Even before Senator Burke arrives in this week’s episode The Perfect Storm, Mel and Joe’s amateur parenting skills are put to the test. Lennox is in danger of failing chemistry, and while Mel still wants to take her to a Green Day concert, Joe puts his foot down. Though she wants to be seen as “fun Aunt Mel,” she gets on board and tries to act tough. Unfortunately, while Lennox is forced to do practice tests, Senator Burke surprises everyone with a visit, with the intent of spoiling his grandkids rotten.

After Mel insists that Lennox has to study, Russell takes the sneaky route and bribes Joe with a Rolex so he can let Lennox go to a party. On the ride home, Senator Burke convinces Lennox that she would have a better time living with him. Mel and Joe’s attempt at reverse psychology fails, but they catch a lucky break when Russell’s lack of faith in her academic abilities changes Lennox’s mind.

A personal favorite aspect of this episode was how perfectly Christopher Rich fit the part of Senator Burke. Rich plays the role of conniving jerk very well. As a Reba fan, I did see a little bit of Brock in this character, specifically when he teases Joe about being the nanny. Since he did such a good job with the part, I sincerely hope this is a recurring role for Rich. Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if it is, since as Mel’s father, there will be plenty opportunity for him to cause chaos in the household again.

Because of Senator Burke’s visit, viewers get to learn about Mel’s upbringing. Already Mel has mentioned her party girl past many times in just the four previous episodes, so some of the reason for this is revealed. Basically, she was neglected and spoiled rotten by her upper class parents. Senator Burke’s condescending attitude towards the women of his family is an interesting aspect of his character, and it was a nice change up of the old “reverse psychology” story line.

 Along with developing back story, the show’s quality seems to be improving as well. Melissa Joan Hart seems to be a little more relaxed in this episode, her jokes not as forced. Mel and Joe’s bit where they make each other to tell the truth was actually very funny. My only complaint is the YMCA joke. While the line itself is cute, the laughter afterwards is just…weird. There’s normal laughter, but Hart and Lawrence seem to wait as if the audience needed to calm down. Makes me think the line was supposed to have a bigger impact than it did. The moment isn’t a big deal but for some reason it really bugged me.

Anyway, so even though Rhonda is missing, this week’s episode definitely shows continued improvement – especially since Rich’s appearance on the show is put to very good use.

Stage Creation: Mega Man Universe not only allows you to customize your original Mega Man, but you can also create your own unique stages! You can play your own custom stages or play stages created by others. Aside from Mega Man themed stages, there are a variety of custom stage parts that will be revealed soon. Stay tuned!

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Anyway, onto the premiere.  The episode kicked off in the style of a classic horror movie, with the killer lurking in the background while the potential victim helplessly attempts to defend herself.  Within a matter of minutes, Elena would find her uncle/father lying in a puddle of his own blood (and with only six fingers, by my count) and her brother ODing in his bedroom.

And I’m glad to say, both of these dire issues were resolved relatively quickly.  Sure, it provided a cliffhanger to end last season, and a thrill to kick off this one, but I appreciated the fact that they settled these obstacles so that they could move on to the story of this season.

I’m always a sucker for those scenes in which two people claim to love somebody – only for one of those two people to be fooled by an imposter, while the other one isn’t.  That sounded a bit disjointed, but I’m referring to how Damon could have a relatively long interaction with “Elena” and not realize that it’s actually Katherine, while Stefan realizes it’s not actually Elena after a hug.  It shows that Stefan’s love for Elena is deep and sentimental, while Damon’s affection is superficial.

I’m also really enjoying this twisted four way love web between Elena, Stefan, Katherine, and Damon.  You have Stefan who deeply loves Elena, but is being tempted by Katherine.  Damon loves Katherine, who is just rejecting his affection.  And then you have this resistant attraction between Elena and Damon.  And the way it’s playing out is intriguing.  Is Katherine rejecting Damon in favor of Stefan because she truly feels that way, or is she just stirring the pot?  Will Stefan succumb to Katherine’s constant advances?  And are Elena’s feelings for Damon rooted in a sexual attraction?

I will say this, though:  It’s always been a pet peeve of mine when two characters, who are separated by a generation are more, are portrayed as being so I identical that they’re portrayed by the same actor/actress.  I mean, sure, I understand striking family resemblances, but I’ve seen houses and beds from the 1800’s.  People were short.  The lack of height difference is bothersome enough.

Oh, and is Caroline dead?  No, I do not think so.  They hammered the point home so many times that the vampire blood stays in your system for a day that you had to guess that information was going somewhere.  So yeah, I’m guessing she’s going to turn into a vampire.  Not sure how I feel about that, but we’ll see how it plays out.

However, it is kinda ironic that Damon saved her life, after spending the first half of last season tormenting her.
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Sometimes a television show comes along that instantly becomes water cooler talk. That show that is so unusual and different that it will have people talking about it to their friends, family, co-workers, and even strangers on the street the next day. It’s hard to keep up a hot streak over a long period of time, though. Over the years, Lost has gone from the IT show to an afterthought. Along the way, some early fans have gotten frustrated with the too many questions and so little answers they were given. Those that have stuck around, and even those that came back just for the final episode, have been talking about the finale for months. Now the sixth and final season of Lost is on home video, and it might finally give us all the answers you could ask for. Or maybe not.

If you don’t know what Lost is about at this point, don’t let someone try to explain the series to you – you’ll just be lost. The nuts and bolts of the show is basically a plane that crashes down on an island and the survivors, a ragtag bunch of interesting and diverse characters, who learn over time that the island already has inhabitants, also with their own secrets and mysteries.

The series has always been big on flashbacks and in the most recent seasons even flashforwards. But at the of beginning of the sixth and final season, we get introduced to the “side-flash.” The first episode of this season introduces the idea and new twist of a parallel universe where Oceanic Flight 815 never crashed. This season is mainly about what would have happened if the plane never crashed in the first place. Apparently this new universe is occurring at the same time as everything that is going down on that island. The main problem with that is you are bringing up some many new questions with so little time left. It also doesn’t help that start of this season is dragged out. The pace is so slow in the beginning that towards the end the writers have no choice but to speed things up and start throwing answers at viewers at a breakneck pace. That also means that some of the more interesting answers to the most central questions aren’t given enough time at the end.

Whether you think the sideways world really mattered or not, you can’t deny that it did provide some more depth to the characters of Lost. Sure, you could argue that we basically got the same backstory to these characters told in a different way. But really the sideways world storylines just gave the great actors more time to shine in different ways. Ultimately, the reason why Lost worked as well as it did was because all of the characters were interesting and all of the actors brought those characters to life. Matthew Fox and Terry O’Quinn still get the most screentime this season. If you really think about it, though, Jack and Locke have always been the most central characters on opposite sides of thinking about the island and why they crashed there. The sideways world also allowed fans the opportunity to see old familiar faces from seasons long ago.

Over the years, Lost built up such a large fan following with so many mysterious questions that the ending could never please everyone. This season does not answer all the mysteries, but that should prevent you from enjoying this season nevertheless. The end of the series does feel a little rushed, though, and that’s the main complaint. But you do have to credit the writers for not playing it safe. They could have easily spent every episode answering every question this season, but they decided to switch things up once more and provide another plot twist. They took a risk and it mostly worked on an emotional level to provide greater depth to the characters. Love it or hate it, in the end Lost made you think and laid the groundwork for more interesting television to come.

Episodes:

Disc One:

Episode 1 – LA X
The aftermath from Juliet’s detonation of the hydrogen bomb is revealed.

Episode 2 – What Kate Does
Kate finds herself on the run, while Jack is tasked with something that could put a friend’s life at risk.

Episode 3 – The Substitute
Locke goes in search of aid to further help his cause.

Disc Two:

Episode 4 – Lighthouse
Hurley must convince Jack to accompany him on a mission, and Jin comes across an old acquaintance.

Episode 5 – Sundown
Sayid faces a difficult decision, and Claire sends a warning to the temple inhabitants.

Episode 6 – Dr. Linus
Ben deals with the consequences of an uncovered lie.

Episode 7 – Recon
Locke trusts Sawyer with a mission.

Disc Three:

Episode 8 – Ab Aeterno
Richard Alpert faces a difficult choice.

Episode 9 – The Package
Sun and Jin desperately continue searching for each other. Meanwhile, Locke confronts his enemy.

Episode 10 – Happily Ever After
Desmond wakes up and discovers he has returned to the island.

Episode 11 – Everybody Loves Hugo
Hurley worries over what the group should do next, and Locke is curious about the new arrival to his camp.

Disc Four:

Episode 12 – The Last Recruit
Alliances are made and broken as the Locke and Jack camps merge.

Episode 13 – The Candidate
Jack’s suspicions about Locke make his decision more difficult after he is asked to complete a difficult task.

Episode 14 – Across The Sea
The story behind Jacob and the Man in Black is revealed.

Episode 15 – What They Died For
Locke carries on with his plan while Jack’s group searches for Desmond.

Disc Five:

Episode 16 – The End
The battle lines are drawn as Locke puts his plan into action, which could finally liberate him from the island.

The video is given in widescreen color with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The transfer is great with colors generally looking bright and vivid details everywhere. No major or minor problems at all here, and on par with previous seasons.

The audio included is available in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound, or French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound. There are subtitles available in English, French, and Spanish as well. The dialogue and music come out loud and clear. No major problems here either, and the same good quality as previous seasons.

Audio Commentaries – There are four full-length audio commentaries for four separate episodes from this season. Creators, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse comment on both the “LA X” episode and the “Across the Sea” episode. Co-executive producers, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, and actor, Michael Emerson comment on the “Dr. Linus” episode. Finally, writers, Melinda Hsu Taylor and Gregory Nations, and actor, Nestor Carbonell comment on the “Ab Aeterno” episode. The ones featuring the creators are both pretty insightful, while the other two are fairly lackluster but still interesting. None of them are really that entertaining, though. Still must-listen to for fans.

“New Man in Charge” Featurette – This runs 12 minutes, and it is being marketed as the answers to all of your unanswered questions. They do answer a few minor questions, but nothing too major. There are still plenty of unanswered questions out there. Nevertheless, this is “must-watch” viewing for sure. This is the epilogue for Lost.

“Lost in 8:15: A Crash Course” Featurette – This runs 8 minutes and 15 seconds, and it’s basically a quick summary of what has happened in the first 5 seasons of this series. Not everything you need to know, if you are new to the series, but still a good starting point.

“Crafting a Final Season” Featurette – This runs 40 minutes and it’s your basic behind-the-scenes featurette. But this one is not as fluffy as most of these pieces tend to be. So fans should definitely check this out foe on-set interviews and

“A Hero’s Journey” Featurette – This runs 9 minutes and it takes a brief glimpse at the story and characters over the entirety of the series to answer “who exactly is the hero?” It’s somewhat interesting, but only watch if you need to know what makes a hero in Lost Land.

“See You in Another Life, Brotha” Featurette – This runs 9 minutes and it takes a closer look at the alternate reality as seen during the “sideways world”. There are various interviews with cast and crew about this. This one is definitely “must-watch”.

“LOST on Location” Featurette – This runs 29 minutes and it focuses on all of the locations and sets that various episodes from this season was shot from. Fairly interesting.

Deleted Scenes – There are 10 minutes of scenes that didn’t make the final cut of the season. Nothing really stands out as “must-watch”, though.

Bloopers – This runs 4 minutes, and it’s the usual mistakes and gags from filming this season. Not really funny, though.

The last season might not be the best season, but it’s still the final season and casual fans will want to check out how the show ends. NOTE: The only thing that is different from this standard edition DVD set and the Blu-ray DVD set is the slightly improved audio and video quality, and the BD-LIVE Lost University: Master’s Program. feature. Basically, you learn more about the theology of Lost, among other topics. Is that really worth spending an extra $10 or so? Probably not, as the standard edition DVD set will please most fans.

King said he had just spoke with Patriots Owner Robert Kraft who said that the team and Brady had agreed to a 4-year contract that would keep Brady in New England through 2014. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Kraft said the deal would be finalized tomorrow morning when the team submitted the paperwork to the league.
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William Malone shot the modern day fairy tale in 2008 but due to difficulties in securing distribution, Parasomnia only just recently saw release on DVD and Blu-ray.

The film stars Dylan Purcell as Danny Sloan, an art student who meets a beautiful young woman while visiting his friend in the hospital. Danny, fresh from a break-up, is looking for somebody to take his mind off of a broken heart and this girl seems to be the perfect catch — the only problem is she spends the majority of her life asleep.

Laura Baxter (played by Cherilyn Wilson) suffers from parasomnia, a disease that keeps the young woman asleep throughout most of her life — waking only occasionally for short periods of time. This affliction does not seem to bother Danny — in fact, one suspects it kind of turns him on (which says a lot about the creepiness factor in the film’s romance). For Danny, it was love at first sight and Laura, whenever she awakens, seems to think the same.

Parasomnia is best enjoyed when seen as a fantasy set in modern times. The movie is full of groan-worthy leaps in logic, flights of fancy and the deep, unrealistic longing of fairy tales.

Even though Danny and Laura barley know each other, Danny senses a deep connection with the sleeping beauty. This bond is spurred on by repressed memories that begin to surface of an earlier encounter Danny had with Laura when they were both children. Danny is so smitten with Laura that he plans a grand escape for her when he learns the hospital is about to ship her off to a research lab. Unfortunately, when Danny springs Laura from the hospital he pisses off her neighbor Byron Volpe, a serial killer kept in a padded cell that has also grown obsessed with the slumbering princess.

During their stay in the hospital together, Volpe and Laura had experienced a psychic bond grown from their shared dreams. By invading her dreams, Volpe had managed to warp her mind and twist her will to his own. Danny discovers this the hard way when Laura begins showing psychotic tendencies and murdering his neighbors.

In order to free Laura from Volpe’s grip and wake his love, it’s going to take more than a simple kiss — he’s going to need to kill the psychopath.

Unfortunately, Volpe (played by Patrick Kilpatrick) is a genuine super villain — complete with uncanny powers. Besides invading people’s dreams, Volpe can use his magical eyes to hypnotize people with one glance. Like I said, this movie is best enjoyed once you realize it’s as much a fantasy as your average comic book.

Speaking of comic books, Malone (who previously directed the remake of House on Haunted Hill) gives Parasomnia a distinct visual look — partially inspired by comic books and the work of painter Zdzisław Beksiński. Using plenty of digital effects, skewed angles and judicious music video-style editing, Malone gives his film a visual style to match the plot’s fantastical elements. Towards the end of the film, the movie practically becomes a Nine Inch Nails music video — complete with petticoat-sporting girls playing string instruments and top hat wearing clown robots.

There are some good bits in Parasomnia. The plot, though a bit wonky at times, has a lot of potential. I’m a fan of epic, will-do-anything-for-you love stories and in that regard Parasomnia comes out swinging for the fences.

When Danny first rescues Laura from the hospital, the film is downright cute. Laura has spent the majority of her life asleep and safely behind the walls of the hospital. As she struggles to comprehend the real world, she acts like a scared puppy — even rolling around in the grass. While at first it seems kind of creepy that Danny would be so into her behavior (she’s practically acting like a toddler), Cherilyn Wilson works hard to sell her character’s naïveté until the situation returns to the adorableness Malone was shooting for.

Laura’s nightmare scenes likewise show a lot of missed potential. While the bizarre imagery is far more satisfying than anything Freddy Krueger could conjure up (some of it coming close to Tarsem Singh quality oddness), the dreams become slightly serious due to the overabundance of rubbery looking computer graphics. I realize the film was bound by its budget but I would have loved to have seen some of Malone’s visuals done practically. The CGI just isn’t able to pull of the creepiness it aspires to.

These scenes show the potential of the film. If done right, it could have straddled the line between gothic fairy tale and bloody slasher film — kind of like Freeway meets A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Unfortunately, the film is a bit too long and its excellent concept becomes lost in the muddled execution of the final product.  There’s too much going on in Parasomnia and unnecessary filler drags out the film to its breaking point.

By the time the film ends, audiences have become restless and any good will the two stars’ chemistry may have built is dust in the wind.

The film does feature an excellent (if underutilized) supporting cast that includes Jeffrey Combs, Timothy Bottoms, Sean Young and Alison Brie. Also look for a cameo by John Landis.

Parasomnia could have been a great film if William Malone had managed to tame his wild vision. The film can’t be accused of not trying — it puts its all into presenting an interesting concept but then proceeds to batter it about like an abused spouse. Malone’s flash-cut editing, while novel and interesting in 1999’s House on Haunted Hill has become a tired cliché and a relic of the past. By reigning in the film’s running time and trimming some of the more annoying MTV-stylized editing gimmicks, the film could have been a classic. Now, though, it’s a film that you may find yourself struggling not to fall asleep during.

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On Thursday night, we saw Part 1 of the final “HOH” competition begin.

We now know that Hayden has won the first part of the HOH competition. Lane and Enzo will now face off in the 2nd part tonight, and the winner will face Hayden in the third and final part. Whoever wins that is in the final 2, and gets to pick who he wants to take to the final 2 with him.

Credit: JokersUpdates.com

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