Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Previously on Alias...

(I am fairly certain I have used that header before. HAHAHA!)

Hi All,

Sorry I have been long gone from the blog these days. I spent all last week at a basketball tournament, I tried fitting in some Christmas shopping and I celebrated my 27th birthday on Sunday. Long week!

Now, for some good news. I have all of next week off- from work and basketball. The room mates will be out of town for the holiday and you can bet your bottom I will be on the couch with my Alias DVD's. YES- more to come- new articles and more fun topics to discuss. So hang in my friends. I am back!

50 comments:

Page48 said...

"Previously on Alias..." How I would love to hear those words again, and I don't just mean on old DVD's, I'm talking about the real deal.

Bill Shakespeare never uttered words this important. I mean seriously, "previously on Hamlet" would send a nation's remote controls into a frenzy of activity, television viewers desperately trying to escape the death-grip of the Bard before they slipped into an irreversible coma.

"Previously on Alias", on the other hand, contains enough juice to make nose hair stand on end, to make sleepy pupils dilate, to fill a living room with the sound of sphincters tightening. I would be so bold as to speculate that the words POA would cause Peter Parker's Spidey senses to tingle.

And yet, ABC saw fit to silence these inspirational words after a scant 4.77 seasons. And where does that leave us today, "previously on Pushing Daisies"??

Oh, please.

Page48 said...

A few thoughts about a few things:

First up, welcome to Club 27, GS. Any grey hair coming in yet? Nothing around the temples? Are you sure? Hahahahahahaha. Give it time.

I haven't watched "Alias" for quite some time, so I'm going to throw this question out to the experts. If memory serves, it was always Vaughn who said "previously on Alias", wasn't it? Did anyone else ever say those amazing words? Did Syd herself ever get to say POA? I'm thinking "no".

I've made up my mind to watch "Transformers" this week, only because it was written by the "Alias" writing team I mentioned in the "Cloverfield" post. "Transformers" is a bit of a stretch for me but I'm a little desperate for viewing choices right now. Maybe it will serve as a warmup for "Cloverfield".

Lisa said...

I think it was the lucky Weiss who got to say "previously on Alias..."

somebody confirm??

speaking of Weiss...a little trivia: where does "Weiss on Ice" come from?

Girlscout said...

It is Weiss who says "Previously on Alias..." and its JJ's voice on the other end of the Joey's Pizza phone calls.

There might be a time or two in early episodes where it's Sydney who says "Previously on Alias..."

It's one of my favorite phrases!

SKlaft said...

Page48,
On your word, I went to Barns & Noble on Monday to buy a Vince Flynn book. I read "To Protect and Defend" and finished it this morning. You may be right in saying it would make Bourne-like movies, but only because the script writers would have to adapt it, and in the process, they would put the energy that begs to be felt in the story.

As I started listening, I decided that Mitch Rapp is actually more like Jack Bauer than he is like Jack Bristow, but that's no big deal.

What I expected was a spy-novel with a fast-paced, high-tech, spy vs. spy, mind-game vs. mind-game type of story. Instead, it turned out to be a global politics slog with barely veiled characters in place of the real life national leaders, and whose lies and misunderstandings were as predictable as they were bland.

"Bland" is the word I would use for all of the writing. He makes no effort to leave any mystery as to what is happening for the reader to anticipate. It is filled with cleches and bromides, where a clever turn of phrase would keep your attention a while longer. He has Iranian leaders using Western colloquialisms, the likes of which they probably would not even understand.

It is almost as if he purposely avoided writing anything that might stand out as interesting writing. He used the same trite platitude, "does not let the truth get in the way of a good story," THREE times with very minor variations. Rather than say something creative, he had Rapp make the threat, "Don't do it, or I'll blow your head off." I was like, 'oh, common! what a complete missed opportunity to endear the lead character to the reader by saying something ominously creative.'

I thought that maybe I was being too harsh in my assesment, that maybe I just needed to be in the right mood, and that maybe I kept being distracted rather than uninterested in the story. (I know it was not the reader, becasue I am very familiar with George Guidel's work.) Then, a few hours later, I put in the first disk of "Blaze" by Richard Bachman (Steven King), and from the very first paragraph, I was absorbed by the fluidity of the writing.

If anyone can direct me to any audiobooks with well-written stories, from nearly any genre, I would appreciate it. I go through two or three books a week.

(While I intend to see if B&N will take the Vince Flynn book back, I still appreciate the suggestion.)

Sorry about the book-review... I just needed to get that out, in case someone else might be tempted to buy the book also.

Where are all the good writers that can approach the ALIAS level?

-R.

Girlscout said...

They are all writing for other shows. Lame!

SKlaft said...

Oh, and...

JJ said it at first

then Weise did for a long time

and then variously, it was Syd, Vaughn, Francie, Will, Lauren, Dixon, depending on the episode

I think Marshal may have done it once, but I don't recall every hearing Jack, though it is very possible, considering that I remember all thee other characters saying it.

I have pretty good auditory memory (it's how I taught myself to play guitar, and tune the strings by ear), so I am pretty certain of that everyone got into the act.

-R.

Anonymous said...

robetron, actually, I think Flynn is/was a consultant on "24".

I didn't realize that all of those people said POA. The details start to fade after a while.

SKlaft said...

Lisa,
"Weise on ice"

My first answer is that it came from the episode in season 3 where Vaughn was having a hard time reconciling his feelings for Syd while being married to Lauren, and he was brooding while playing hockey with Weise. Weise was taunting Vaugn in a classic male/ competitive spirit and said something like, "You don't want any of Weise on Ice."

Is this right?

-R.

Anonymous said...

I consider myself a expert on books on tape. I have an hour commute each way and walk two miles at lunch every day, so I too burn through the books. I have found that I have much more patience for the classics when they are read by a great actor and am actually enjoying them. Try some of those books we were supposed to read in high school. I'm finding Jane Austin witty and clever and I NEVER would have read her on my own.
The best book on tape I heard was City of Ember. It's a kid book, but the story was fantastic and there were sound effects - like an old time radio show.

SKlaft said...

Bonkers,

Yes, I agree; the classics are a must-revisit. Unfortunately, I'm running out of them. I have a shelf full of already-read, and the library's resources are running low too. (I've actually begun to donate the ones they do not have that I don't think I'll ever read again.)

The Jane Austin books, as well as the Bronte sisters' books, are the ones I have not read, but not because they apear to be a little girly, but because of the lady who reads them. Flo Gibbson cannot seem to get the intended flow (no pun intended) of the sentence structure. I might be able to endure the occasional poorly emphasized sentence, but she sounds like an old lady-frog that smoked for 60 years. I just can't seem to get into it when the reader is bad (Hemmingway on CD has some good and some really bad readers... WHY DO THEY WISPER?! ITS HARD ENOUGH TO HEAR NORMAL SPEAKING OVER THE ROAD NOISE!)

Anyway... any other suggestions? What else have you read?

-R.

Anonymous said...

I'm the furthest thing from a bookworm and I verrrrry seldom actually "read" fiction. I'll listen to it in MP3 form, but far and away, I prefer my fiction in the form of TV or a movie. My reading is basically reserved for the internet.

I am also one of these people who prefers to listen to a pro read to me so I can close my weary eyes and focus on the story. I tend to read too fast on my own which leads to skimming, which leads to missing a lot of detail.

Anyone considering buying audiobooks in physical form had better be living in a big house, because a novel is going to run nearly a dozen CD's. MP3's, IMO, are the only practical way to manage audiobooks, unless they're just on loan from the library.

I never read the books I was supposed to read in high school. Dust-jacket book reports were the order of the day and worked just fine. I might have taken a different stance if they hadn't asked me to read such claptrap, but I firmly believe that the prime objective of high school (at least in my day), is to take a young mind and see if you can't bore the crap out of it. The mission was truly accomplished.

uncle111 said...

Hmmm...I'm logged in and I didn't even try. I'll never figure it out!

Page- you need to start rewatching Alias. I have been wrapped up watching 3.5 seasons of the newly released "Man From U.N.C.L.E." (I have to admit it's partly because I'm in the DVDs and have some screen credits)DVDs and so it has been a few months since I have popped an Alias DVD in the player... until last night. I picked it up where I had left off, which was with "Q&A."

Want to know the most interesting thing that happened to me when the story started? While watching "U.N.C.L.E.", which was the "Alias" of my teen years (except that it had a 50 share at it's height) I was enjoying it, remembering watching it as a kid, analyzing various aspects of the series and thinking about what all I had forgotten. But when Alias started I found myself withdrawing into some special place inside, an Alias place that is somehow seperated from the rest of normal life. And as I watched I couldn't help but notice how much more gripping every aspect of Alias is than anything else I've seen on TV EVER- lighting, angles, music, action, mysteries, relationships, storylines, on and on. But the thing I'll never forget was being pulled inside myself and into that Alias room where I am most excited, most comfortable and most at home.

Page- try it.

SKlaft said...

I don't mean to absorb all the air in this blog thread, but I wanted to recommend another TV show.

Has anyone else fallen in love with "Samantha Who?"

I only decided to watch one episode on a whim, and only because I've always liked Christina Applegate ever since "Married With Children." It's not a lust-thing. Her comedic timing and expresive face totally convinces me that she is who she is playing at the moment.

Anyway, the show... it's really something. I'm not certain if the writers/ creators intended it to be so, but they truly, and thoughtfully explore the difficulties of human interaction in modern society... and they do it in a very humorous way. It's not stand-up joke type humor, but it is too natural to be called "situational humor."

The premise is the only thing that is a little unnatural. Samatha, who was once, lets say, not a very nice person, had an accedent and woke up with amnesia. Upon discovering who she was, she makes an effort to make changes. This gives her an opportunity to live out a second chance while dealing with the consequences of the past.

Who she is, is not who she was, because it is not who she decided to be. It makes you think introspectively because no one needs to have amnesia to decide to make positive changes in their life.

Okay, okay... it does not really purport to be that deep, and it'll have you laughing from open to close, but I like shows that make you think... sincerely think about things.

Samantha Who? gets two thumbs up from me. Check it out, TV fans.

-R.

Page48 said...

Uncle, "Alias" the best thing on TV ever? No argument here. I have the DVD's stored safely away, but I'm trying to stay away long enough that it looks fresh again the next time I dig in. It's just a matter of time till I go at it again, but if you've ever had the experience of hearing a great song so often that you can no longer listen to it, that's what I don't want "Alias" to become. BTW, working your way in the MFU DVD's is quite an accomplishment.

Robetron, I understand "Samantha Who?" has a respectable following, although I've never seen it. Your description puts me to mind of a Harrison Ford movie from the early 90's, called "Regarding Henry", where Ford plays a bigshot lawyer who loses his memory in a shooting incident and during his recovery, realizes that he no longer likes the man he used to be. That movie, BTW, was written by none other than JJ Abrams. Go figure!

uncle111 said...

Page-
I've seen Alias at least 8 times all the way through and it hasn't gotten stale yet, and I'm surprised how much of it I forget and how much is still fresh. Though, it has probably been good to not watch it for a few months.

Page48 said...

8 times thru the series, Uncle? Wow! We're talking 'repeat offender'. You are an "Alias" warrior. Good work.

Well, I finished watching "Transformers" tonight. As mentioned, it was written by the experienced "Alias" team of Kurtzman and Orci (who wrote nearly 10% of the series) which is what possessed me to watch it in the first place.

The movie works on a certain level. Clearly, there isn't anything remotely believable about Transformers (they make 'Red
Ball over Svogda' look like a documentary), and to their credit, the writers didn't try to pass it off as dead serious. But, they struck a nice balance between high stakes action/adventure and tasteful humour. There were a few scenes that had me pissing my pants, but it wasn't stupid "American Pie"-type humour, it was actually pretty clever.

"Transformers" reminded me of the kind of summer movie we used to watch at the drive-in years ago, only a lot more visually spectacular. Good humour, gorgeous girls (including one with an irresistable Aussie accent), plenty of carnage but only a few incidents of implied death, and an ordinary Joe who emerges as a hero.

Certainly it was no "Alias", but watch this and you can just imagine what "Alias" might look like on the big screen with the right people involved.

And, just for good measure, "Transformers" featured a small role for one "Alias" actor, who appeared in 2 episodes as Marlon Bell, who gleefully showed up to witness Arvin Sloane's execution.

Oh, Sloane's execution! You're right, Uncle, I need to cue up "Truth Be Told" and start all over again.

SKlaft said...

Page48

Ha! That's funny. Only 6 degrees from ALIAS in any direction.

BTW to all:

Nearly all of ABC's primetime programming is available to watch for free on their website.

After I watched the lastest Samantha Who? episode, I spent the evening watching "Big Shots." It wasn't bad for an evening-in. I was never able to see the characters as different from who I remember them as playing in other shows (now there is some interesting sentence construction), but it was fun seeing them altogether nonetheless.

"Bobby Donall" from The Practice

"Michael Vaughn" from... (whats the name of that spy show again?)

and "Jeremy Goodwin" from Sports Night

There were plenty of others, but I couldn't place them. Anyway, my point is that TV shows are available to watch for free.

-R.

SKlaft said...

Oh... hey...

I take umbridge at your comment implying that Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' is somehow boring.

Mel Gibson's rendition of Hamlet stands somewhere in my top 25 best movies of all time. If you've never seen it, give it a try.
-R.

uncle111 said...

Robetron-
Gibson's Hamlet- I started to comment on that too. That production was the first I could understand and I think Mel makes not only the dialog, but the character understandable. I was really impressed with his rendition. Extremely well played.

Page48 said...

Robetron, unfortunately, for those of us living outside the US of A, ABC (and the other networks) block their streaming video.

This forces guys like me and LTA's overseas visitors to:

a) spoof an IP address, which I know nothing about how to do, or
b) head for a torrent site and download illegally (which causes me a twinge of guilt that I don't think I should be subjected to)

Downloading torrents is how I get in on shows like "Burn Notice", which are unavailable to me otherwise.

This decision by the networks is no doubt about ratings, since non-USA viewership is not considered in the calculation of ratings. IMO, the whole concept of ratings needs to be overhauled to reflect the digital age. Perhaps we could keep a good show on the air a little longer if the question of actual viewership was a little more clear.

As for Hamlet (and the Bard in general), I just can't go there. But enjoy if you will, guys, and take umbridge with a clear consience. My range, I suspect, is a tad narrower than yours. My idea of a good Mel movie is "Conspiracy Theory" (with Julia Roberts).

Page48 said...

BTW, I have to go on record as saying that this is the best day this blog has seen in quite some time. It would be nice to see broader participation, but we've been comatose for a while and it's good to see we're not dead yet. And, if disagreeing with me is all it takes to get things going, then feel free cuz "it's alright ma, I can take it" (yet another Dylan quote).

uncle111 said...

Conspiracy Theory was good too.

Page48 said...

I know I should go to bed because I have this work thingy I have to get to in the morning, but I just feel like being a blogging fool tonight.

I just noticed that Carl Lumbly, who has really done dick since "Alias", is slated to "appear" in a video game with Natasha Henstridge in 2008. Now that's not really noteworthy except for this: Henstridge is also Victor Garber's new co-star in "Eli Stone".

SKlaft said...

I guess I would visit and comment more often if I were able to stay home, as I have today.

Okay, Page48, maybe "umbridge" is a bit stronger language than I intended. I respect your right to an opinion as much as any American resident. (I would't want someone to be discouraged from expanding their minds into a higher eschelon of literary understanding and acheivement just because someone made it seem like such things are boring and it went unchallenged, however.) After all, opinions are one of those things that "We the people of the United States" recognize as "unalienable rights" that were "endowed" to "...all Men..." "...by their Creator." Moreover, "[W]e hold these truths to be self evident," and therefore need no futher discussion. You're not into Hamlet, and that's cool too.

I'm with you, in countradistinction to the Shakespeare thing, on the networks getting hip to the digital age. Something tells me their inability to track the shows actual watchers has something to do with the writer's strike.

I just don't understand what the big deal is with downloading Tivo'ed shows accross the internet. the Networks get their money from the advertisers when it originally airs. Who cares what happens to it after that? Something tells me that the folks who trim all the commercials out with the Tivo are not the types who willing watch commercials when they first air anyway. Personally, I mute every commercial I can. I hate commercials. they ruin the fluidity of the story. (This is why I often buy episodes of my favorite TV shows from iTunes or Amazon Unbox rather than endure the original airing.)

I don't think you should be forced to feel guilty. What I am wondering is... whose law do they say you violate? American? You are not amenable to it. Has Canada wasted the time to protect the "intelectual property rights" of those who are not Canadian citizens? Who voted for the representatives that inacted international law banning internet downloads? Who would enforce such a law?

The global connection of the internet makes the laws of any particular nation-state a little hazy to me. How can any government presume the authority over a global system?

Maybe it IS a moral question, but that isn't much clearer, other than the originaters of certain forms of art saying, "Hey, don't do that with my work." The moral thing to do is to submit to their wishes, even if the actual material was provided to our possession free of charge by those who paid for it legitimately. Possession... 9/10ths, as they say.

Anyone following my thinking, or am I just rambling because its late at night? I have the sense that it is the latter, so I'll quit here.

-R.

Tammy said...

Wow so much activity! :) It's fun! I'm just at the end of Season 3 again. I think this is probably my fifth time through the series. I know what is going to happen, and yet I gasp still! Lauren as the shooter on the roof when Lazarey is killed is one of my all time favorite twists! Love it!

I miss this show!! We are also working our way through Lost - We haven't seen season three (so no spoilers) but we want to catch up so we can watch 4 as it comes on TV. I can see some of the genius coming through in bits, but in my mind it came no where near Alias standards. I love seeing Kendall on Alias and then John Locke on lost though! :)

Page48 - if you missed my comment on the last post - email me and I'll show you how to make a live link in comments. I can't show you here because... well, it makes a link and doesn't show the HTML tags you need! tdmimms@yahoo.com

Page48 said...

Robetron, the guilt I feel from downloading shows is actually more like a nagging feeling that somebody somewhere (Homeland Security?, maybe Santa Claus?) knows what I'm doing and they're just waking up a judge at 3:00 a.m. to get the search warrant ready before they move in and shut me down, SWAT-style. That's what happens when you watch spy-shows, you start looking over your shoulder.

Tammy, "Lost" is an excellent show, but moves at the polar opposite of warp speed, unlike "Alias" which moves faster than a fart in a hurricane. The slow pace can be annoying, but we're all hanging in there hoping the payoff is worth it.

Page48 said...

Tammy, thanks.

I did miss your last post re: inserting links, but in the meantime, I went back and checked your source code and then I went to a "rival" blog and tried it out anonymously, and it worked. I know, that's really classy, eh?

Somewhere around the house I have my old "HTML for Dummies" book, but who knows what dusty corner it's resting in these days.

SRM said...

"faster than a fart in a hurricane" LOL, page where do you come up w/ this stuff?? :) Just wanted to say hi to everyone and Happy Holidays! I'm off to my native land of snow-covered MI tomorrow for a week, will check back in once I'm back in sunny NC...well not sunny today but usually...

a clever name said...

I didn't even know the actors did the voiceovers for POA-the next time I watch I will have something new to look for-or rather listen for.

I agree-Samantha, who? Very funny show. In my opinion the best new show is Journeyman, but alas, that show has been cancelled.

And, to Kendrah it looks like we share a birthday and I hope yours was a happy one!

SKlaft said...

I don't know if it is appropriate to keep bringing up "The Kingdom," but since I finally got around to watching it tonight, I feel compelled to comment.

Either the critics are too dull-witted to to recogize a good movie when it is made, or they didn't see the same movie I just did. It is very likely the former. This movie, contrary to critical description, was not about Captian Joe America going over to seek revenge on a Sheikah wearing Cobra Commander. It was not about cowboy-Roy evenin' th' score. It was not even actual military people being sent to Saudi Arabia. The main characters were FBI investigators who wanted to help find the perpetrators of a bombing. In the process, we are shown the difficulties of communication, much less cooperation between the Muslim culture and the Western culture.

There are some obvious story-telling devices that are used (other wise there wouldn't be much of a movie), but over all it was tastefully and artfully presented.

No, it wasn't a movie that focused on any one particular character, and I think Peter Burg (a.k.a. The Snowman) did that on purpose. The main character of this movie is the extreme tension between the cultures, particularly in light of recent history (hence, the history lesson in the beginning of the movie).

Needless to say, I liked it, and can recommend it to anyone, American, non-American alike. I'm not sure if muslims will necessarily appreciate it in the braod ranging scope, but something tells me that Americans were the target audience for this Hollywood film. (Actually, I'm a little suprised, being a Hollywood film, that it did not portray the American government as the greater villan in it all, though, there is a slight alusion to that, if you watch carefully.)

That notwithstanding, go rent it and support our girl, Sydn... uh, J.G. She only has two or three lines with foul language. Try to tune that out.

Peace, and chicken grease.
Latter.
-R.

Page48 said...

Robetron, let's face it, there's not an abundance of "Alias" news these days so I can't see anything wrong with discussing TK.

I started to post a comment a few weeks ago, and I can't recall whether I posted it or not, so I'll bang it out again since it relates to your point regarding fair treatment to both side of the conflict.

The point was that I read an American blogger Debbie Schlussel , hammering TK for being pro-Saudi. She vehemently suggested that it was a Saudi-funded propaganda piece designed to dupe the American public into seeing Saudis as a warm and fuzzy outfit interested in stamping out terrorism.

The same evening I read a TK review from a PH.D, writing (or whining?) in the Asia Times , about, among other things, "its veiled, and not so veiled, Saudi-bashing".

Well, which is it, American Saudi-bashing or a Saudi-funded propaganda puff piece?? What do you want to bet these people wrote their reviews AND THEN went to see the movie?

I think Jen dropped (by my count) about 7 F-bombs, half of which were muffled.

BTW, I think my favourite line in TK came from Chris Cooper near the big finishing sequence, after considerable ammo and explosives had been expended, and the team was about to storm the building. A Saudi voice is heard to say "this is very bad neighbourhood", to which Cooper's carefully considered reply was "yeah, no shit". You just have to see that scene to appreciate the understatement in that response. Bad neighbourhood indeed.

Page48 said...

P.S. regarding TK, it was great seeing Syd and The Snowman in the same frame again. Too bad it was such a small on-screen part for Berg, but he had other duties to attend to.

SKlaft said...

It's almost like, if a movie is stiring up controversy, and people on both sides are posturing and spinning about how they view it... it might just be a good movie.

I thought it was a very well written story that carefully ballanced the the presentation of a fictional story based (or adapted from) real events in recent history.

I went back to look at the special features, and the DVD had a cool timeline of Saudi history and how it has impacted it's relationship with the U.S. Anything that educates me and gives me a better perspective on things, I consider to be a worthy item. Check it out.

Page48 said...

The hype has begun in earnest for "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles". I see at least one promo per day. It will be interesting to see how if fares. I don't know how the writers' strike will affect it, but at least the premiere will air on schedule.

Also nice to see "The Kingdom" DVD getting plenty of radio and TV hype this week, at least in my neck of the woods. Go Jenny, Go.

Page48 said...

GS has mentioned Shauna Duggins before. She, of course, is Jen's stunt double and follows Jen from one project to another ("Alias", TK, "Elektra", "Daredevil", among others).

She's clearly staying in touch with her "Alias" pals, because she continues to work with many of them: "Lost", "Brothers & Sisters", "What About Brian", JJ's un-named HBO project, and "Transformers".

Also of late, she has worked on the new "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (note "the kingdom" also appears in that title), the new "Get Smart" movie, as well as Ben Affleck's latest, "Gone Baby Gone".

Next year, we'll get to see what she looks like, as she plays "woman in truck" in the upcoming movie, "Amusement".

Clearly, the "Alias" team was impressed the her work, and "X-Files" and Indiana Jones would look great on anyone's resume. Sure beats the hell out anything I can put on mine.

Imagine having those kinds of credentials and yet no one recognizes you when you go for groceries.

Page48 said...

It's interesting to see the way relationships unfold in Hollyweird.

-Matthew Michael Carnahan wrote "The Kingdom", directed by Peter Berg.
-Carnahan also wrote "Lions For Lambs", in which Peter Berg appears.
-Peter Berg appears in "Smokin' Aces" with Jason Bateman and Jen's hubby, Ben.
-Bateman appears in TK with Peter Berg.
-Bateman will appear in "Hancock", written & directed by Berg
-Bateman will appear in Carnahan's next movie, "State of Play".
-Bateman appears with Jen in TK and immediately afterward...
-Bateman appears with Jen in "Juno".
-Jamie Foxx appears with Berg in "Collateral"
-Berg directs Foxx in TK

It's clear that the buddy system is alive and well and living in L.A., and it seems that Jason Bateman is everybody's buddy.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to see that The Kingdom is being discussed again because I just saw it this weekend also. How about Jen's fight scene? That was by far more intense than anything in Alias. It was more gritty and real and, maybe because it was a movie and not a tv series, but it felt more dangerous. I had to watch it twice because it was so good. I do love to see ole JG kickin' some butt again. And it was nice to see Shauna's name in the credits.

And glad to hear that Shauna's not on the unemployment line because of Jen's lack of current ass-kicking projects.

There's been a lot of hype on Juno lately. I even heard someone mention Jen's performance in the same breath as Oscar. Might be a stretch but good to see her getting props for her acting.

Page48 said...

Bonkers, I'm seeing promos for "Juno" that don't even let on that Jen is in the movie. Not a good marketing ploy to a guy like me. Jen is the ONLY thing that could get me seated in front of a flick like that, and even then, I'd have one eye on the EXIT.

SKlaft said...

Having just watched the preview for "Juno," I can honestly say that the odds of me EVER watching that movie are less than slim.

Indeed, the likelyhood that life sprang out of inanimate objects like rocks, dirt, and water is about on an equal basis.

I like Jen, but not nearly enough to spend hard earned cash on a "teen deals with things beyond her maturity level" sort of movie. Nope. It would have to be a really good date with the hope of marriage that convinces me to see this in the theater. I would have to be married already, having an anniversary, and being forced to make up for something I did wrong to rent it and watch it at home.

Like I said, the odds are not good.

-R.

Page48 said...

Jen needs to install the McAfee Hollywood Spam Filter to keep the bogus movie pitches from jamming her inbox. With the correct settings, she would never hear about "Juno" or "Dude, Where's My Car?".

Page48 said...

Cloverfield has it's official website up. I'm a little discouraged to learn that the whole film is supposed to look like it was shot on a single handheld camera. I can live with the occasional scene like that, but the whole movie?

According to Wikipedia, in an effort to prevent the story from leaking out during auditions, hopefuls were asked to read scenes, from, among other things, old episodes of "Alias". Can you picture showing up to audition for a movie, and they ask to see your best Sydney Bristow?

Anonymous said...

hey -- anyone see the new national treasure movie?? In it the president tells Nick Cage's character "be sure to check out page 47" when Cage is looking for the presidents' book of secrets and afterwards says "what did you think of what was on page 47?" and they talk a bit -- setting things up for the next movie I guess. I say that reference is definitely someone shouting out to Alias fans -- my husband scoffs and says its just a common number to use....anyone have thoughts on this? (it wasn't directed by JJ)

uncle111 said...

#47-
It's hard to know. Normally I would say they are winking at us, and I think they probably are. However, in the pilot episode of the 1960's spy series, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., the number 47 shows up twice on the hero's speedometer, and I have recently noticed 47 at least one other time in the DVDs of the series.

Page48 said...

NT-BOS is on my watchlist, but I haven't seen it yet. It was only in checking out NT-BOS on the internet, that I realized there was an original NT in 2004. Guess I wasn't paying attention. So now I think I'll have to see the original first and then watch NT-BOS.

Nicholas Cage is one of those actors who has a penchant for sci-fi/adventure movies (caught "Next" and "Ghost Rider" this year) that don't win Oscars, but make for easy watching. I always keep an eye out for Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis and a few other notables who are not afraid to tackle the suspension-of-disbelief genre that appeals to "Alias" nuts like me.

Speaking of Will Smith, I watched "I Am Legend" last week. I would have written a different ending myself, but still a decent outing for the Fresh Prince.

Page48 said...

ABC landed a marketing punch at about 3 minutes before midnight, with their extendo-mix promo for the new season of "Lost". Unfortunately, we're still a month away from the season premiere. Obviously, the promo is designed to tease, but it sure looks like the pace will be faster than we had to deal with last season.

I wonder if ABC ever juiced an "Alias" season premiere with a lengthy promo just seconds before the ball dropped, or would it be more appropriate to say that, where "Alias" is concerned, they just dropped the ball.

BTW, if "Lost" had a full season in the can prior to the writers' strike (I don't know if they did), imagine what the ratings could be for this season, with precious little competition on the air.

Anyway, while I get back to my cheap American beer, Happy New Year to anyone foolish enough to have read this far.

SRM said...

Happy new year everyone! page - as far as I know, Lost has 8 eppies in the can, which is why it took the old Grey's slot since they don't have many. I'm bummed I missed the extended promo...I was watching a movie and paused it just in time to see the ball hit 2008, then went back to the movie. When Lost returns at the end of the month I hope to continue the blogging fun on the Let's Get Lost blog! The link is on this blog's homepage for any newbies. :)

SRM said...

ok...I'm just a little excited I got to be the 47th post...hehehe, yeah I'm a dork...

uncle111 said...

Hey all,
I was out looking at TV's last night. I was blown away by the quality of a 52" Sony home theater with LCD screen whihc was showing Blue Ray demo DVD's. It was mesmerizing! At times it looked 3D. I can't wait till I can afford one and Disney puts Alias out in Blue Ray!

Anyway, there was a display at Walmart for some DVD, I don't know if it was Tranformers or something else, but there was a big number 47in the graphics in the upper right corner. Any one seen this?

Page48 said...

Uncle, I've often thought that "Alias" in Blu-Ray would be quite a spectacle. Not that I own anything that can play Blu-Ray yet, but someday, with any luck, I will.

Right now, the closest thing I have to an HD device is my 1280 x 800 laptop. I can always hope that the old tube TV will crap out and force my hand, but it's been hanging in there for years and the only maintenance is the yearly dusting. I may have to do like Elvis and shoot it.

The whole LCD display thing is a little intimidating to me, with contrast ratios, response times, displayable colours, HDMI, DVI, etc........

Having said all that, I want HD and I want it now.

I did watch "Transformers" but I did not notice a 47. I must say, though, that it took my second trip through "Alias" to start noticing the frequent occurrence of Marshall's favourite prime number. Maybe I need to watch "Transformers" again with an eagle eye.