Sunday, May 10, 2009

Through the Looking Glass

Felicity was a hit TV show in the late 90s set in New York City about life, love, friendship, and teenage angst. Critics adored it. I made it a point to check it out if RPN 9 aired new episodes (that tv channel sucked, btw). NYC IS still the place where I want to work and live in my lifetime.
*****

Alias was a hit TV show at the turn of the new century. It was about Sidney Bristow, a double agent for the CIA, who worked to bring down SD6, Sark, a terrorist of a mother, and more bad guys.
The show made Jennifer Garner a star. She kicked ass. It was a cool show. The action, the out-of-this-world plot, the gadgets. It rocked!
I saw every episode of the show's entire 5-season run.
*****

LOST is another hit TV show about a Los Angeles-bound plane that crashes in a mysterious island somewhere in the Pacific.
For the first three seasons it focused on human drama showing, at times, the supernatural entities that live in the island. There were flashbacks - back stories of each pivotal character in the show. It kept me at the edge of my seat.
Then came the now-classic, hard to top, TV landscape-changing last episode of its 3rd season. Through The Looking Glass. For the entire episode it showed scenes outside of the island. Flashbacks. Similar to previous episodes. But towards the end of the show the creators turned the table on us. These were not flashback scenes but were taken from the future. Fastforwards.

The episode, methinks, catapulted the show to new heights. It paved the way for the show to explore time travel and enter the real of science fiction. Terrific.

LOST is a high-concept show which may turn off a lot of people. It requires keen mind, analytical skills, and the patience to read through internet forums and sites dedicated to LOST theories. I tell you it is worth the time spent reading and rereading theories on the net.
LOST is STILL the best current show on TV.
*****

All these shows were created and written by JJ Abrams. The guy who directed the 3rd installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise and created the polarizing Cloverfield, which by the way is one of my favorite popcorn movies from last year.

When he was chosen to direct a prequel to Star Trek I brushed it off. The franchise was too geeky for my taste. Too sci-fi. Too Lost in Space.
I had no idea what the show was about.

When I saw the trailer many months back I changed my mind. The trailer was interesting. Cool. Then Thursday I read the reviews. The critics were heaping praises. One critic even wrote that it was the best prequel ever. I was more intrigued.

I had to see what the fuss was about. Since personally I'm going through a rough and tough phase I wasn't going to watch the movie alone. So I dragged a buddy to watch it with me yesterday.
My verdict? Freaking amazing! Great!

You don't need to be a Trekkie, a fanatic of the show, to enjoy the movie. You won't get lost in the Star Trek saga. There may be some inside jokes for Trekkies but I didn't notice.
It boasts of terrific CGI, interesting banter, passable hand-to-hand combat, and solid plot.

Not once did I glance at my watch to check what time it was going to end.
Eat that Wolverine!

JJ Abrams is a god!

6 comments:

Raft3r said...

hehe
i love ny
kung don ka din titira, flatmates na lang tayo
=)

gillboard said...

Ako din, I enjoyed this movie alot. I think it helped that I had low expectations going to the cinema last Friday.

escape said...

really?! i have the same mind set. i dont want to watch it because i was never a trekkie. but this leads me to watching it too! yihaa!

wolverine?! i was disappointed.

The Scud said...

raft3r > tatandaan ko yan. :D

gillboard > entertainment at its finest ang star trek.

dong > napanood mo na? wolverine was a bit of a disappointment. saving grace lang dun sina gambit at deathpool. :D

Visual Velocity said...

Although I'm not a Trekkie, I think I'll be watching Star Trek. Rave reviews, mehn! Is it true; nanay daw ni Spock si Winona Ryder?

The Scud said...

YAndy > yep. nanay ni spock si winona. kung nanonood ka ng felicity, andun din si Meghan. Yung weird gf ni greg grunberg sa show. Hehe.