I Am Number Four: New Trailer

woot woot! this is looking better and better.

related:
I Was a Teenage Alien

Quip Pics

sometimes spreadsheets and powerpoints aren't enough for me, you know? as much as i love the usual infographics, i think even simple clip art is trying to tell us something. back in 2006, i experimented with a little 'truth in clip art' presentation. it seemed to go over well, so i came back for more a couple of weeks ago.

i hope i don't ruin microsoft for you.

more than one way to Skin a cast

when word got out last week that a buffy feature was going ahead without joss whedon at the helm, joss had a couple of words on the subject. his response was honest, and cynical, and witty - all the things you would expect of him. and, while i'm incredibly miffed that this project is happening (as is the rest of the internet, it seems), i was so impressed with his tiny takedown of the hollywood machine that i forgot to be angry for a moment.

"feeding off the carcasses of beloved stories", as he puts it, is nothing new. but it doesn't feel like things are even given enough time to decay or disappear from the pop cultural conscience anymore. case in point: Skins.

uk cast, 2007

not a beloved story exactly, but this british tv series only premiered in 2007 with two really amazing seasons, another two fairly good seasons with a second-generation cast followed, and a third generation for season 5 was just announced in august.

 

us cast, 2010

 
this show is alive and well in the uk (with a substantial american following), not long dead and buried, which used to be the prereq for a reboot. nevertheless, mtv's decided an almost shot-for-shot remake is what america needs right now.




now, i'm not a purest - some of my favorite shows have been reboots (battlestar gallactica), revamps (baz luhrman's r + j), pastiches (every campy minute of BtVS), etc. what i am, however, is someone who believes reviving something before it's dead is a big waste of time. and, in the case of Skins, the disappointment comes from knowing that the version american audiences will settle for will be a dressed up, watered down half hour of tv.

the genius of Skins was showing kids (not near 30 year-old actors) do and say the things you know they shouldn't (but really do anyway). sanitizing the on-screen drug use and sex, replacing normal looking teens with impossibly attractive cast members... this is only going to make the Skins reboot mtv's undressed, part 2. and, really, what's the point? the grit of the uk Skins didn't insult my (read: the teenager inside me) intelligence. but, you know, that's something mtv lives to do these days (i'm looking at you, jersey shore).

as long as these easy-bake remakes make advertising dollars, there's really no stopping the studios from popping them out. but i will say this, if i could get paid for turning in my co-worker's project, i guess i wouldn't be too picky about the quality of the copy either.

Buffyverse Chronology

seriously... i wasn't kidding about how much i like making charts. like most ridiculous things i do, this started as a joke. but, after a couple of Buffy/Angel marathons with friends, it actually became a handy reference for all the flashbacks/flashforwards in the series.

yes, i'm compulsively dorky, but ive spared you all the whiny Buffy. skip ahead to Fool for Love (Buffy s5e07) and thank me later.

i'm nothing if not servicey.




click to enlarge

making my point. my POWER point.

i've always said that i am a visual person. and i've always known myself to be...fact-oriented (read: anal retentive). hence the whole librarian thing, you know? i'm sure if i were in an interview i would highlight these things about myself. of course, i'd probably leave out the fact that i like to chart the details of my personal life in powerpoints. seems a bit weirdo-creepy-loner, non? undecided? observe:

in which i powerpoint my friend

so there you have it. i bet you feel like you know lucy a little better now, don't you? you probably know me better now, too.

i was a teenage alien

you ever go to the library and check out more books than you have time for? i do. all the time. if books were food you might say my eyes are bigger than my stomach. but i just can't help it. i can't resist the siren call of brightly colored ya in crinkly library cellophane.

that said, i took out I Am Number Four a month ago and didn't devour it on time. it didn't seem like much of a loss then, but i should have realized my mistake - my copy couldn't be renewed because of the dozens of people on the wait list. my suspicion is that things this high in demand must be good. um, i know i've been wrong with that line of thinking before (ahem, twilight, ahem) but i'm still gonna go with the thought.

i'm intrigued because the story centers on a teen alien on the run. and, let's face it, my teenage soul has felt more than a little empty since Roswell went off the air (note: telling people you watched the show for guest appearances of the ever-hip rock n' roller john doe does not get you any cool points. it only confuses fellow geeks). but i've stayed away because this sounds suspiciously like the plot of twinklevamp typer's (Ms. Meyer) The Host (a much better story than the one that made her famous, but not something i'd care to read again).

but, hey, i'm lazy and have let the internet settle the to-read-or-not-to-read debate. and guess what? that was a good decision! the trailer for I Am Number Four has got some pizazz! it's also got Glee's Dianna Agron. not too shabby, not too shabby at all. the only thing that might make this better is if she gets a doo-wop/hip-hop mash up to sing between moments of extra-terrestrial terror.

blast from the past

long time no type. my apologies. it's been a busy few months here full of plenty of tv on dvd (the wire!), ya reads (5 in one week!) and christmas club 2010. but, you have my undivided attention now. and, hopefully, i've got yours. because, just as i've returned from a long hiatus so have a few friends of mine. dear readers, let me re-introduce you to eric balfour and donald faison, whom you may remember from, you know, the 90's.



now, if the trailer is supposed to be the best 2 minutes of the feature then... i just feel bad for these boys. they've put in their dues (adult braces? **can't hardly wait's hippie dude #1?), seen success and now...they're just paying the rent. but hey, who am i to rain on their alien parade.

**what are the chances of another 90's teen star vehicle? cant facinelli take a break from being papa sparklepants and join the crew for one more go around? and here's a terrifying thought, if they updated can't hardly wait, i'd have no idea who anyone was.