Recap of what media I’ve been consuming over the last week.

TV:

Lost S5x16,17: This was a 2 hour season finale (1hr25 without ads *wink*). I kept thinking throughout watching it that 50 years from now I’ll still think about this show. Very few shows in recent history have created as much hype or have had such an intriguing plot and characters. I thought the finale was excellent. The fight between Sawyer and Jack was so visceral. Also the look on Sawyers face when he had to let go was chilling. That being said, the Jacob story has raised more questions than answers, also where are Claire and Christian?

Survivor S18x13: Survivor is one of my guilty pleasures. I usually hate most reality TV but Mark Burnett knows how to make good TV. As each season ends, after getting to know the survivors over so many weeks I think to myself “they can’t top this again next season”, but they have. This season they introduced a character that is sure to go down in the survivor annals as one of the most unique. It is magnificent car-crash TV. The guy is a consummate liar, narcissist and attention seeker, and requests that he be called “coach”… because he coaches a woman’s football team in RL. This week he got blind sided and voted off. JT, the quite southerner, is proving to be a master strategist, but I think Stephen, his accomplish in crime, got one up on him. I’d say JT wanted to take Coach to the final, knowing full well no one would give him the million. The finale is already out, so I guess I’ll find how this season ends tonight.

30 Rock S2x22: Another season over. I only really got into this show recently and blitzed through all 3 seasons. The show is very good. The writing is brilliant, and the characters will appeal to everyone, regardless of what they find funny. This episode had Jack dealing with his supposed lost father, Milton, who wanted one of his Kidneys. It also had a side plot with Tracy trying to deal with a traumatic childhood memory from school. Tracy Morgan is my new favourite comedian, I find his character hilarious, especially in how he bounces of Kenneth. There is something intentionally forced about his lines that make him seem equally crazed as well as sarcastic. If you haven’t watched this show, now would be the best time to start, as you’ve got 3 glorious seasons to soak up before the 4th one starts.

Chuck S1x02, 03: Watched 2 more episodes of the first season of Chuck. I’m liking it, although, I’m not sure what it’s trying to be. On one hand it tries to be a drama, then on the other hand a comedy, with some action and fights in the middle. It feels a little thrown together. But then it is a new season, I always try and see out the entire season before rendering judgement. So far, it shows promise, but it definitely isn’t grabbing like Heroes or Prison Break did in the first few episodes.

Film:

Valkyrie: Starring Tom Cruise mainly. Like Titanic, the ending is kinda ruined before the movie has begun because you already know how it ends, unlike Titanic, there was really no side character development to distract from this. Overall I liked it, but I’ll never watch it again. Tom Cruises character is completely wooden, showing little to no emotional turmoil in his choice in actions, and his plot to assassinate Hitler. He speaks of the oath that the army took to Hitler, which they will not easily break, yet Toms character seems to have no problem with breaking this oath about 5 minutes into the movie. Watch it for the set pieces and action sequences, just let the plot wash over you.