15. got to boston late in the first place because of two accidents on 93, then i'm pretty sure that construction removed the road i was looking for. so once it got past 8 i figured i might as well pack it up and head home. so a nice drive into and around boston for no particular reason tonight. i did get home just in time for lost though. and man, i was like, ok, kate, stepdad problems, i got it. that sucks for her, but come on, i mean, ana lucia, the "tailies" and all, let's get to the good stuff! and good stuff we did indeed get to! i mean, in an almost "holy shit!" kinda way. and i "called it", pretty much all that happened tonight(or at least all that mattered), but goddamn was it awesome to see still.

locke was the most important character on that goddamn island to me, throughout the show so far. but man, for the last few episodes, and now into this episode, i think it might be eko now. i cannot fucking wait for his episodes, and even if those are slow coming, seeing "coming up on lost" or whatever the fuck the scenes were at the end of tonight's episode, eko is about to make this show crazy go nuts. and it could not be more awesome. michael and walt was just...wow. i was thinking that might happen, but to actually see it happen was awesome. so very awesome. and if you were as fucking psyched about that episode as i am, as well you should be, you'll be super excited to know what "coming up" means JANUARY FUCKING 11TH! lost is gone from now until the new year and then some. what the fuck?! i mean, seriously! what the fuck?! that's six weeks away. six, long, painful weeks away. i understand that less people will be watching tv over the coming weeks, christmas and all that shit, but i am not one of those people. what's nuts though, thinking about the wait, is that after the events of tonight, you'd expect big things to start happening immediately. and if they do, that'll lead directly into february sweeps, which should lead to even bigger things. the wait is going to fucking suck, but once lost does return it should just about blow the ass out of my tv and brain. hopefully i'm rocking hdtv by then, though if i am, will i really be able to handle lost in hd? let's hope i get to find out.

ok, this was one crazy post. crazy in that i had no idea i had anything to say tonight, but there it is. and it's pretty haphazard and all, but it is there, and it should make sense in some form. now i'm off to make me a chicken salad sandwich. delicious. enjoy the last couple days of the week here, of what was a seemingly super fast week.

stahl