Inception – no spoilers

The plot synopsis from IMDB: In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a single idea within one’s mind can be the most dangerous weapon or the most valuable asset.

That grabbed me right away. The trailers for the movie made it look incredibly cool. Because of the trailers I was wary about seeing the movie though. Hollywood always puts the best parts in the trailer, sometimes even giving away the ending. I worried that might be the case here. I was so wrong.

This movie was so good on so many levels. At a basic level the movie is about corporate espionage. Cobb is an expert at invading your dreams and extracting secrets you don’t want to get out. At its heart it’s about family and forgiveness.

The story was great. The writing was incredible. This is one script I want to study just to see how Christopher Nolan did it. The layers were amazing. He was subtle with his setups and hit us right between the eyes with the pay offs. And the end is one of those endings that make you wonder. The question I had at the end of the movie is one I had in my mind the whole time the movie was running. It will make you think. I’ll probably watch the movie a number of times to see if I missed anything. If anything in the movie makes the answer to the ending question obvious. I don’t think there is. But we’ll see.

The shooting script for the movie will be for sale in September. I can’t wait to get my hands on it. I want to read it and just study every page. Now if any of you Hollywood types out there want to send me a copy before then, I wouldn’t say no.

I heard on the radio this morning that this was DiCaprio’s best opening weekend yet. That’s good news for people who love this kind of movie. Go out and see this movie so Hollywood will keep giving us movies like this. It’s one of those movies I wish I’d written.

Anyone else see it? What did you think? If you’re going to comment, please no spoilers.

I’m off to work to see if anyone there saw Inception over the weekend. I feel the need to discuss without worrying about spoilers.

Until next time…

Cindy

2010 – 2011 Pilot Season

What will you be watching? I talked a few weeks ago about the shows that have been renewed and the ones that have been cancelled. Now it’s time to talk about new shows. There’s always a ray of hope when pilot shows are announced. They’re shiny and new with so much potential. Maybe they can help a network regain ratings. Then again maybe not. I’m looking at the shows they want to give us for the 2010 – 2011 pilot season and I have to say, I’m not impressed.

Do we really need more cop shows? Or medical dramas? Why, oh why, won’t the networks give us something new? Something fresh. Something different. Do they just not know what that is anymore? Are they too hung up on ratings to take a chance? Well, yeah they are. They don’t give shows much of a chance these days. Happy Town was cancelled after the first or second episode. They’re remaking Hawaii Five-O for Pete’s sake. The recycling of movies isn’t enough. They have to do it with TV shows too. All’s fair in love and ratings, right? Yeah, well, I want something new, something different. I won’t be watching a remake of a 60’s show I didn’t even watch when it was on TV the first time. It lasted twelve seasons. I didn’t watch any of them. And they’re remaking The Rockford Files. I mean, come on people. There are really no other TV show ideas out there? One remake I will be watching is Nikita. I watched a few episodes of the show when it was on in the 90’s. I’d like to see what they do with that one. And how about Prime Suspect? Not really a remake but let’s copy another British show because Hollywood can’t think up of something on their own. The British always do them better. And this is not just the frustrated screenwriter talking. This is the frustrated TV viewer talking.

So what do we have to look forward to? I’m not going into all of them. I’ll talk about the ones I’ll probably be watching and ones I will definitely not be watching.

Of the CBS offerings the only drama that holds any appeal to me is Chaos. I love CIA stuff. All the other dramas I’ll pass on thanks. Out of the dramas CBS is offering there are at least four cop shows and one medical drama.

Onto NBC. Two dramas get the thumbs up from me based on the premise. I’ll just have to see if the pilots are any good. I will be checking out The Event, a thriller about a regular Joe caught up in a large conspiracy. I love thrillers. I love conspiracies. Next up for me will be Undercovers about a couple pulled out of retirement to rejoin the CIA. Again, love CIA stuff. And it’s JJ Abrams. Of the NBC comedies being offered I might check out Beach Lane. But that’s only because it’s about an author.

The CW dramas are hit and miss. I might check out Betwixt. It’s a supernatural drama and I love the supernatural. Nikita, which I’ve already mentioned. And I might check out Nomads about a group of youths backpacking through countries who agree to perform secret missions for the CIA. There’s that CIA again.

As far as dramas go on ABC it’s a no for all of them except Body of Evidence which is a maybe and No Ordinary Family which is also a maybe.

Onto FOX. Well, FOX’s drama offerings did nothing for me except for one. But it looks like I’ll have to wait until 2011 to see that one. Terra Nova, a time travel drama about a family who goes back in time to the prehistoric age. They have one comedy I might check out. The Station about a CIA operative and his work buddies. Are we seeing a theme here?

So far none of the comedies offered, by any of the networks except FOX, have me wanting to set up the DVR for them. If the FOX comedy is good I’ll be adding that one to the ones I already watch.

Well, that’s it for now. Updates later if anything good comes up.

I’m off to work.

Until next time…

Cindy

The Amazing Race – 3

I’m not really one for “reality” shows. Never could get into them. Didn’t see the purpose of them. I’m proud to say I’ve never seen an episode of Survivor. However, when I started dating my boyfriend The Amazing Race 16 was on and he was a fan. I watched an episode with him and I was hooked. I love the show and finally understand my team leader’s enthusiasm for the show. To catch me up my boyfriend got a hold of seasons one to three.

We just finished watching season three and I’m disappointed that Flo and Zach won. Only because she didn’t deserve it. She gave up numerous times. She complained all the time. I was however thrilled that Teri and Ian did not win.

I had my favourite teams of course. I was sad to see the twins go. Not just because they were eye candy, though that helped. They didn’t really lose their cool. Maybe it was because from the very beginning all the other teams wanted to get rid of them. But I liked them. And I had my least favourite teams. I couldn’t stand Teri and Ian. Actually, I couldn’t stand Ian. I wished, often, that something would happen to him. Teri is a saint for staying married to him because if he’s like that in real life there’s no way I would have put up with him. I was so upset when they made it to the final three. Ian finally helped his wife up when they were walking back to the car after the drop into the water. Flo and Zach were one of my choices until the last couple of episodes. Could Flo get any more whiny and annoying? I wanted to hit her. I think Zach should get a medal for putting up with her. At one point Flo didn’t want to listen to Ian talk anymore. For three episodes I didn’t want to listen to Flo whine. I prayed she’d get laryngitis.

Of the last three teams I so wanted Ken and Gerard to win. They were one of the only teams that just had fun. They didn’t lose their cool. They weren’t mean to anyone. They didn’t complain.

The show can bring out the best in people and it can bring out the worst in people. I tend to root for the people who don’t let it get to them, who keep their cool and are pleasant and polite to everyone.

Off to work.

Until next time…

Cindy

How did your favourite shows do?

With most shows having aired their finales, I’m going to be complaining about some shows being cancelled. While others were not and should have been. I’ll also be celebrating the return of most of the shows I love. One thing I’m thrilled about is the return of Supernatural for the 2010-2011 season even though they still haven’t seen the wisdom in having me write an episode for them.

When it comes to the shows the networks renewed, let’s talk about what the networks did right for the 2010-2011 television season. Castle, The Mentalist, Glee, Bones, House, Human Target, Lie to Me, Chuck, Supernatural, Nurse Jackie, Psych, Stargate: Universe, Eureka, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, Rules of Engagement. Looking at this list tells me I watch too much TV.

Now let’s talk about what they did wrong. Criminal Minds, CSI: Miami, Smallville, Fringe. There are other shows I could do without too but those are the ones that I could do without the most. I loved Smallville when it first started. I faithfully watched for five seasons. Then it got ridiculous. I loved Criminal Minds too. Until they had an episode that completely ticked me off. I haven’t watched an episode since. I shudder every time I think of CSI: Miami. If they would just kill off Horatio I’d watch the show.

Onto cancellations. What did the networks do right? Ghost Whisperer, Cold Case, Defying Gravity, Eastwick, Guiding Light, As the World Turns, High Society, The Hills, I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here, Jon & Kate Plus Eight, Melrose Place, More to Love. There are so many more that they did right but those are the main ones. Some just overstayed their welcome. Some got ridiculous (Ghost Whisperer, anyone?). Some were ridiculous to begin with.

When it comes to cancellations what did the networks do wrong? A lot. But then they always do. Here are the cancellations I think shouldn’t have been cancelled. Better Off Ted, Dollhouse (Fox, what do you have against Joss Whedon?), FlashForward, Num3rs, Survivors. Shows I really like that are a little wacky and that I watch without fail tend to get cancelled. Maybe I should start watching some of those reality shows. Those are a little wacky.

Off to work.

Until next time…

Cindy

LOTR Marathon

It’s not even June yet and I’m three movies away from being half way through my 100 for the year. This past weekend helped a lot with that total. My quota for each month is eight movies. On the weekend I watched seven.

The highlight of the weekend was the Lord of the Rings marathon. It had been years since I’d seen them. There were a few things I didn’t remember about the movies. In the first movie, I didn’t remember the torturing of Gollum. I didn’t remember how Frodo and Sam hooked up with Merry and Pippin. I forgot that Frodo kept getting stabbed even though the second time was set up very well in Rivendell when Bilbo gave him the metal shirt. I completely forgot about the huge fight scene before Frodo goes off on his own.

From the second movie I noticed the scars on Gollum’s back. I didn’t notice them before. The rest of the second movie I remembered. From the third movie I forgot the very end when Frodo went off on the boat. I remembered as far as Sam’s wedding.

Loved all of them. But watching them the second time around I can see places where the films could have been shortened. The battle scenes definitely didn’t need to be as long as they were. And we didn’t even watch the extended versions.

Also saw Up for the first time. Great movie. I loved it. I can see why it was nominated for Oscars. Another movie we watched, that I had completely discounted when I first saw previews for it, was Bon Cop, Bad Cop. It’s a Canadian movie. Great action. Great storyline. Great characters. The movie actually made me like Quebecers. The Quebec cop in the movie is hilarious. He was my favourite character.

So to keep up with my quota I need to watch three movies in June. I suspect I’ll be watching more than that. For now, I’m off to work.

Until next time…

Cindy

Mish Mash Monday

I know I’ve done this before, reworked what the blog is about, and I’m doing it agian. Anyone who reads the blog regularly will know I haven’t really been keeping up with regular blog posts. So the plan is to post Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Mondays will be Mish Mash Monday. Where anything is fair game but it will usually be entertainment related. Wednesdays will be Writing Wednesdays. I’ll be blogging about writing. How my WIPs are going. Blogs about craft. And Fridays will be Freaky Fridays. I’ll be talking about strange and fascinating superstitions.

I was going to talk about gardening today but since I didn’t actually get around to it on the weekend that topic is out. I’m hoping by next weekend I’ll have my raspberry bushes planted.

I feel compelled to talk about a James Bond movie I sort of half watched on Sunday. Live and Let Die. Am I the only person who thought this movie was HORRIBLE? The story itself didn’t hold my interest. When I watch a Bond movie I’m expecting action, intrigue, international destinations, spies. Not Voodoo and hick characters from Louisiana. Could they get any more stereotypical? I’m mean, come on. What were they thinking? And the dialogue. I almost lost my lunch with some of it.

Let’s talk about the CIA agent who freaked out at a dead snake. And then freaked out at a Voodoo warning. And then didn’t know how to use a gun. Her acting wasn’t that great either. I wasn’t sorry to see her get shot. After Bond had slept with her of course.

The whole story was so lame. I still don’t know what they were actually trying to do/stop. And please, can we talk about the “fight” scenes. How bad were they? The boat scene? I’ve seen much better. Of course it was 1973 and movies have come a long way since then. But story is still story. A good story is what it should be about. Maybe the original Ian Fleming story was good but the movie was, dare I say it again, horrible.

The only good things about the movie were Jane Seymour and the title song. She’s still beautiful today but wow, was she gorgeous back then.

Okay, I should get to some writing. I love a stat holiday Monday. Happy Victoria Day everyone!

Until next time…

Cindy