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SPOILER-FREE SUMMARY:


Nothing happened.


WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW!


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No, seriously--nothing happened.  You could've missed this episode, picked up next week, and not have batted an eye.  It's almost like the producers/writers plotted out how to end the series, figured out they had one extra hour, and said, "Here, let's just fill it with a Sun/Jin episode".  You find out in the side-verse how Jin ended up locked up in that restaurant (and no, it's not compelling at all) and you find out absolutely nothing on the island.


Okay, we did find out that Desmond was who Widmore had hiding in that submarine room but that was literally the very end of the episode so, like I said before, you could've missed this one completely and not have to worry about catching up.


By the way, while we're on the topic of ABC shows, I'm gonna shoot for a "Flashforward" and a "V" recap this week, too...just didn't around to it last week.

SPOILER-FREE SUMMARY:


The Zoe/Tamara storylines were partially wrapped up and there was a lot of useless junk about the STO.


WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW!


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Still don't know what I think about "Caprica".  There are times that I enjoy it but there are many more times that I don't like it.  It reminds me of all of the worst parts of "Battlestar Galactica": the preachy "one true god" episodes, the whole Baltar/prophet thing from the last season, etc.  This was a decent episode in that it had some major developments in the Zoe/Tamara storylines but the B-story was what bugged the hell outta me.  I don't care anything about the STO and I can't stand that teacher character that dragged Zoe and her friends into it in the first place.  Add to that the awful James Marsters (showing his age here, unlike on "Buffy") and you've got one borefest of a storyline.


To be honest, that's all I have to say right now.  It's been 4 days since I watched the episode and I've forgotten most of it.


Thank god "Stargate Universe" returns next week...

Wii HD
No, Nintendo still hasn't announced a new Wii system but a company called VDIGI is now selling an upscaler that will convert your Wii's output to high-definition.  On its own, the Wii outputs in a crappy maximum of 480p but the "VD-W3 Wii HDMI Upscaler Processor" promises to convert that signal to a full 1080p.  Sounds impressive, right?  Here's the thing, though: Wii games aren't designed to be 1080p so you can't just plug this thing in and expect for "Mario Kart" to suddenly look like a PS3 game.  At most, it's just going to clean the image and make it a little smoother.  But here's the other thing: if you have a HDTV, odds are it's already trying to upscale your Wii output.

WARNING: REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS


Finally got around to watching District 9 yesterday.  I wasn't sure what to expect.  When it first came out it looked like a barely passable run-of-the-mill sci-fi picture.  Then the buzz started to build that it was actually a really good sci-fi movie.  Well, that's all fine and good but, c'mon, The Matrix is a good science-fiction movie, too, but you wouldn't expect it to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.  But District 9 was nominated.  The only thing I knew about the movie was that it was some sort of allegory for apartheid.  I'll be honest, the only things I knew about apartheid was that it had something to do with South Africa and, by extension, something to do with Nelson Mandela (maybe I should watch Invictus next).


So I'll start my review with that topic; I really don't think this movie makes a statement about apartheid at all, and, while I haven't read or seen any interviews with the filmmakers, I would be surprised if that was even their intent.  The film does take inspiration for its setting from the South African apartheid, in that it involves a segregated slum set up for aliens, and the attempts made to forcefully relocate them (yeah, I did some research).


However, that's really not the plot of the movie at all.  The real plot of the movie is about one man, Wikus van de Merwe (played by South African actor Sharlto Copley), who is put in charge of the relocation and accidentally becomes infected with a compound that slowly begins to turn him into one of the aliens (called "prawns", their real name is never revealed). The government and the Nigerian mafia want him because he can operate prawn weaponry, something that no other human can do because they are biologically locked to prawn physiology.  In the meantime, one of the prawns named Christopher (Jason Cope) is obsessed with repairing a small ship hidden under his District 9 shack so that he can return to the mothership hovering over Johannesburg and use it return to his home planet.


Now I don't know about you but that sounds like a pretty mundane plot and, essentially, it is.  Where the movie excels, though, is through the clever documentary style in which it was filmed and in the superb performance from Copley in the lead role.  Especially in the beginning of the movie, when the world is still being set up for us, the documentary style is very effective.  If you didn't know better, you'd almost think that an alien spacecraft really did arrive in South Africa in 1982 and the world just went on ticking for the last 27 years.  That's part of the genius of leaving the setting in Johannesburg; I'm sure the filmmakers had to have felt studio pressure to move the action to the United States but they were right to stick to their guns (District 9 is based on a short called "Alive in Johannesburg").  Even though in District 9, aliens have been on Earth for nearly 3 decades, the world outside of South Africa is unchanged (we assume, the movie never implies otherwise).  The aliens showed up but they were nothing but a ragtag group of refugees and their ship was dead.  So they got herded up in a camp and forgotten about.  It's great because it's obviously not reality but there's no reason that it couldn't be, given the circumstances.  I was really impressed with Sharlto Copley; he shows great acting chops and I'm anxious to see his turn as Murdoch in The A-Team movie.  I think we're going to be seeing a lot more of this guy soon.


So in the end, is it a good movie?  Is it worth the hype?  The answers are yes and no.  District 9 is a decent enough movie and deserves to sit on your DVD shelf beside Blade Runner, Star Wars, and, yes, even The Matrix.  But I don't think it's a great, epic, unforgettable movie but any means.  So why all the hype?  I blame overblown politic agendas.  Did anyone see South Park on Wednesday with "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs"?  The same things that episode pointed out regarding "The Catcher in the Rye" and the aforementioned "Scrotie McBoogerballs" happened to District 9.  I think Hollywood wanted to think the movie was a huge statement on injustice and humanity and, honestly, its not.  But the fact that a science-fiction film got the attention that it did is good for the entire genre so you won't hear me complain.


If you haven't watched it yet, give it rent.  Post your comments below--I'd love to know what you thought.

At long last, the untold story of Richard Alpert is, well...told.  But what the hell does it all mean?  Let's break it down.


WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD


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It turns out that "Richard" Alpert is actually Ricardo Alpert, a slave from the Canary Islands whose ship, the Black Rock (!), crashed on the island in the 1800's, destroying the three-toed statue in the process.  This was, by far, the best episode of "Lost" this season and maybe even last season, as well.  I agree with some reviewers who say it was predictable; I mean, we had pieced together most of these clues before this episode but the execution of the episode was great and Nestor Carbonell did a bang-up job with the lovelorn Ricardo/Richard.


A lot more was revealed between Jacob and his adversary but at the same time, it really wasn't.  I'm getting the impression that the island itself is a type of prison for the Man in Black and that may be its sole (or primary) purpose.  But what or WHO is the Man in Black?  What happened to his body?  I'm sure we'll find out soon but I'm awfully anxious to find out now.


The LA Times has a great article up talking about the episode and several of their readers from the Canary Islands point out that Tenerife is home to the deadliest plane crash in aviation history and a long-standing legend about the mysterious 8th island of San Borondon, which vanishes and can move position in the ocean. Were the "Lost" producers trying to steer us toward this legend or is it just coincidence?  I don't know yet but you can read more about San Borondon here, if you're interested.


Next Week: "The Package"


P.S. Just as I was finishing up this post, Ain't Cool News posted a story indicating that there will be a live "Lost" event in theaters on May 20th, 3 days before the series finale.  Sounds cool.  Also, the finale now has a name: "The End".

Since this is the first official post on the blog, I'm playing catch-up just little bit.  This is all news that broke earlier in the week but, hey, you know what they say--better late than never.


Chris Evans is "Captain America"
Marvel made it official on Sunday; they'd offered the part to Chris Evans on Friday and he'd accepted over the weekend.  The internet is abuzz with positive feedback on this casting but I'm not entirely convinced.  It'll be hard to say until we see some footage down the line.  Sure, Evans looks the part but I'm not convinced he can pull off the confident swagger than you need from Captain America.  Not to mention the fact that he's already played a Marvel superhero; has everyone forgotten that he was Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer?  Yes, I know the FF rights are all tied up at Fox right now so those movies don't tie into these new Avengers set-up movies but, still, it bugs me.


Louis Leterrier Wants to Direct "Avengers"
Speaking of the Avengers, Incredible Hulk and Clash of the Titans director Louis Leterrier is now officially on the shortlist to direct the forthcoming Avengers movie.  While the obvious choice would be Iron Man director Jon Favreau, it's not gonna happen.  Favreau already took himself out of the running, leaving Thor director Kenneth Branagh (yikes!), Captain America director Joe Johnston, and now Louis Leterrier.  Or Marvel could just go outside the box and hire a new director altogether.  I'm go out on a limb here and say that the best person for the job would be Johnston.  Looking at his resume, I think his directing style fits best in the Avengers world and I'm pretty optimistic that Captain America is going to turn out well (despite my reservations about the casting).  Leterrier is a great action director, so I'm not gonna be upset if he does land the job but I'm gunning for Johnston.


Nintendo Announces the 3DS
Out of the blue on Monday, Nintendo issued a press release announcing that they were developing a new handheld console which, despite its temporary name, is not just another version of the 5-year-old Nintendo DS.  The 3DS will feature (you guessed it) 3D graphics and will be backwards compatible with all Nintendo DS games.  That's about all that Nintendo had to say about it but leaks are saying that the system uses a Nvidia chipset, features rumble feedback, and an analog control stick.  There's also speculation that a new 3D screen technology from Sharp may be present in the 3DS.


So what do I think?  So far I'm underwhelmed.  Obviously, there's not a lot to go on here but with the Nintendo DS already the best-selling handheld in history with a slew of different versions available (including the new DSi XL which goes on sale this Sunday), I couldn't care less about a new Nintendo handheld right now, 3D or not.  What we really need to here from Nintendo is what they're going to do to follow-up on the Wii.  The novelty has worn and the list of great titles for the system has dwindled.  With Sony & Microsoft gearing up for Playstation Move and Project Natal, Nintendo needs to beat them to market with some kind of announcement, at least.  I'm guessing we'll hear something before the end of the year and in the meantime, Nintendo is promising to have the 3DS fully playable at this year's E3 conference in June.


There's a cool YouTube video floating around that shows what the 3DS might be like.  It's a new Japan-only DSiWare game that uses the DSi's inner camera to track movement and give the appearance of 3D.  It's pretty freaky and, yes, it is kinda cool:

What is geek.shriek? Good question. We'll likely find out together. What I intend for it to be is just a depository for my daily musing regarding movies, video games, toys, books, comics, or whatever nerdy thing I come across during the day.