Get Him to the Greek

As I become older, the less and less I enjoy comedies at the movies. For some reason, the big screen seems like a showcase for action and drama, while the small screen seems suited for comedy in half hour segments. This isn’t without its exceptions; I thought the Hangover was great. So going into Get Him to the Greek I was a bit skeptical. However, I did enjoy the movie.

The movie depends on the physical and awkward humor of Jonah Hill and the over the top performances from Russell Brand and Sean Combs. All of them seem perfectly cast in their roles. Hill seems to spew physical, awkward humor while also giving a little heart. Brand naturally seems like a strung out rock star. Both of their characters back stories’ attempt to make them more human. I’m not sure if it works in the end and I didn’t really feel for either of the characters. The movie benefits from the action and problems Hill has in dragging Russell to each appearance. Hill’s problems provide plenty of humorous moments. The physical humor and jokes at Hill’s expense could get tiresome, and nearly does, but Combs brings fresh energy near the end to push the movie to its conclusion. The end of the movie tries to give the characters heart, but it seems a little too awkward and rushed. Overall, it's a decent movie that I’m glad I saw, but don’t know if I’ll be seeing again.

NBA Finals

At the beginning of the series, I had thought the Boston, despite having a less than impressive regular season, but a brilliant playoff run would have the edge. I thought that the Lakers would have difficulty defending guards Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. Either Derek Fisher or Kobe Bryant would be matched up against them. Derek Fisher seemed overmatched and Kobe, I thought, would be worn out having to chase around Rondo or fighting through screens guarding Allen. I thought Paul Pierce on Ron Artest and Kevin Garnett on Paul Gasol would be interesting matchups.

Now with the series at 3-3, the series and the NBA season comes down to one game. Thus far Kobe Bryant has been the MVP. If the Lakers lose on Thursday and Kobe receives the MVP award, which he deserves, he will be the second player ever to win the MVP after Jerry West in 1969 (Boston fittingly beat the Celtics 4-3). Kobe showed why he deserves the MVP in Game 6. He scored 26 pts (he has scored more than 20 pts every game) and was active all game. He brought energy by jumping after loose balls and playing an active role on defense.

The series is not as I expected it. As I wrote before, I thought the guard play would favor the Celtics, but Kobe has played well all series and Derek Fisher was big in the 4^th quarter of Game 3. Both Rondo and Allen have played below expectations. Allen was huge in Game 2 (8-11 3pt and 32 pts) but has been very pedestrian otherwise. Rondo similarly had a great Game 2 (19 pts, 10 ast, 12 reb), but has also very pedestrian in the rest of the series. The Celtics have held the Lakers down with good defense and vice versa. In Game 5, the Celtics forced Kobe to be a one man show, which is what they will have to do the win the series. Boston’s most consistent performers have been Pierce and Garnett, who has hit some key shots and has looked good since the series moved to Boston. The Lakers defense of Rondo looks laughable, but it works. They are begging him to take a jump shot. Kobe and other defenders are giving him 3 to 4 feet of space. Rondo has to get a jump shot in the off season or he should expect this type of defense all season. Teams used to play Derrick Rose this way until he convinced them that his jumper can be equally as deadly.

I give the edge in Game 7 to the Lakers only because of home court advantage, but in my mind it is a toss-up. As the commercials said, “legacies are at stake”. I’m sure Kobe will show up the question is who will for the Celtics? They can’t have another performance where they score 67 points (Game 6). Give credit to the Lakers for being up to the task of shutting down a Celtic team that has multiple weapons.

Stargate Universe Season 1

Looking back at Season 1, I am excited about the promise and progress of the show. This is not like former Stargate series. It’s darker, less action, more drama, more conflict, and less friends. I’m a fan of the series. The best part of the series is the Col. Young and Dr. Rush. It’s extremely interesting to see their characters develop and interact violently at times. Although the show sometimes falls into the trap of dealing with one Armageddon-like catastrophe each week, conflicts and past disagreements are often carried over throughout the series.

It seemed early on that the show was using a bunch of devices to carry the story and build characters (kino and communication stones), but they have drifted a bit away from that (well the kino-storytime parts at least). I think it was probably necessary to build up some of the characters. One thing I do enjoy is no aliens. Although there was the attack on the ship, the aliens did not dominate the storyline and the drama was more built on the characters reacting to the situation rather than aliens being equal in importance.

The series, like any other, isn’t without its faults. The show has a cast of thousand, not literally, but there are a lot of characters and a lot of storylines that just die or are never seen again. (For example, what about the civilian leader on earth telling Camille Wray to take control on board? Or what about Lt. Scott’s feud at the end the season) These might be little seeds for future seasons, but the some of the characters still suffer from underdevelopment. (For instance, Camille Wray) Rush and Young are much stronger characters and she is usually the one complaining while Rush and Young drive the action. This might be interesting to watch down the line, but too many times we see one episode designed to explore a character’s past and then don’t really explore it further. Maybe it helps build background, but there are too many characters to do that with and the focus is sometimes lost. There is no intense, intimate relationship we have with the characters like in Dexter.

The season ended with a storyline built over the last few episodes about the Lucian Alliance using Dr. Rush in Col. Telford’s body (who had been brainwashed) to dial the 9^th chevron and boarding the ship. I think it was the best part of the season. It was interesting and exciting to see the crew deal with this new threat with their underlying conflicts present. If the season has shown anything, it shows that while Wray, Rush, and Young don't get along normally, they will work together against a common enemy, or problem. I thought there could have been a little more action and intrigue (like The Negotiator), but I was still excited to see each episode. The rays potentially killing everyone aboard also was a nice wild card thrown into the mix. I was also extremely pleased to see Col. Young’s notion that he can save everyone go down. I felt that was the downfall of the previous Stargates. There was always a way to bring back a character and they never left anyone behind even if it meant a bigger disaster unfolding. Col. Young knows he cannot save all the hostages held by the Alliance, but still is determined to (and if he could I would have lost respect for the series.) and it is interesting, but not surprising that Rush is the one to tell him it.

The really disappointing part of the season was that it didn’t end. The mid season ending had more of a finale feel. I understand the attraction for a cliffhanger, but it’s like they just forgot to show the last 10 minutes. Nothing was resolved just pushed until next season. I much rather prefer the way Chuck did it this season (unveiling a new storyline) or Dexter did it. (I won’t say again how expert it was to finish the season that way.) They both finished a major storyline, but made you want to continue next season. So now I feel obligated to watch the first episode, not that I wouldn’t have anyways. Despite my disappointment, I still am looking forward to see what they have planned for next season after they finish this one.