Sleeper Cell awakes in its final episode

I'll be honest... I had a hard time suspending disbelief to the extent that a rogue agent could kidnap the wife of, locate and set up a slap-boxing appointment with this show's equivalent of Osama. But it sure made for one hell of a season finale. I loved the stripped-down Western "shootout on the streets of a ghost town" ending incongruously set in the Yemeni desert. It reinforces that even with all the remote bomb detonations, long-range missile GPS-coordinate targeting and SWAT snipers involved in the war on terror, a good, old-fashioned handgun duel mixed with some savage hand-to-hand uncomplicates things in a good way. Also, this ending sets up a third season nicely. Farik gets away by the hairs on his chinny-chin-chin (rescued by a young, untested and sadistic underling who had been taunting Darwyn minutes earlier) and a wounded Darwyn is sure to be rescued by the undercover who provided him the pistol.

I guess my only real complaint is that the cell members were less interesting this year than last. The writers seemed to shorthand their development somewhat by making Salid a homosexual and having Mina raped. I was unaware of Thekla Reuten before, and she impressed me in flashes, but they let her tell too much of her own backstory to make me care about the loss of her husband or her being forced into prostitution. Her husband's death would have made a good flashback (and simultaneously served to rescue us from the Sean Astin lookalike who was breaking Darwyn's balls all season).

All in all, though, a good showing on the shoulders of Michael Ealy and Oded Fehr. I'll definitely tune in again. And I loved the 8 episodes in 8 days format. I didn't watch Season One in real time, so I guess I never knew this series aired that way. The format pretty closely approximates the benefit of watching a TV series on DVD: the cliffhanger endings are still fresh when you begin the next installment.

If you don't know, now you know...

The Wire Season 4 Finale

I went in to this season excited but somewhat skeptical. The skepticism was die in part to the featurette on the Season 3 DVDs saying 4 would revolve around the failings of the school system. It could have also been that I was coping with my grief over the death of Stringer Bell by proclaiming that "anyone stupid enough to kill the Barksdale crew's 'Chairman of the Board' couldn't have anything else to say worth listening to." Or maybe it was lingering resentment toward HBO in general for the epic letdown of The Sopranos this season. True cause aside, I had my doubts. But I was very surprised at how much I cared about the Fayetteville Mafia Crew by the time school passed out "Final Grades" this past Sunday.

A few quick hits on Season 4 -

1. Randy, Michael, DuQuan and Namond all ended up in some parallel universe that was the exact opposite of the place where they began. Namond, the biggest asshole bully of the bunch turned out to be a cowardly momma's boy who received the ultimate undeserved grace from the unlikely allies of Wee Bey and Bunny Colvin. Randy, the mannered, entrepreneurial and most cared-for of the corner boys ended up in a group home being beaten. DuQuan, the homeless and penniless but smart and most caring member of the crew ended up slangin' on the corner. Finally, Michael, the reserved, principled, protective older brother of the crew who once refused $200 from Marlo for school clothes closed the season living in a Stanfield-financed apartment, killing drug dealer at Marlo's request and being awarded Bodie's corner.
2. Bodie, Bodie, Bodie... I really hoped he would stick around and be Marlo's downfall. Slim Charles loses cool points for leaving him unprotected like that.
3. There is NO WAY Omar can survive stealing from the co-op and then selling their product back to them like that. If Deniro couldn't pull it off in Heat, Omar can't either. He goes next season... painfully. Nice re-up of 10% of the difference by Prop Joe by telling Marlo they were buying it back for 30 cents on the dollar when in fact Omar's offer was 20.
   
4. And Marlo? He has no clue what he's done putting a tail on Spiros. If Paul Ben-Victor comes back next season to restore order to the West Side, it may be the best season yet. At the very least we know someone will be losing their hands and feet.
   

NOTE TO "THE SOPRANOS": This is the consistency with which a truly great show operates. Get back to it.

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The (Rich) People's Elbow

Vegas casino magnate Steve Wynn accidentally put his elbow through Picasso's "Le Reve" for which he had just inked a $139,000,000.00 deal. Apparently he forgot to have his assistant wrap it in banded hundred stacks for protection.

*****

I originally read this story on Rob Larsen's blog at Drunkenfist.com which, incidentally, is where I learned most of what I know about Hong Kong cinema.

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Random iPod Five Star Song

Half a World Away

One of my favorites since junior high, I'm surprised I haven't heard this song playing in a movie sequence where the protagonist is shown reeling from some calamitous event and seems to be floating down a hall or a crowded metropolitan street (but is actually on a piece of plywood with roller skates attached). The steady chord progression of the organ matches Stipe's plaintive vocals which rhythmically crest and crash, crest and crash. Not in large waves, but each with enough force to frog you in the chest a little.

Sample it at Amazon or iTunes.

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Ass... Dumb Ass

Connery as Bond in a clearly identified bodega (Courtesy James Bond MulitMedia).

Sir Sean Connery "stood home" (that's gangtser talk for passing on an opportunity to make a score, riiiight?) on an offer to play Gandalf in the LOTR trilogy for a measly back end of 10-15% of the worldwide box office because... wait for it... he "did not understand the complicated plot of J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece."

If you don't know, now you know...

Current media consumption

The newest Spiderman 3 trailer (justification issues and all).

*****

If you're looking for an excuse to buy an external hard drive and you still like (pre-Everyday and Stand Up) Dave Matthews Band, go here.

*****

Here are a few of my recent downloads that should be on your iPod too.

1. #41 with Everyday Outro (Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, 3.29.03)
2. If I Had a Boat (Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, 2.6.99)(Lyle Lovett cover)
3. Warehouse (Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, 1.25.97)
   

If you don't know, now you know...

Dwight and Salman, sittin' in a tree...

When I see someone on TV with a look and personality as distinct as Dwight from The Office, I often wonder if the person playing them is acting or if they were cast to play themselves.

Re: Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight, I think we have our answer.

Dwight tells Salman Rusdhie to "Git 'er dun"

I have been giggling about this for days now... Dwight Shrute telling an internationally known author who has an active fatwa against him to "git 'er dun" may be the funniest and most absurd thing I have ever seen. For some reason it kinda reminds me of Family Guy. And may also be the reason why Al Qaeda thinks we're infidels.

CUIDADO! - This is a clip of Dwight/Rainn on Real Time with Bill Maher from last Friday night. If you're like me and have set a Tivo Season Pass for Real Time in order to skip the monologues, New Rules, and basically any part where Maher is jaw jacking, skip to about 2:10 to see Dwight come out while minimizing your Maher exposure.

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Cowabunga!

Yeah, so maybe I used to play Ninja Turtles when I was younger. So what? And maybe I was always Donatello. So what? That doesn't change the fact that I will once again be cool when this comes out.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trailer - video powered by Metacafe

Spiderman 3 trailer

Berry smart for you, spam gringos...

Here are some of the subject lines of the spam that was waiting for me when I returned to work after the 4^th of July holiday:

• Brittney Chavez wrote me with advice about “Your health, oblong wedgeshaped,"
• Frederic Lara attempted to contact me regarding “Order status, nut-rush,
• Oscar Aldridge clearly knows me well as he opened with, “Hi, non-Spanish,"
• Mallory Akins dropped me a courtesy correspondence about “Your cash, no-eye pea,”
• Eric Hart opened by calling me his daddy in Latin while offering me money, “Your money, pater noster,” (NOTE – this one might have worked if it hadn’t obviously come from a dude) and finally
• Ava Tomlinson must have known that I skipped lunch on the 4th in favor of some Heineken Light when she wanted to update me on my “Order Status, much-hunger.”

First of all, I am most definitely NOT oblong or even slightly wedge-shaped, so kiss my ass Brittney Chavez. And (B) My friends and I call each other some pretty creative and insulting names, but I don’t think any of us have ever tossed out a “no-eye pea” or a “nut-rush,” even during the bloodiest game of dominoes, Madden or ATV Offroad Fury 3. I’m not even sure how “nut-rush” would work into an insult… but I’m definitely going to be on the lookout for an opportunity now.

So, the question becomes… who THE FUCK would respond to, or even take seriously, an email with such non sequitur as its subject? I might even take the odds on my grandmother, who uses an eMail Station, being able to spot “phishing” with those nuanced openers. The only plausible explanation is that Land Shark must be the evil mastermind behind all this frighteningly legit spam.

For further sarcasm on this point, listen to the newest podcast at www.Czabe.com, “Really Sloppy Spam.”

If you don’t know, now you know…