It’s true, Inception has “basically supplanted ‘Lost’ for all your theorizing needs.” You don’t need anyone to tell you that. What you do need is to enjoy this wonderful movie as much or as little as you like.

The problem with Lost was that everyone wanted everyone else to care about the same things. In my mind the Island and the rules attached to it (time/space travel, religious analogies, etc) were, and will always be the most important character of Lost. Jack had daddy issues… so what? Tell me why the Island cares about Jack’s daddy issues. Don’t bring Jack to the island simply so that he can reconcile with his father. That’s what therapy is for.

You know who agrees with me? A lot of people. And you know who disagrees with me? A lot of people. You know how much I used to care about that fact? A lot. Now? Not so much. Lost was a TV show… Just a TV show. Kids in Africa are dying of starvation, people in North Korea are oppressed, and I have a wife to take care of, and a life to live, and someone’s geeky concept about a magical island that moves at the tug of a ship’s helm can’t and shouldn’t become anyone’s obsession. Period.

As I was leaving the theater, convinced I’d just watched one of the greatest Sci-Fi movies (maybe of the best movies) ever, I overheard a snotty 20-something female say: “I thought it was completely stupid. It made absolutely no sense. I didn’t enjoy it one bit.” Now, let’s assume for argument sake that she’s right (even though she’s not). Why should I care? Better yet, if she loved the movie and hated the final scene (I love the movie and LOVED the final scene), again, why should I care?

Enjoy Inception in the way you want to enjoy it. Don’t try to hard to put as much effort into caring about a 2 1/2 hour movie as you did for Lost, which ran 120+ hours. Heck, try to find other movies with Inception may have opened the door to. Ever seen Momento? What? No? You were too busy crafting Lost theories? Watch it. I won’t spoil anything, but what i will say is this: if you even so much as kinda liked Inception, Momento will not disappoint.

Anyhow, if you need answers to Inception like we all needed them to Lost, New York Magazine has a great, aptly titled Inception’s Dileep Rao Answers All Your Questions About Inception article which answers and helps to clarify many of the questions we’ve had since watching the movie. Yeah, that’s right, the people behind Inception are actually answering the questions that their creation prompted people to ask… something the people behind Lost quite never seemed to grasp.

And it launches 2 days before my birthday, no less.

A pretty good breakdown of the last episode, plus this interesting note:

Visually, It was appropriate that Jack made his way back to the exact place he awoke on the Island, passing one of the tennis shoes his father was wearing in the casket, and even had Vincent by his side when we had our closing shot of his eye closing, rather than opening. While there are a lot of unanswered questions, we are supposedly promised additional scenes (about 20 minutes of them) on the DVD set that will answer yet more of them, as well as other answers given by the creators.

Chelsea made a great point last night when she said, “It’s so funny how we talk about Lost as a historical event. ‘Where were you when you first watched Lost?’”

In September 2005, I drove from Jasper to Gardendale to hang out with John Byars, his wife Amy, Stephanie Hannah. They put on this TV show called Lost. I’d seen the previews, though felt less than intrigued. But they were into it, and so I watched. It was Season 2: Episode 2: Adrift.

I was hooked.

My poor friends… they were incredibly gracious. They sat there and answered every question I had throughout the episode. I immediately drove home and (not having a full time job other than blogging) downloaded every episode on iTunes and sat on the couch for 3 days catching up.

To top it all off… Jasper, Alabama is the home of one of the characters.

It’s incredibly cliche to say, but there will never be another show like Lost. At best, there will bill another show like Lost right when we are on our deathbeds.

Granted, there will be many “Lost replacements” pitched by networks (see: Flash Forward), though as entertaining as they may be, they will certainly always fall short.

All told, I’m satisfied with the outcome. Yes, there are many question unanswered, and theories will still abound… but that’s what this show was all about: everybody watches the same show and ends up with a different opinion.

It’s sounds overly-dramatic, but I’m thoroughly depressed today. There’s a Lost-shaped hole in me.

Reminder to all us non-DirecTV folks: Friday Night Lights, season 4 premiere is Friday night.

I was going to do a post on the Biblical references in last night’s episode, but that would take too long.

Oh, brother. It’s going to be a fun finish.

Secured our tickets for Conan’s stop in Seattle. I have no idea what to expect, but who cares… it’s Conan.

Growing up in small town Alabama, one learns to appreciate old stuff with character. Two guys who dig through old collectibles and memorabilia? Yes, please. On the show two “pickers” dig though junk in people houses, paying cash on the spot.

American Pickers – History Channel

Series premiere last night prior to Lost. I liked it.

Thoughts?

Great voice.
Church minister.
His wife just died.

…seriously, Jesus wants this man to win.

Jesus loves him… do you?
If you don’t…. do you hate Jesus?
Do you hate Jesus?

I know, I know. Another band wagoner here — but Slumdog Millionaire is insane.

Distribution of this film is still somewhat limited, even in artsy-fartsy Seattle. We packed into the 3-screen, Majestic Bay Theatre on Saturday. Everyone just sat there at the end of the movie.

The lights came on.
The credits began to role.
No one moved.

Question of the Day: What’s your favorite TV show, ever?

Entertainment Weekly’s look at the 12 big movies coming out in 2009.

I’m just hoping that Watchmen and Where The Wild Things Are live up to the hype.

I’ve attained a list of all of the Christmas movies and specials (barring TV shows) for the 2008 Christmas season.

If you would like to add any, feel free to submit them in the comment section.

…continue reading

I’ll probably go see Bill Maher’s Religulous sometime in the next few weeks. Some may say that I’m supporting his cause by giving my money to the film. I disagree.

I could illegally download the movie online… but that would be stealing. I could wait until the movie comes out on DVD or HBO but I would still supporting the movie financially in one way or another, all the while I’m loosing the ability to discuss the film with nonbelievers. I believe that Christians should be cognizant of timely issues and events, and with the end of the Bush administration and Sarah Palin in the news every 5 seconds (Obama’s crazy pastor, too!) this is, without a doubt, a timely issue.

If any of you (Christians, non-Christians, Mormons, atheists) see the movie, shoot me a line to tell me what you thought.

One thing you should note: while Maher openly despises all faiths and religions, he himself believes in astrology and reincarnation. Hmm.

One thing that this blog does not have in common with every other blog on the web… I don’t cover American Idol.

I don’t dislike the show. On the contrary I find it highly entertaining… a little too entertaining. However, I work late most nights and try to be at work by 7 AM, so if I tried to squeeze Idol into the weekly routine, I’d never have anytime to blog for you folks, or snuggle with my ho.

The few times I caught the show I found myself rooting for Archuleta… for a few reasons. One, America could use a baby-faced kid from Utah who won’t end up passed out on a curb in front of TMZ cameras in Hollywood. Two: the boy has pipes — seriously, his voice is insanely insane. Three… I don’t have a number three, but things always seem to work better in 3′s.

Anyhow… David Cook actually seems like the type of guy you’d want to meet at a bar to watch the football game with, or something. He also has cool scruff — it’s harder to pull off than most woman might realize

I bought the following song on iTunes last night and can’t quit listening to it. However, if you can’t spare 99 cents, you can listen to the video below.

The 1 hour Season Finale is this Thursday.

A script has been written. Yeah, baby! (Sorry.)

Thanks to Brooke Williams Johnson for pointing me out to 3 deleted scenes from last week’s episode of The Office. I still can’t believe they won’t turn it into an hour television show.