Media Consumption

Here is a sampling of the media I am consuming or have consumed recently...

• The Devil Wears Prada -- Yea, sure, chick flick. But, damned funny and even a bit touching. Meryl Streep made the movie hers, I really loved Streep in this movie ("That's all.") Anne Hathaway was OK in the film. It was Streep who stole the film though.
• The Departed -- I watched this the day of the Oscars, finishing it just a few hours before the show started. This is a great movie, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was complex, dark, violent, and the ending was very...un-Hollywood. I am saddened that Leonardo DiCaprio was not nominated for his role in The Departed -- and instead, he got a nomination for his role in Blood Diamond for which he lost. If you like a good crime story that does not get watered down, The Departed is for you. Brilliant film.
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture -- Ok, I am a Star Trek fan. But, sadly I have not seen The Motion Picture until now. I have seen every other film, but have no idea why I never got motivated to see The Motion Picture. The whole theory about odd Star Trek movies being terrible and even ones being good...that theory kind of holds up for The Motion Picture. It was not terribly bad, but it was not terribly good either. It is old school film making with long thoughtful scenes (I loved the scene where Scotty shuttles Kirk to the new Enterprise, you don't get that kind of long slow scene anymore). Other than that, the whole existentialism in the film was a bit hokey. I did love the score by Jerry Goldsmith. Other than that, I can't say I enjoyed the film.
• Heroes -- Wow, last week's episode was great (the one about HRG). It was tightly focused and had a deeply emotional storyline. I very much enjoyed that episode. This week's episode was also good. The writers lost the focus they found last week, but they did put out a very good episode. There were a few surprises in tonight's episode that made my jaw drop. An exciting episode. Now, I have to wait until late April for a new episode? Why?
• American Idol -- Yes, even I partake in cheap entertainment like AI. I can't believe that Antonella Barba and Sanjaya Malakar are still in the competition! Barba is just a terrible singer. And Malakar is just too young (and too soft). Sigh.
• Iron Chef -- The bartenders were a good twist.
• Lost -- The show continues to suffer in its third season.  It isn't a bad season, it's just not the kind of Lost that we had in the first season.
• Point of Impact -- This is the book I am reading right now. It is written by Stephen Hunter. It is getting to a slow start, but I am enjoying it. The next book for me is sitting on my bedstand, Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield (it's about the battle at Thermopylae).
• Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror -- Playing this on my PSP.  Decent game.  Great graphics and sound.  Good controls (considering that the PSP is missing a second analog stick).