But is such happiness sustainable?

On my brother's recommendation I checked out the pilot for Glee. I liked it and will be watching when it comes on again in the fall(?). The action centers around the Glee Club's advisor and the kids in the club itself (focusing on a couple, with the others not receiving much attention). 

The setting is in a stereotypical high school with the standard cliques (jocks, cheerleaders, etc.). Very similar to High School Musical there are stigmas attached to artistic activities and crossing over is taboo. Also similar to HSM one of the main characters is a jock unsatisfied with being just one thing. There are a lot of characters and the pilot sets up many possible story lines within and among characters.

The question is, though, can all of the story lines be original and entertaining? High school has been the setting for many different stories (too many to list) so I can see it getting stale quickly. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops.

Back and Bloodier than ever.

The school year ended and I have some packing to avoid, so I'm back at the reviewing game.

Talking about Blood Diamond last night neither Jake nor Geoff could come up with a happy movie set in Africa in the past 10 years (Lion King is too old). And that's the way this goes. Set in Sierra Leone, Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou of Amistad and Gladiator) is separated from his family and forced to mine for diamonds. He finds a big 'un and is about to get killed over it when he miraculously is able to escape after hiding the diamond. Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a Zimbabwean (nee Rhodesian) profiteer who learns of the diamond and tries to get Solomon to take it to him. Add the American Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly) as the reporter who is trying to land a big story on the diamond trade and we've got a movie.

Two thoughts jumped out at me: 1) The plot is pretty standard and some of the action seems unreal. Coincidences and close calls make some of the movie eye-rollingly unoriginal. To be clear, the plot isn't bad, just nothing surprising. 2) A lot of it is too real, baring the atrocities in an un-gratuitous and revealing way. The violence isn't shocking for how it is depicted, it is shocking for what it is. Included in that is the violence committed against the young boys who are changed into child soldiers.

A big interesting theme that runs throughout the movie is the question of what should the rest of the world be doing in Sierra Leone? At times that question is uncomfortable as American culture and attention to suffering around the world is indicted. However, the movie is ultimately thought-provoking rather than accusatory.

I recommend Blood Diamonds with the caveat that its not great and you will see women and children die.

No time for the Jibba Jabba

From the Presidents- they're just like us! files here is an article about Barack Obama's TV preferences. 

No time for long posts but here is some quick hits:

TV

Lost- loving it, the plot is moving fast.

House- thanks, world, for ruining the major change to the show before I had a chance to watch it.

Movies

Zack and Miri make a Porno- don't see. I was excited to see the movie because I like most of the elements (Kevin Smith, Seth Rogan, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson, etc.) but it was bad. The best part was Jason Mewes (Jay of Jay and Silent Bob) who played a dumb guy instead of his normal character. 

Is THIS why we lost?!?!

Seriously, what. the. frick.

The what-what?

My Netflix queueueue is not organized and so I get random movies I have put on there for no known reason showing up in my mailbox . A week ago I got "The Chumscrubber" and put it off because I didn't really know what it was about. It is a suburban dystopia where, similar to "Brick" (a movie I highly recommend) and the show "Weeds" the kids live in an alternative world where they do adult things  (drugs, sex, crime, etc.) and the adults are petty and childish. The movie has a pretty good cast (Glen Close, Ralph Fiennes, Alison Janney and a host of familiar-looking teens/kids) and I think the acting is pretty good.

I thought it was a decent movie touching on themes that are overripe. The movie came out in 2005, so maybe I just watched it after its relevance, but I don't think that's the case. I liked the fantastic (as in fantasy) animation sequences- very much like "A Scanner Darkly" (or those Charles Schwab commercials with the real life people overlayed with animation, if you haven't seen Scanner)- that serve as commentary of the unnaturalness of suburban life but that aspect may have been too much because the action stands alone as commentary. It is more of a character-centered film, so unless you're gung-ho about criticizing suburbia it is not a must-see.

UPDATE: The Prez's picks!

Thoughts: 

1) His handwriting is very neat. 

2) Lots of safe picks.

3) I agree with him that, Tar Heels, you let everyone down. Maybe you shouldn't field a team and risk the chance of hurting our president.

No love for UConn...

In the style of the "They're just like Us" page in Us Weekly, apparently President Obama has made his picks for the tournament and given them to ESPN, fulfilling a promise he made to Andy Katz (of ESPN).

His picks: Louisville, Pitt, UNC, and Memphis. I'm trying not to read anything political into those choices because that's a pretty good Final Four. I am curious, though, to see if he will sneak a Dayton over West Virginia pick in there.