1. When was the last time you had a serious deadline to make, and did you make it? Since I'm a college student, I have deadlines to make with homework all the time. Beyond that, I have weekly deadlines for the school paper, deadlines for Pop Damage (which are longer & less stressful than the others) & when I'm writing for the local paper, I have more strict deadlines. Usually going out, conducting interviews & covering events, & submitting the article that night.

2. Do you generally plan for deadlines, or are they more likely to sneak up on you until you’re frantic? I try to plan for them, but with so much going on sometimes some sneak up. And sometimes it's inevitable, like when a source can only talk to me Monday morning & deadline is Monday evening.

3. When did you last set a deadline for someone else, and did that person make it? I'm not sure that I ever really have.

4. How flexible and understanding are you when it comes to other people meeting your deadlines? It depends. Usually it's not a big deal & I'm just annoyed.

5. What were the circumstances the last time you hung up on someone in the middle of a phone call, or the last time someone hung up on you in the middle of a phone call? I don't think I've been hung up on in years. I've hung up on my dad somewhat recently, though, just because he was being an ass & I was annoyed.

Wait a minute, I've done this before, haven't I?

Oh well.

Don't worry, it's not going to get its own weekly blog. Unless it gets really crazy. The only reason Lost gets its own weekly recap is because it's the best way to take it & tear it apart to try to get to the heart of it. Plus I'm an English major, what do you expect? I'll analyze the shit out of any story.

But no, White Collar is simpler. I'd say it's sexier, too, but I'm not really sure about that since we have so many pretty men who dislike shirts on the island. All I know for sure is Matt Bomer keeps the ladies - and some men - coming back. And Anne Rice is a fan.

It sucked me in. The only thing I don't like about it is the blatant Ford advertising, but what can you do? They're obviously a huge sponsor of the show & sponsors tend to have shows by the balls, especially when White Collar is still, essentially, in its infancy. We've only successfully carried it through one season, not much is certain. I've seen too many shows I love ruined after their first season. That said, I'm confident in White Collar - it's on USA, has great advertising, has a decent fanbase that's probably largely female, & has successfully used the internet & phones to its advantage. Most importantly, it's well-acted, well-written, compelling, & funny. Peter & Neal have this dynamic I just love. I keep comparing it to House's House & Wilson, except with less angst.

I got sucked in easily. I will watch it every week. Terra & I watched it weekly & if for some reason one of us missed it, we had no problem turning to Hulu. There have been many times where we've said, "Hey, turn it up, I loved this part," & one of us will move from one side of the room to the other just to see a few seconds of dialogue we loved. I will get sucked into marathons. All bets are officially off.

Now, with the season finale Tuesday night, my Tuesdays are more productive, but less entertaining. It's not the worst possible cliffhanger, unless you were gunning for Neal & Kate to be together. I was at first, but I'm now convinced that Kate is/was a gold-digging bitch. Marion didn't like her at all, either - I know this from the hilarious texts she sent me during the finale. The mid-season break cliffhanger was better. I yelled at my TV & discussed the show for hours on end over that one. Damn. I'm more interested in that Peter/Neal thing I mentioned earlier.

Mad props to Matt Bomer for his acting in that final scene, especially, though.

I definitely didn't see that ending coming, but it's not killing me. I do anxiously anticipate season two, though. And a season one DVD, with lots of nice bonus features. Come on USA, you can give me what I want.

And I swear to God, if you assholes of America ruined this for me like you ruined The Riches & Life on Mars, I'm coming after every single one of you that didn't at least give it a try.

Island:

I think we're seeing a change in Ben. I'm actually starting to like him, in a twisted sort of way. I mean, he's still pretty much a douche, but he's becoming less douchey. He's given a choice between good & evil, & he chooses good (unless, of course, the tables are turned & what we think is evil is actually good & vice versa). I actually felt bad for him as he cried in the end. And I knew he wouldn't actually die, because no way would ABC spoil that. Please. I'm on to you bastards.

I used to hate Miles, too, but I also like him more now. His sarcasm is my favorite. I loved his Nikki & Paulo reference. At least they'll have some purpose now.

I'm also starting to trust Ilana. I want her back story.

I love Richard so damn much. I feel bad for him, because everything's just going to shit for him right now. Now we have an answer for his lack of aging, in a way. Too bad we're not still doing flashbacks because I'd love one from Richard. I'll take any Richard-centric episode, really, I don't care. He's pretty much the most interesting character aside from Jacob right now.

Jacob's starting to sound more & more God-like to me. Let's hope I'm right. But why is Richard saying not to believe him now? Is it just because he's angry? If we're going with the God thing, Richard's like a deserter who lost faith when things went wrong. So he tries to kill himself, which he can't technically do, & Jack believes so strongly that fate will intervene & save both of them that he takes his chances - lucky for me, since Richard's one of my few favorites left. Jack proves they both have some purpose. This isn't over yet, for anyone. Except maybe the dead peeps. It's like Jack's become what Locke used to be. Will the atheist fans of the show be pissed if it's a huge religious allegory?

So what about people who have died? Methinks you can be killed in any other way, but suicide isn't an option. Michael couldn't kill himself, either. People have been killing each other this whole time.

...What the hell was the Black Rock carrying all that dynamite for? We never found out exactly what they were doing, did we?

I will never get tired of the adorable reunion sequences on this show, like the one with Sun, Hurley, & Jack.

And then, Charles Widmore. WHAT.

Other:

Note the reference to Napoleon, & the way Ben speaks of him. This is a direct reflection of how Island Ben feels, basically. He's lost his power. And Ben now is trying to rise to power, but at least he's a bit more likable than Island Ben. We also get references to the East India Trading Company. Nothing's accidental on this show.

Destiny has been hinted at a lot on this show, but I think it's becoming more & more obvious. Look at how everyone's lives are intersecting here, & look at who comes together in this one - Ben, Arzt, Locke, & Alex, & Alex also implies Rousseau. I would've loved to actually see her in this episode. Ben's still, in a way, taking care of Alex. He's almost cute with her, in a totally non-creepy kind of way. He gives up on his desire for power for her, when on the island he let her die. Damn, nothing warms the cockles of my heart quite like good, old-fashioned self-sacrifice. Even though Ben & the principal are totally blackmailing each other.

I liked seeing Ben's dad. He looks like shit, but he's alive & they're both better people. Why did they leave DHARMA? Now that the Losties have changed time, what exactly happened? One thing's for sure - his dad's dead wrong about things potentially being better there. They're better off here. There's a lot of talk in this episode of how different character's lives would be if things would've played out differently.

Next week/unanswered questions: Charles Widmore is coming to fuck. Shit. Up. What's Camp Locke up to? Are they going to leave with Charles? Where do we go from here?

In short, District 9 was pretty awesome. Not at all what I was expecting, but still awesome. I'm bummed it didn't win any of the Oscars it was nominated for, it was that awesome. But it had some stiff competition, so what can you do?

Set in Johannesburg, South Africa, District 9 starts out documentary-style, telling the story of how one day, an alien ship just kind of showed up over the city. They needed to do something, so a temporary camp was set up under the ship - District 9 - which quickly turned into basically an alien slum. Then, the alien/human segregation starts. Yeah, they're aliens so having an alien just like chillin' in your local Starbucks would be a weird, but the point is that the aliens are living things with intelligence, emotions, & needs - meaning they're not all that different from humans. They're called "prawns," which is considered derogatory, because of their appearance & because they're like "bottom-feeders." And that's where the parallel to Apartheid lies.

We're introduced to Wikus, who works for an agency that deals solely with the prawns - MNU. Wikus' job is to go around getting the prawns to sign basically illegal eviction notices & convince them to relocate to a better facility, but we late find out from Wikus that it's not what it seems - it's more like a concentration camp. One of a few Nazi Germany parallels.

And there parallels are exactly where District 9 is a perfect example of what science fiction is, should be, & can do. Science fiction takes political & social issues, turns them on their head, & presents them in a whole different light. Star Wars, for example, also has a lot of parallels to Nazi Germany & the Holocaust - the term "stormtrooper" is from there. District 9 is, at its heart, showing how shitty people can be in so many different ways.

The documentary style kind of drops off in the middle to favor Wikus' & occasionally prawn point-of-view, then shifts back to documentary for the end. I don't know how I feel about this. It kind of messes up the pacing, but it's also effective storytelling. The documentary allows us to gain direct information quickly in the beginning, but by the end we know a bit more than the characters speaking do, so it takes on a whole different meaning.

The movie does an excellent job of setting up this entire species, presenting as much information as they can without being tedious, & it doesn't feel like it's lacking anything. This is believable, & I'm betting some of that is in the minor details.

Spoilers ahead.

The effect the black liquid has on Wikus is a bit predictable, but that's probably the only real flaw here. Because this film isn't about Wikus' struggle - not entirely. There are a lot of little things that go on on many different levels. Mainly, the revelation that prawns have been made into medical experiments & have been murdered & tortured by the government for no reason - another Holocaust parallel. It bothers even Wikus.

There's also the issue of how the government deals with the problem Wikus poses - they lie, even to his wife. They take something that was an accident & pervert it by trying to say what happened to Wikus happened because he had sex with a prawn - not because he was exposed to something in his line of work. Upon watching it again, this is hinted at even int he beginning - the people around Wikus at MNU talk like he was wrapped up in something dark & terrible. The only dark & terrible thing going on here is what MNU was doing.

The very last shot of the movie is one of the most brilliant ones, & of all the people I know personally that saw it, only my brother & I caught this. Note that Wikus' wife, near the end, is holding this little metal flower she said she found one day, going back to a previous theme of Wikus making her things. Her friends told her to get rid of it, but she had this idea in her head that it was somehow from him. The very next shot is a prawn making that very little flower - the implication being that it was Wikus. It gives the movie a final feel yet keeps it open for a sequel. Amazing.

End spoilers.

Sharlto Copley, playing Wikus, is making his film debut here, believe it or not. He is fantastic. I expect huge things from this guy. He goes through so much in the span of just one film & pulls it off amazingly. Plus he's cute & his accent rules. That South African accent is crazy.

The effects are fantastic. Shit. Near the end, Wikus sports some crazy make-up that looks just amazing. Props to the team that worked on him every day.

Clinton Shorter's score is fantastic. It's not something I paid much attention to at the time, but now that I have it on my computer, listening to it separately really shows how good it is.

Now, some fun stuff.

The internet also loves Sharlto's accent. This lead to a soundboard at the glorious website fookinprawns.net. I've spent an embarrassing amount of time clicking the very last one, "sweety man," over & over again.

If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth checking out. One of 2009's best movies. It deserves all the hype & praise it gets. Disregard whatever ideas you got from the previews - they don't do it justice, & don't accurately show the direction the movie takes. Just watch it & see for yourself.

If you have seen it, go back & give it one more shot, no matter what you thought of it, & this time pay attention to the details. A brilliant movie is one you can watch again & pick up more than you did the first time.

Excellent cinema all around, here.

One weekend - and I'm not really sure why - my dad rented some movies, so we all dedicated time to Paranormal Activity. Meh.

It's another one that's shot documentary-style, except more home-movie like. Think The Blair Witch Project but in a house, less annoying, & better - although the fact that The Blair Witch Project exists, sucks, & is slightly similar is really unfortunate for Paranormal Activity, because I strongly feel that if Blair Witch had never happened Paranormal Activity would've been more enjoyable.

Props for the dude's name - Micah, pronounced like Mika's name. Maybe I'll name my firstborn that. Moving on to the relevant stuff.

The acting is really good, the effects are good, the dialogue & everything is realistic. It feels very real, which is awesome, so the cast & crew & everyone should be really proud of that. Unlike Blair Witch it wasn't ever ridiculous & stupid - it just wasn't scary. That's it's major shortcoming.

Here's the thing, though - I've been raised on the horror genre. I always loved ghosts & everything & would watch shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark? when I was little, even when they scared the seven-year-old shit out of me. So it's highly possible that I'm either immune, or just let all the hype around this movie get in my head. I really wanted to be scared. I really did. After everything I'd heard I was expecting, & hoping for, an epic horror film that would make me sleep with the light in for days & pretend like I totally just fell asleep with it on, you guys, didn't mean to do it! But it just didn't happen. I'm not the only one who feels like this, but yeah.

The story is good. Couple lives in a nice house, they have weird things going on, so Micah decides to just leave a camera rolling at night & such just to see what happens. Micah's totally cool with messing around & keeping it up to capture stuff & at first his girlfriend, Katie, is down for it, too, but then shit gets crazy.

For me, the scariest part is when - mild spoiler alert that's also slight foreshadowing - Katie wakes up in the middle of the night & just stands over the bed while Micah sleeps for like three hours. Why did that scare me? I'm not sure. It built tension, because you weren't really sure if she was just gonna chill there or do something, for one thing, but also the fact that she was just standing there while Micah slept was really creepy to me. Imagine someone watching you sleep, for example. Really fucking weird.

The only other complaint I have is that I would've like more back story - you'll know what I mean if you've seen it - & maybe more resolution. Back story could've been worked in, but the resolution is arguable, given the ending & style.

There are, I believe, about three different endings. I saw two, heard tell of the third. It was one of those deals, too, where the theater had one, the DVD has that & an alternate, & some versions that made the rounds on the internet have a third. Not sure which I preferred, but they all make pretty much the same point, the only difference being the one they went with is, I think, the only one that does allow for a possible sequel - which is rumored to be in the works. I'd go see it, sure. Why the hell not?

Bottom line, I enjoyed it but it was overrated. I do recommend seeing it, but depending on your previous exposure to horror & what scares you don't really expect to even jump.

Next up: District 9, which was the best movie of the weekend rentals. And I fell in love with Sharlto Copley. Which doesn't have much to do with how good the movie was, but you know. Actually, it might, because if he was a shit actor I wouldn't love him as much. And he's about as far from a bad actor as you can get.