Return of Punch-out and Mike Tyson

It makes me so happy to see that both Punch-out and Mike Tyson are returning to pop culture prominence. Punch-out returns courtesy of Nintendo Wii:

Mike Tyson makes his return courtesy of Hollywood and his cameo in The Hangover:

Dead is Dead?

So the season 5 finale of Lost totally lived up to my expectations. It wasn't my favorite finale of the series but it was still hyperbolificly legendary. My mind is still weaving and winding through the various possibilities and trying to piece everything together. I don't want this to turn into a recap of the episode. You can go here for an excellent recap by somebody much more qualified than me. However, I do want to float an idea I had while I was working on the year end close for one of our entities. 

SPOILER ALERT

So Miles can communicate with dead people but he can't see them right? Hurley, however, not only can communicate with dead people but he can also see them right? So maybe in the final season Hurley is going to play an integral role in identifying those who are really dead. It seems that someone or something is taking the shape/persona of people who have died on the island. Whether it be smokey or the unnamed dark haired adversary of Jacob remains to be determined. Smokey and the unnamed dark haired adversary could actually be one and the same. But that is the least of my worries right now. Back to the topic at hand. 

Someone/something has "re-animated" or taken the shape of Ecco's brother Yemi, Jack's Father Christian, Jack's half-sister Claire (I stand by her being dead, she was hit by a rocket), Ben's "daughter" Alex, and Locke. I don't recall Hurley ever seeing one of these apparitions. When he does see them is he going to notice something different about them? Is he going to be able to tell the difference between the truly dead and the re-animated dead? Is Hurley going to be the deciding factor in the coming war? Is that why he has been rolling around the island with the mysterious guitar case? Is he Jacob's ace in the hole? 

So many possibilities to how the final season can unfold. This is why I love Lost so much. No other serialized drama has ever engaged me so much after the initial viewing of each episode.

Take The Mask Off

One of my friends, who is quite the rascal in his own right, sent me the link to this "focus group" that Spike Jonze did in preparation for Where the Wild Things Are. I try to keep this a spoiler free zone so I don't want to say too much about the clip before you see it so I will just say that is absolutely hilarious for a variety of reasons. After the clip I will tell you why I liked it so much.

Where The Wild Things Are Focus Group #1 from Lance Bangs on Vimeo.

So the reason I found this to be so funny is that I can totally see myself doing the same thing if I had access to a totally awesome mask and a cute little neighbor boy with a funny voice. I would totally try to tell him that I wasn't wearing the mask but mess up and admit that I was. I would then chuckle at myself because I would think I am soooo funny.  Probably because I am. Needless to say, my excitement for Where The Wild Things Are continues grow.

PS Check out the blog We Love You So which was initially set up by Spike Jonze to "shed some light on many of the small influences that have converged to make this massive project a reality." It is totally awesome.

Star Trek in 3 Words

I. Loved. It.

Mr. Bananagrabber's Animation Rights

Mr. Bananagrabber and his Segway made a brief appearance on last Sunday's episode of Mitch Hurwitz's new TV show Sit Down, Shut Up. I knew those animation rights would come back to bite me in the ass. You can see the 2 second appearance courtesy of Hulu below:

I continue to withhold judgment on Sit Down, Shut Up. I really want to like it but so far I only laugh a couple of times an episode. It is definitely no Arrested Development but I will give it a few more episodes to see if it can find its groove.

The New Hotness: District 9

The new hotness that seems to be sweeping the computerweb by storm today is the trailer for the Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp project titled District 9. Multiple friends have already sent me the link to the trailer and have expressed their interest so I thought that I would throw my support into the ring as well. I love the idea of aliens living in refugee camps and I love the gritty feel of the trailer. Perfectly executed to pique my interest.

My Lost Theory

Here is my rough and dirty (south) theory on how this season of Lost will end and what next season will be about:

I think that Daniel has successfully agitated enough of the variables - Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Miles, etc. - so that one of them will do something that will "successfully" alter the future. Actually, maybe it will be Desmond that is the "successful" variable. This would coincide with the idea that Desmond is the exception to the rule of what happened, happened. I think that the alteration to the future will be somewhat minor due to course corrections over time and will not necessarily result in an improved future. I think that the final season will begin with Oceanic 815 crashing on the Island but with certain details modified due to the change in the timeline effected by Daniel and the other variables in 1977. The final season will mirror the first season completing the chiasmus of the series.

Hopefully the slight changes in the timeline will be enough for Jack, Locke, Kate, Sayid, etc. to overcome and make peace with the demons of their past and ultimately find the happiness and meaning they have been searching for. I hope the series does not end in tragedy. That is the sentimental side of me poking through I guess. I want these characters to succeed because I care so much about them. Creepy? It would only be creepy if I thought they were real. I know they are fictional characters yet I still have an emotional investment in them and the story. To that I say mission accomplished Lindeloff, Cuse, and Abrams. Mission accomplished.