The new Green Lantern: Part 2

This weekend in San Francisco one of the biggest comic book conventions of the year, WonderCon, is happening.

One of the big annoucements to come out of the Moscone center is that DC's next animated movie will tell the story of Hal Jordan's first mission as the Green Lantern.

Voicing the character of Jordan will be "Law & Order: SVU" star Christopher Meloni.

Really? Hot headed detective Elliot Stabler as the Green Lantern? I'm sorry it just doesn't add up for me.

Don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of Meloni's work, I just think he would be better suited to play a villain.

I hope this doesn't reflect what they have in mind for the live action version of the story. If so, I'm worried about what DC might have up their sleeves where the Green Lantern is concerned.

New episode up... and some television thoughts

Stephanie didn't to catch "Lost" and "ER" by the time we filmed so we didn't get to cover it on the show.

"Lost" this week was actually a really good episode that sort of answered a big question. I say sort of because "Lost" has a way of making us think we have the answer but down the line the answer is different.

And even then there is some argument as to what the answer actually means. For me the question of who was the "Big Bad" on the show and who really was the good guy was answered tonight. There is no doubt, to me, that Benjamin Linus (Heh, I almost wrote Lyons...) is as evil as they come. He killed a few people in this episode and is obviously out only for himself.

On the other hand it appears as if Charles Widmore is a good guy, helping Locke try to get the Oceanic Six back to the island. It also appears as if Widmore had a hand in getting Locke to the island to begin with.

Kristin, my frenemy, from E! thinks the exact opposite of me: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b101738_lost_redux_casualties_of_war.html

She is, of course, REALLY wrong (as usual).

"ER" Thursday was a return to form for me. I haven't regularly watched since Noah Wyle first left. It was great to see Carter back working in the ER, being smart, outsmarting Neela and moving his arc forward. There was a great scene between him and Angela Bassett, that explained what was going on with him (kidney trouble) and ended with me almost falling off the couch laughing.

'Top Chef' season 5 finale

With the competition down to Carla, Hosea and Stefan, season five of "Top Chef" came to an end last night.

Going into the finale Stefan was the hands down favorite, having won a majority of the quickfires and elimination challenge. Carla has been building momentum with wins in the last few weeks and Hosea has been consistently solid throughout the competition.

For the finale judges asked the chefs to cook their best three course meal. With no restrictions, the contestants were let loose in New Orleans' legendary Commander's Palace.

Stefan served up his usual classic European flavor with a side of unfathomable cockiness, Hosea won a surprise Mardi Gras challenge a gave Stefan a giant screw you by making him cook alligator and Carla had perhaps the worst finale of any contestant in the show's history.

With Carla's bad luck taking her out of the running, it came down to mortal enemies Stefan and Hosea.

In the end it was Hosea's progression of flavors that won him the title. Stefan had a few moments of disbelief when his name wasn't announced and went on and on about how he should have won, giving new meaning to the term sore loser.

It was definitely the most exciting and interesting of all the show's finales. However, it seemed obvious to me that if Carla hadn't made a couple of bad choices she would have been crowned Top Chef.

Hosea, while a nice guy and a dependable chef, will go down in history as the Taylor Hicks of "Top Chef."

The new Green Lantern

It was announced that Martin Campbell will be directing the new "Green Lantern" movie.

He is known as a spectacular, innovative director, so it's definitely a step in the right direction.

Now that we have a director it's time to start thinking about a star. This film will seemingly focus on Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern. When Jordan was given the ring that made him a green lantern, he was described as "utterly honest and without fear."

With these parameters in mind I have a few suggestions on who should play the Green Lantern.

First Choice: Nathan Fillion-Known to fanboys as Captain Mal of "Firefly" and "Serenity" fame, his action hero credits and movie star good looks make him perfect casting. He is also the perfect blend of charm and all-American boy next door.

Second Choice: David Boreanaz-As Angel we got to see his dark side and as Seely Booth we are treated to his lighter side. This range is important because Green Lantern is a superhero who covers all ends of the spectrum. Boreanaz also brings the added experience of having previously voiced the character in the animated movie "Justice League: New Frontier."

Third Choice: Common-If producers decided to go with their original idea of centering the story around John Stewart, they could re-sign Common to play the role.

Putting words in Tim's 'mouth?'

In the last episode of the show, and two blogs ago, I talked about how "ER" is winding down and I was afraid they were going to kill off Dr. John Carter.

I was really afraid of that happening. It makes it even weirder that the character of Carter was based on Michael Crichton, who died in 2008.

So the first thought that popped into my head was that E!, TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly all have interactive Web sites that take reader's questions on television shows and answer them in regular columns.

I figured I would stick with Kristin on E! who I somewhat regard as a good television host, I don't throw the word journalist out for just anyone, and she always seems to have the best answers.

I emailed the site Thursday evening in anticipation of Monday's "Spoiler Chat" with the following: "Are they going to kill off Carter on ER?"

Late last night I checked the site to see the following:

Tim in Riverside, Calif: Are they going to kill off Carter on ER? Please find out!

I can tell you that Carter was definitely hooked up to a dialysis machine—not a chemotherapy machine or some other device, which I would say means his prognosis is better than average, at least.

First, freaking awesome that she picked my question and gave a good answer.

Second? I don't remember putting "Please find out!" in the email.

I guess I should just be happy that the prospect of killing Carter off looks less likely.

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b101254_spoiler_chat_does_izzie_have_textbook.html

Best acceptance speech EVER!

So Sean Penn won the Oscar for Best Actor after all.

But, the real winner of this awards season is Mickey Rourke. And it's not a comeback, "Sin City" was a comeback. "The Wrestler" was/is bringing him back to the A-game.

If you've seen Viewpoints On... you know I am a HUGE fan of "The Wrestler" and Rourke's performance.

This season every time Rourke won an award, he gave a great speech. He's not fake. He is as real as it gets. And he doesn't give a crap.

I wanted to embed the video of his acceptance speech at the Independent Spirit Awards, but the sheer awesomeness of it would break almost every AP Style guideline known to man.

So, if you are not afraid of cussing and someone who is truly happy about winning, then check out the link below (Fair warning):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-VAz-4x9hc

He doesn't need the Oscar. He's back with a mother-you-know-what vengeance!

New episode up... and two "ER" theories

Last night's "ER" had the return of Dr. John Carter and it wasn't all hugs and puppies. When he was alone he had this look of pain on his face and I even remarked to myself "What is wrong with him?"

Seems he is having kidney issues. The weird timing thing of tonight's episode was that it was Valentine's Day. Well, it was also the Valentine's Day episode, many years ago, where Carter was stabbed and got the kidney issues to begin with. Way to connect things.

The episode also dealt with a woman needing a heart transplant, but she has Type O blood.

Well, a quick Google search told me that Carter has O blood as well.

So either they are going to be killing Carter off. And that's how they are getting all the cast back... for a funeral.

Or, this woman is going to die and Carter will get a brand new kidney out of it.

Either way it will make for great television.

Prepping for our big Oscar show

So, right now I am knee deep in research for the Academy Awards episode of "Viewpoints On..." Lots of statistics and figures. A ton of information.

I am going to put a lot of it, or try, into the show. But, since there is literally a million different things to discuss here is an interesting topic:

"Great directors who never won a Best Director Oscar" and I am not counting "Honorary" ones.

And the list will shock you.

• Robert Altman
• Cecil B. De Mille
• John Frankenheimer
• Alfred Hitchcock
• Stanley Kubrick
• Akira Kurosawa
• Sidney Lumet
• Orson Welles

And here are a few contempory directors that have never won:

• Tim Burton
• Spike Lee
• Michael Mann
• Brian De Palma
• Ridley Scott
• Peter Weir
• DARREN ARONOFSKY! (Robbed for a nomination this year)
• David Fincher (At least got a nomination this year)
• Chris Nolan

Yeah I left Tarintino off the list. All complaints can be sent to Stephanie Holland care of Viewpoints.

Also, Gus Van Sant... yeah I'm talking to you. You lost me at "Elephant."

Tim's ten word response to 'Lost' tonight

To quote The Riddler: "Too many questions, not enough answers."

(Not counting toward the ten and to explain, it's from "Batman Forever.")

New song could be genius, insanity

Editor's note: This is the clean version, search around YouTube if you like cussing.



A lot of people like to say that Tina Fey has "saved" "Saturday Night Live," especially recently with her Sarah Palin impression.

But, I counter with this video as evidence that, Andy Samberg and The Lonely Island have really saved SNL in the last few years.

Their digital shorts are always something I look forward to. From the start with "Lazy Sunday" to "Iran so Far" and "J in the P" (my abbreviation, if you don't know what that means then you don't want to know what that means.)

So, The Lonely Island (Samberg along with SNL writer Jorma Taccone and "Hot Rod" director Akiva Schaffer) just released a new CD "Incredibad," which has most of the musical Digital Shorts included. I told my friend David about the CD and he went out and got it. This was his reaction, via email, about the CD:

"DUDE I LOVE THE CD!!!!! OMG ITS SO FREAKING FUNNY!!!
i cant help but walk around and randomly scream. "IM ON A BOAT!"
Everyone I show the video to instantly falls in love with it. So that tells me something. That it is amazingly funny.

Or I know way too many weird people.

"Dollhouse:" My first impressions

Having just watched the premiere episode of Joss Whedon's new show "Dollhouse," my first impression is that nobody knows how to create characters and stories like Whedon.

The show centers around a mysterious organization that takes normal people and wipes their personalities so they can give them new ones for their various paid engagements. Sometimes they're assassins and sometimes they're someone's girlfriend for the weekend. The assignment depends on the client.

Eliza Dushku stars as one of the "dolls," named Echo. In the opener she is turned into a hostage negotiator to help a billionaire get his daughter back. It is during this assignment that we learn how the programmed memories work.

According to the programmer, the actives are given an amalgam of personalities that are culled from real people. When Echo has a memory from one of these people it puts her mission in jeopardy. Everything works out in the end, and when it's over Echo has her mind wiped and once again becomes an innocent "doll."

The only plot that felt a little awkward was Tahmoh Penikett as the FBI agent investigating the Dollhouse. Hopefully, after a few episodes that story will work its way into the main plotline.

Overall I felt this was strong introduction to the characters and world that Whedon has created. The man continues to create the most interesting shows on TV. Unfortunately FOX will probably cancel it after six episodes and leave us hanging, so we may have to wait for "Dollhouse: The Movie" before all our questions are answered.

American Idol: Early predictions

So now that the 36 semi-finalists have been announced, it's time for some early predictions. With the show returning to its original format of having the top three vote-getters advance, every performance is life or death. This turn of events makes the show unpredictable again.

My early picks include:

Von Smith-reminds me of Broadway star Sam Harris, look up Harris on YouTube it's worth it
Ann Marie Boskovich-is very likable and has a understated voice, don't underestimate her
Michael Sarver-is a rocker with soul, a mix of Chris Daughtry and Josh Gracin
Ju'not Joyner-his soulful rendition of "Hey There Delilah" made me forget I hate the song

My top three from Tuesday night's first group of singers is: Michael Sarver, Ann Marie Boskovich and Danny Gokey.

Also singing in that group is crazy Tatiana and producer favorites Anoop Desai and Alexis Grace.

Let's hope that talent perseveres over craziness and montages of sad stories.

February - Dead zone for movies?

Everyone knows that summer belongs to big budget blockbusters and the fall belongs to Oscar bait (films trying really hard for an Academy Award.)

But, what about the winter?

Considering that the first big hit of the season was "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," it means it's hard to find a good movie out there nowadays. The No. 1 movie in America right now is "He's Just Not That Into You." Yeah...

So, in looking at Rotten Tomatoes today to see what is out in theaters and on DVD this week it became a little clearer.

Three wide releases in theaters: "Friday the 13th," "The International" and "Confessions of a Shopaholic." All three are considered "rotten," with favorable percentages under 60 percent. "The International" is very close at 56 percent, with the other two in the 20's.

The releases on DVD aren't fairing any better. "W," "Nights in Rodanthe," "Soul Men" and "Miracle at St. Anna" are all in the "rotten" category as well.

The only "Fresh" release of the week is the Oscar nominated "Frozen River."

One good film to see against seven not so good movies is not a good percentage to have if you are bored.

I guess the morale of the story is to go buy a good book this week.

New episode up... and a 'Lost' thought

So, tonight's "Lost" shed some light on the ever creepy Smoke Monster. Apparently it lives in this weird temple and messes with people's minds who go into its lair.

Finally we are getting some answers!

24: Day 7 so far

"24" has always been one of my favorite shows, so when the writer's strike caused last season to be canceled I wasn't sure how I was going to deal.

However, Jack Bauer has triumphantly returned to the small screen to once again save the world.

Of course the big news of the season was that Tony Almeida would be returning to be a bad guy this time. How would Jack react to news that his presumed dead best friend was now one of his enemies?

This being "24" there was more to the story and it turned out that Tony was working undercover to find an even bigger bad guy.

Everything that has happened this season is a continuation of the storyline that started in "24 Redemption," the TV movie Fox aired to bring audiences up to speed on what Jack had been up to since we last saw him.

The plot centers around the African nation of Sangala and the new president's efforts to intervene in a genocide that is taking place there.

Jack and Tony, accompanied by Bill and Chloe have spent much of this season chasing down an African terrorist named Dubaku. While the plot has been slow to get going, seeing our old friends back together again is like seeing your favorite band on a reunion tour.

There have been a few moments where we have gotten to see why Jack Bauer is so awesome. In last night's episode when the president asked why she should trust him, Jack replied, "ask around." I got chills.

The hunt for Dubaku seems to be winding down so I'm hoping that once that portion of the plot is wrapped up, the writers will really let loose and we'll get to see Jack in full-fledged save the world mode.

Two year anniversary and 100th post!

So today, Feb. 9, marks the two-year anniversary of this blog Inscape'd. It has been a wild and interesting adventure. I wanted to use this special 100th post to take a look back at our blog and some of the more interesting posts.

Two years ago we wanted to stand out and try something new. We created two blogs; one entertainment and one general interest.

No one really knew where to start. At the time we were working on the first issue of the semester and the big entertainment story was the upcoming Academy Awards. We had written reviews of the Best Pictures nominees and put them together in a nice package. The review I did was for the film "The Queen." I had actually written a lot more for the article, but had to cut some down due to space issues.

Thus, our first blog post was born and I did a review of my review:

http://inscapeblog.blogspot.com/2007/02/review-of-queen-review.html

Interesting behind-the-scenes tidbit - Dan and then editor Josh didn't think I should post that blog, they both said it was a little personal.

Another blog that was fun was going to see Tyler wrestling:

http://inscapeblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/all-karnage-and-mayhem-at-merrit.html

Not only was it a great time, but also a great group event for the staff. And some great pictures too.

It was in the summer of '07 that Tyler, Dan and I tried something with the blog. We would take one topic a week (or so) and each of us would come up with a blog about that topic. One in particular, "Worst movie going experience," actually provided, in my eyes, one of the best blogs we ever posted:

http://inscapeblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/my-worst-movie-going-experience-orthe.html

Stephanie Holland and I recently started what I hope is to be how the blog will work from now on, a post a day. It is a big commitment, but something that shows this is a serious blog. Well, you know what I mean.

I wanted to drop a quick thanks to Daniel Segraves, Tyler Davidson, Sandra Diaz and Stephanie Holland for keeping Inscape'd going.

Here's to another 100 posts and many more years!

New episode up... and some random thoughts

This was filmed a few hours before the last episode of "Lost," so the next issue will have our updated thoughts.

Editor's note: We are breaking our streak of blogging every weekday, but for a reason! This post is No. 99, so we planned to do a special look back at the history of our blog. In my research I noticed that we started this wonderful blog on Feb. 9, 2007. So in order to kill two birds with one stone, we are going to do a special 100th post/Two year anniversary on Feb. 9.

Yay!

American Idol: Season 8 so far

It is no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a huge "American Idol" fan. I love the idea of finding someone like Carrie Underwood or Fantasia, who, without the show would have never been discovered.

I consider myself a serious fan, so I don't get very excited about the parade of freaks that we are subjected to in the opening weeks. My favorite part is Hollywood week where the weak are separated from the strong and the future superstars are separated from the future lounge acts.

Now that we are smack in the middle of Hollywood week some real talent is starting to emerge. Once the 36 semi-finalists are announced, I'll be singling out my favorites and when the live shows start I'll be writing regularly about the performances.

Until then I'll just leave you with this thought, NO MORE BIKINI GIRL!

Weirdest advertisement ever

So, I came across this little gem of a public service announcement today:



A few observations of note:

1. "Starship Troopers" and its sequels are very violent. The first film had people being torn apart and blood everywhere. A violent film promoting child abuse awarement.

2. The first film came out in 1997 and the two sequels went straight to DVD. Is this relevant enough to catch people's interest?

3. Casper Van Dien. 'Nuff said.

Watch the video, it's kind of sad and funny at the same time. In the end, though, I guess anything that can promote a good cause is a good thing.

'Heroes!'

"Heroes" is back tonight and many are considering this as a last chance for the show. It has burned a lot of people and they are giving it one more episode before they stop watching.

Me? Well, since the news that Bryan Fuller is coming back to the show came out I decided to stick around until his influence is felt. This new episode is No. 14 and Fuller starts with No. 19, so I might be stuck with five crappy episodes.

At least "24" is on at the same time so I have an alternative to sitting around picking my nose.

In some web surfing today I came across an interesting tidbit. The comics site Comic Book Resources does a regular thing where they host a Q&A with some writers/producers of the show. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19804

I found this bit a little strange...

“When Hiro goes back and takes the catalyst upon himself, Arthur shows up shortly after and takes the catalyst from him, as well as his powers. My question is this: how on earth did Arthur know that Hiro and Claire had gone back in time, and that they were where and when they were? Is Arthur omniscient?”

This is actually something that we can tell you is going to be on the DVD. There was a scene where Arthur found Molly and stole her ability, using it to find Hiro and Claire in the past. However, the scene just seemed overwhelmingly, what’s the word? Disturbing.

So that's really an excuse to not make any sense and have a giant, glaring plot hole in the show? This just further proves my point that these people have no clue what they are doing. At all.

Not even the "Heroes" apologists can argue with that.

Go ahead, try.