Where are we going and why are we in this handbasket?

[sarea]

Eeeeeeeeeeee finally!!!!! Vaughn knows AT LAST. I think I would have rather had it be a really dramatic reveal, like he catches her w/ Sark, or sabotaging one of their missions, etc., but I'm just glad it's finally out in the open. Or maybe he doesn't actually know, and next week we'll learn that she had a really good reason for the wig. Maybe her father liked that sort of thing and she wore it to the funeral. 8-| I mean, it wasn't too long ago that I was convinced Jack knew, and now it turns out that he was snowed by the senator's 'confession' as well.

Earlier in the ep, after Jack has The Spy Wife: 10 Signs to Look Out For discussion w/ Vaughn, I was soooooooooooooooooo done w/ Vaughn. I don't know how they can not realize that they're making him look like the biggest moron on the planet. Yet he redeemed himself (as far as the episode goes, anyway) by being suspicious, though he kept a separate front for the outside world. I was especially impressed by this after Lauren neatly dodges the bullet of his having heard the tail end of her conversation w/ Sark.

Speaking of Sark ... I was greatly annoyed w/ him and his dogged determination to stand by Lauren no matter what, given that I don't really have a huge thing for Lark, but I did really like it later when he kills Djimon for her. I guess it's sort of contrasted by how Vaughn's behaved w/ Sydney, and regardless of how twisted it is, at least Sark's fucked up kind of love is actually a love I can recognize and appreciate.

I am starting to be really done w/ Syd, particularly wrt her patheticness re: Vaughn and also her bangs. However, it was really nice to see her kick ass in a way we haven't seen for a loooong time. Plus she looked good in the club scene, too.

Hahahhaa, I only have to laugh at Sloane's predicament. His lie/confession about Irina, biting him in the ass. Bwahahahaha, see, I like Jack's particular brand of justice. He's human, and in that way he's perfect. And go therapist lady for apparently betraying Sloane's trust. Guess she's not the doormat type (Syd could learn a lot from her).

As for the plot ... this is pretty much what I heard:

Worm ... The Passenger ... Irina ... disk ... corrupted data ... The Passenger ... the Telling ... I have betrayed her ... the woman from the prophecy ... your mother ... responsible for killing thousands ... Irina ... he was trying to protect her from me ... The Passenger.

Yeah, I don't understand what any of it means.

Edit: Saw Queen of the Damned this weekend, because I found Stuart Townsend to be incredibly hot in LXG. It was just as bad as I suspected it would be (despite Lena Olin as a featured vamp), but I hadn't expected to like Lestat's relationship w/ the human girl so much. I had always assumed it was all Lestat/Akasha. There will be an icon, oh yes.

Edit #2: Oooh, and also saw The Hours -- what a fantastic film. Nicole was great, but I thought Meryl Streep was actually the best of the three leads. Julianne was fabulous, but it was almost a reprise of her role in Far from Heaven. Sort of.

Also, I've had a number of not-great days lately, and I know I'm not the only one. I find that it really helps to be able to veg in front of the TV and watch movies that make me feel good (usually nothing too deep or thought provoking) -- so I thought I should compile my top 10 list of those kinds of movies. If you haven't seen these (or even if you have) and are ever feeling glum, they ought to do the trick. =)

Top 10 Feel Good Movies (in no particular order)

1. Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell/Julie Walters) -- So freaking good, though it gets me a bit emotional. The dancing makes up for it.
2. Orange County (Colin Hanks/Jack Black) -- No one can not like Colin; he's so likable. And Jack Black is hilarious, as is most of the awesome cast. Plus many fun cameos!!
3. 50 First Dates (Drew Barrymore/Adam Sandler) -- Not sure if this one will stand the test of time, but it was the epitome of what a 'feel good movie' ought to be, when I saw it.
4. Emma (Gwyneth Paltrow/Jeremy Northam) -- Though Mr. Knightley can shame me with one line ("Badly done, Emma."), he more than makes up for it later. And Emma is a great, human heroine.
5. One Fine Day (George Clooney/Michelle Pfeiffer) -- Possibly my favorite straight-up romcom. I love it despite being a straight-up romcom, which is praise indeed.
6. Bridget Jones's Diary (Renee Zellweger/Colin Firth) -- Fabulous movie from a fabulous book.
7. Clueless (Alicia Silverstone/Paul Rudd) -- Ah, the Emma tale set in modern times. This movie is fun and funny, and hits all the right spots.
8. Searching for Bobby Fischer (Max Pomeranc/Joe Mantegna/Joan Allen) -- I love little Max. I get all caught up in the tournaments despite not at all being a chess master. The movie's just so good.
9. Newsies (Christian Bale) -- This should never have bombed at the box office. Seriously one of the best films ever!! There are boys, singing and dancing! They riot against The Man! What could be better??
10. Dave (Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver) -- Despite the comedic premise, actually a really touching story about what it means to be a leader. Which is way too deep for this list, I know. <g>

Comments

[connaka.livejournal.com]

D00d. Just so's ya know, I have much LURVE for your Alias episode posts. Even more because I just couldn't do one. Of course, one could argue that anybody could do it but then again, I've never really tried so that's just that I guess. I find them to be verah interesting. Yes, indeed.

Re the dramatic revelation of Lauren being a double agent by Vaughn, I too thought he was gonna actually catch her IN the act of betrayal; especially with the little preview from that last episode. But ah well. Also, am glad that Sark killed Djimon. I really DID NOT like the way he was breathing down Sark's back about being wrong about Lauren's capabilities.

IMHO, one of the best bits about the show: THE COSTUMES. They totally rock! Gotta give 'em that.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, nice icon. :D

I'm so glad you like my Alias rambling. I feel the need to vent every time I watch an episode, to get my thoughts in some semblance of order. Of course, this is all relative as I don't know if it makes sense to anyone else, but I like reading what other people thought of the ep, so I figured I should share my views, too. Give a penny, take a penny. :D

Plus you never know if someone will say something in response that makes you see something you didn't see before -- which always rocks. I'm just not the sort of person who likes watching TV shows or reading books in a vacuum -- well, to a certain extent, anyway.

I've stopped watching the previews because they give away too much! Or else they lead to disappointment, like the week I thought that Jack was going to blow Lauren's cover. I sooooo wanted Vaughn or someone other than Syd (who has too much riding on it) to catch Lauren.

I didn't really blame Djimon for getting all uptight -- I mean, he doesn't care if Sark's sleeping w/ Lauren. As far as he's concerned, that's a weakness -- and a liability. However, I never really understood who his character was supposed to be, so at least that uncomplicates things for me. :)) And I did really like that it was Sark getting Lauren's back. Maybe they will have the t00by love. That makes me rather happy. They're the two most tolerable characters on the show right now (aside from Jack), so they ought to be getting love from somewhere. Vaughn gets too much love for being so lameass.

The costumes do rock. They should dress Syd up more like they used to. And they really need to get rid of those bangs.

[connaka.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Am quite fond of the Sarkney icon myself :)

Vaughn is an ASS! God. And someone should so KICK it! And Sydney needs to snap out of whatever sort of pathetic state she's in. D00d. I'm okay with Syd/Vaughn but not until Vaughn's ass is kicked, and I mean good! Better yet, maybe Sark can do it. Maybe he will. You know, when Vaughn is too caught up trying to get back at Lauren for betraying him. That would work for me.

I'm with you about how Lauren should've been caught. I so wanted Jack to be the one to bust her. 'Coz he really gets the 'you wouldn't want to mess with me' vibe across. I also got the feeling that he actually had Lauren feeling pretty nervous there. Plus, I've always liked Jack. He has that cool-calm demeanor all the time, making it impossible to read. In a way.

And re the costumes, no one can wear them as well as Syd does. Well, so far. :)

[lissannej.livejournal.com]

Am sorry you've had some not go great days, honey. I'm always just an email away if you need to vent >:D< And I adore "One Fine Day" too!

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Thanks, babe. I really appreciated your card, and have been remiss in letting you know. >:D

[lissannej.livejournal.com]

Am online now if you wanna buzz and chat. Am glad you liked it, I couldn't pass it up!

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Sadly, it is 2am here and I've been attempting to get offline for the last two hours. :)) Has not quite worked, as you can see. But I must definitely avoid YM or all hope is lost. I will never go to sleep and will be even more of a zombie at work than I usually am. <g>

So I will wish you a great evening while I catch my Zs! I haven't spoken to you in far too long -- I'll be pinging you! :-*

[lissannej.livejournal.com]

Sleep well, sweetie. Definately want to talk to you soon! Am often cloaked, so buzz me next time you're on and hopefully I'll be here >:D

Alias and movies

[obtabius.livejournal.com]

Im from Australia, and damn am I spoiled for Alias! meh, Im not that fussed, we're early on in series three, you know, the episodes which are not that great. Or kinda suck. I'm hanging out for the Will Returns! episode.

As for comfort movies, you can't go past The Princess Bride. Or Amelie.

Re: Alias and movies

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Hee, I seem to know several Australians who are totally spoiled re: Alias. Well, all two of you.

TPB is definitely a good feel-good movie; I think it's not on my list because I've seen it too many times. But for others it should work great. I love Amelie, but having to concentrate on subtitles goes against the "brain doesn't need to be firing on all cylinders" fun I was going for. <g>

[gnrationfo.livejournal.com]

oooh...Queen of the Damned SUCH a guilty pleasure! Alot different from the book, but still good cheesy fun. Hey, A really good Christian Bale film you should see is Velvet Goldmine, its about the glam rock scene in London in the early 70s. Its loosely based on the lives of David Bowie and Iggy Pop. It also stars Ewan MacGregor,Jonathan Rhys Meyers (from Bend It Like Beckham) and the always incredible Toni Collette! Theres a really good sex scene with Ewan and Christian going at on a rooftop!WOOOH!

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Alot different from the book, but still good cheesy fun

I know!! I noticed that last night when I was going through the book (I have it but haven't read it) -- they took, like, the skeleton of the book and made it totally different. Since I liked the movie as it was (well, as far as it goes), I'm not sure I really want to read the book now.

As for Velvet Goldmine, I've seen it -- you can name almost any Christian Bale movie and I've probably seen it (except Captain Corelli's Mandolin, because I have to get past Nic Cage and Penelope Cruz, and I haven't been able to yet ... plus who in their right mind would choose Nic over Christian?! Please). However, I'm afraid we must have to agree to disagree again on this one. It made me want to slit my wrists. I didn't give a flying **** as to what was going on. Toni Collette and Ewan/Christian making out were the best parts ... everything else is totally blah for me. Plus, I don't really like Jonathan Rhys Meyers (don't find him attractive), though he was all right in Bend It Like Beckham.