How Many of These Movies Have You Seen?

I thought this might be fun. I'd seen some posts (via Kate Steele first!) talking about the BBC list of 100 books to read and how BBC believes most people have read only 6 of those 100 books.

That topic eventually randomly led to some friends and I deciding to see how many movies we had seen in the AFI Top 100 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI's_100_Years..._100_Movies_(10th_Anniversary_Edition)] - we did the 2007 edition, not the 1997 edition). Out of the AFI Top 100, I've seen 53.

Also, we did the top 100 movies from the IMDb Top 250 (http://www.imdb.com/chart/top). This one is more biased toward a certain target audience (i.e. young male adults like me), and I certainly have used this list more in my past to consider what movies to watch, so it turns out that I've seen 74 of the current 100.

It should be noted that this list changes here and there (Inception will definitely get lower over time, as new movies typically peak at the start. The Dark Knight was #1 at its start. And movies will fall in and out of the top 100). But yeah, I thought some of you might enjoy seeing these lists and seeing how many of these films you had watched. Cheers.

The movies I've seen are in bold.

AFI

1 Citizen Kane

2 The Godfather

3 Casablanca

4 Raging Bull

5 Singin' in the Rain

6 Gone with the Wind

7 Lawrence of Arabia

8 Schindler's List

9 Vertigo

10 The Wizard of Oz

11 City Lights

12 The Searchers

13 Star Wars

14 Psycho

15 2001: A Space Odyssey

16 Sunset Boulevard

17 The Graduate

18 The General

19 On the Waterfront

20 It's a Wonderful Life

21 Chinatown

22 Some Like It Hot

23 The Grapes of Wrath

24 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

25 To Kill a Mockingbird

26 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

27 High Noon

28 All About Eve

29 Double Indemnity

30 Apocalypse Now

31 The Maltese Falcon

32 The Godfather Part II

33 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

34 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

35 Annie Hall

36 The Bridge on the River Kwai

37 The Best Years of Our Lives

38 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

39 Dr. Strangelove

40 The Sound of Music

41 King Kong

42 Bonnie and Clyde

43 Midnight Cowboy

44 The Philadelphia Story

45 Shane

46 It Happened One Night

47 A Streetcar Named Desire

48 Rear Window

49 Intolerance

50 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

51 West Side Story

52 Taxi Driver

53 The Deer Hunter

54 MASH

55 North by Northwest

56 Jaws

57 Rocky

58 The Gold Rush

59 Nashville

60 Duck Soup

61 Sullivan's Travels

62 American Graffiti

63 Cabaret

64 Network

65 The African Queen

66 Raiders of the Lost Ark

67 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

68 Unforgiven

69 Tootsie

70 A Clockwork Orange

71 Saving Private Ryan

72 The Shawshank Redemption

73 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

74 The Silence of the Lambs

75 In the Heat of the Night

76 Forrest Gump

77 All the President's Men

78 Modern Times

79 The Wild Bunch

80 The Apartment

81 Spartacus

82 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

83 Titanic

84 Easy Rider

85 A Night at the Opera

86 Platoon

87 12 Angry Men

88 Bringing Up Baby

89 The Sixth Sense

90 Swing Time

91 Sophie's Choice

92 Goodfellas

93 The French Connection

94 Pulp Fiction

95 The Last Picture Show

96 Do the Right Thing

97 Blade Runner

98 Yankee Doodle Dandy

99 Toy Story

100 Ben-Hur

IMDb Top 100

1 The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

2 The Godfather (1972)

3 The Godfather: Part II (1974)

4 Inception (2010)

5 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

6 Pulp Fiction (1994)

7 Schindler's List (1993)

8 12 Angry Men (1957)

9 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

10 The Dark Knight (2008)

11 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back(1980)

12 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(2003)

13 Seven Samurai (1954)

14 Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

15 Goodfellas (1990)

16 Casablanca (1942)

17 Fight Club (1999)

18 City of God (2002)

19 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring(2001)

20 Toy Story 3 (2010)

21 Rear Window (1954)

22 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

23 Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

24 Psycho (1960)

25 The Usual Suspects (1995)

26 The Matrix (1999)

27 The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

28 Se7en (1995)

29 Memento (2000)

30 It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

31 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

32 Sunset Blvd. (1950)

33 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

34 The Professional (1994)

35 Forrest Gump (1994)

36 Citizen Kane (1941)

37 Apocalypse Now (1979)

38 North by Northwest (1959)

39 American Beauty (1999)

40 American History X (1998)

41 Taxi Driver (1976)

42 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

43 Vertigo (1958)

44 Saving Private Ryan (1998)

45 Amélie (2001)

46 Alien (1979)

47 WALL·E (2008)

48 Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

49 The Shining (1980)

50 Spirited Away (2001)

51 Paths of Glory (1957)

52 A Clockwork Orange (1971)

53 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

54 The Pianist (2002)

55 Double Indemnity (1944)

56 The Departed (2006)

57 The Lives of Others (2006) 50

58 M (1931)

59 Aliens (1986)

60 City Lights (1931)

61 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

62 Requiem for a Dream (2000)

63 Das Boot (1981)

64 The Third Man (1949)

65 L.A. Confidential (1997)

66 Chinatown (1974)

67 Reservoir Dogs (1992)

68 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

69 Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

70 Modern Times (1936)

71 Life Is Beautiful (1997)

72 Back to the Future (1985)

73 Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

74 The Prestige (2006)

75 Raging Bull (1980)

76 Cinema Paradiso (1988)

77 Singin' in the Rain (1952)

78 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

79 Some Like It Hot (1959)

80 Rashomon (1950)

81 Amadeus (1984)

82 All About Eve (1950)

83 Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

84 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

85 Inglourious Basterds (2009)

86 The Green Mile (1999)

87 Full Metal Jacket (1987)

88 Braveheart (1995)

89 The Great Dictator (1940)

90 Bicycle Thieves (1948)

91 The Apartment (1960)

92 Downfall (2004)

93 Up (2009)

94 Gran Torino (2008)

95 Metropolis (1927)

96 The Maltese Falcon (1941)

97 The Sting (1973)

98 Gladiator (2000)

99 The Elephant Man (1980)

100 Sin City (2005)

The Social Network: The Film of Our Generation? Maybe.

We don't know what it can be, we don't know what it will be. We know that it is cool, and that is a precious asset.

I was inspired to write a post about The Social Network after an email from a friend about the movie. I had been thinking about the movie since watching it on Friday and doing reading on the people and the history of Facebook, so it was definitely on my mind.

Is The Social Network the film of our generation? Maybe. It might be just because it's a great film about a topic so very relevant to our generation. I'm not sure it's a classic movie similar to the way Fight Club (another Fincher film) has become such a cult hit for the late 90s and for the disgruntled young males of recent time. It certainly has started off with a bigger bang than a movie like that though, with a #1 box office spot and rave predictions of Oscars galore. I'm not sure if it can reach the pinnacle of movies like Network or All the President's Men, movies that reviews have compared it to for capturing its era.

I remember when the movie was first announced, and I, like many of you, thought "A movie about Facebook? Really? Already? Ridiculous." And then I was shocked to see that David Fincher, he of thrillers like Seven and Fight Club and majestic FX movies like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button would agree to direct a movie about a website becoming big. The first two trailers didn't impress me either at the time (lines in the trailer seem much better in the context of the film, like the above quote, and the quote "A million dollars isn't cool. You know what's cool?... a billion dollars"... a line that definitely hit the Unintentional Comedy Scale for me).

Yet the reviews started coming out, and they were filled with praise. And they were right for the most part. The amazing thing about the film, and something that makes a push for why it might be the "film of our generation", is the absurd timeliness of the film. Yes, the movie only starts about 7 years ago. Seven years ago is a long time. Our time in Iraq was in its beginning phases, I, and a chunk of you, were juniors in high school, and the first Pirates of the Caribbean had come out that summer. Kerry hadn't lost yet. YouTube wasn't around. Things in our time move at a rapid pace... in another year, the captions at the end of the movie* will probably be slightly outdated. A movie about a website as big as Facebook, one that has changed the way we interact socially online and in person (and I don't think I need to explain that), can warrant a film this quickly, both because it's important and because its story, though exaggerated, is captivating nonetheless.

*I actually was hoping before the movie that there wouldn't be captions even though I figured there would be, since I fear that the captions will date the film in a few years. But I guess that's a small point. And it seems like others have enjoyed the captions to know more about what happened to everyone.

And then, can you believe it? People who graduated from high school in 2005, that was still when Facebook had limited access to universities and no photos (and no high schoolers). This website... it grew quick. And part of my enjoyment from the film was seeing the thought process behind that. Yes, Eduardo Saverin comes away as the most sympathetic character and the one we side with... but he was wrong on some critical points. The thought process of Zuckerberg and Sean Parker in the movie is fascinating, even as you think that these guys are douchebags. Yes, the line at the top sounds tooly, but it's completely true about Facebook then, and why they had to limit access initially. Facebook had to be cool enough for everyone, parents, high schoolers, random Joe Schmo to want it... and now... it's everywhere.

The Oscars

Can this film take home Oscars? Yes. I think right now, it's the film most likely to win that has been released, and it's set the bar high for any coming challengers. From stuff I've read, there are movies like The Black Swan and The King's Speech that could challenge, but I think they'll have to be damn good and mainstream to beat out a movie so timely and well done. I see locks for nominations for Best Picture, Director, Writing for Adapted Screenplay, Score, and then I see good shots for Jesse Eisenberg for Best Actor and Andrew Garfield for Best Supporting Actor. It would be cool to see JT pull off a nod, but I'm dubious. I won't get into that other stuff, but I imagine it could aim for things like Best Editing and such.

Do I like this movie better than Inception, that movie I was crazy about this summer? Noooo. I mean, I love Inception. It's way up there for me, almost unreasonably. I do think The Social Network is the better-made film though. Better writing and acting, and probably a better cohesive movie in general. But... Inception's awesome.

Is The Social Network a perfect movie? No. For one thing, something I didn't think much about when watching it and had pointed out to me later was that the portrayal of women as fools* and prizes in the film is poor (consider this article that was linked to me: http://jezebel.com/5654633/the-social-network-where-women-never-have-ideas. No, I'm not an avid Jezebel reader). On an aside, it seems like Sorkin hasn't had a great track record for women in movies (although he has had good characters in his TV shows). A prime example is Demi Moore's character in A Few Good Men, who was pretty wooden and was originally written for a male character.

*A big scene concerning this is when Eduardo's soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend sets his scarf on fire (culminating her character's progress of crazy). A friend of mine told me that supposedly that really happened according to the book, but I haven't heard anything one way or the other. If anyone has more insight on that... I would be curious.

On top of that, let's be real, the portrayals of characters are fairly exaggerated. You can find that in lots of articles, but I'll point to a few and make my quick thoughts on it. See here for a guy who gives his own insight on some of the main people: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-09-30/the-facebook-and-zuckerberg-in-the-social-network-arent-real/. See here for a cool Vanity Fair feature on Sean Parker: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/10/sean-parker-201010?currentPage=all

Zuckerberg doesn't seem to me to be nearly as awkward in real life, although he's still pretty damn awkward (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3hu3iG8B2g). He's almost awkward more in an endearing sense, like you're more likely to feel sorry for the guy. Not quite in the movie. And I was a little annoyed with the scene where he made the weird noises in the advertising meeting with Eduardo. It didn't seem plausible. In addition, it seems like he had more friends in real life and still has friends (and a long-term girlfriend). The scene where Eduardo says how he was his one friend is awesome in the context of the movie, but it doesn't ring true. Heck, he's at least got Dustin (really minimized in the movie), and then other nerds he must hang with.

Sean Parker's character is also made a crueler, supposedly, than real life. He seems to be made out to be less brilliant in the movie too. The Vanity Fair article might shed some more light on that.

Does that really affect my opinion of the movie? Not really. I just try to remember that the movie is more of a fictional, generally true story, with some character exaggerations to make for a better story (a damn good story in this film). The basics of betrayal, exciting business rises, and character flaws are still there. The dialogue is still wonderful (and amusing to repeat). The actors are on top of their games (let's give it up for Armie Hammer too!).

Basically, this movie made me think about it a lot. And research about what happened and still be intrigued by it. Does it define our decade, as Peter Travers says? Eh. But I would feel OK with saying that it defines at least our social interaction this decade. Yeah. I'm OK with that.

The End... LOST: Week 16

No prologue. No side topic. This week's for REAL. THE END.

We'll keep this one brief. Maybe a longer one later on this week, but just some thoughts for now.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I don't have a whole lot to say about what happened in the finale, partly because a lot of it is confusing (and from some of the early reactions, there's a lot of WTF), but I'll say first and foremost that I still really enjoyed it.

Can I say the series makes a whole lot of sense on the whole? Probably not. And there are still lots of unanswered questions, i.e. Walt, but oh well. I think that was inevitable with all the stuff LOST had up in the air. What I wanted though was a reasonable enough explanation for the sideways, some good fitting endings for our characters, and some well executed stuff. And I liked it. I really did. And I was moved and hooked until the end. So, just some thoughts on what I liked, what I didn't like (not a lot, honestly), and what I think might have been the case.

First, I will say that the Sideways stuff still confuses me, but I'm sure stuff will come out about that and thoughts on that. I just don't quite understand how they decided to find each other there (based on what Christian said). I also wonder what that means with the island being underground, the other people in their lives (like David, Jack's son), how Jughead last year relates to that, and what that means for Faraday, Ben, etc. (is that some other actual life of theirs? but they're technically dead?).

But I'll say that I liked a lot of stuff. All the flashes to the people were cool. Juliet-Sawyer especially, along with Kate/Claire/Charlie, the lovely surprise of Shannon/Sayid/Boone and the cool thing about Shannon and Sayid being true loves or whatever that implies.... I did like that. After forgetting about it since Season 2, it was cool to see it come back to that.

The scene with Jack and his father was great, and I really liked that Christian ended the show with Jack on a really good note. An amicable relationship.

What did Desmond know? How did it all connect? I don't know. Whatever, I'll read and think more on it later.

The Island stuff was really cool. People had theorized that Jack's tenure would be short-lived, but boy was it meaningful. Hurley taking over was another popular theory, and I guess that makes the most sense. Hurley/Ben taking over the Island in a supposedly friendly relationship is good, and something I suspected. I figured it would end without an enemy, sorta like what Jacob foreshadowed in last year's finale. The disappointment of Desmond failing was scary, with the legit fear that MIB was gonna win there.

It was a little shocking to see MIB die so early, but it was done really well. I really thought Jack was gonna get killed by him there (at that point, I was still thinking that the Sideways people would come to the Island so Jack would come back), and Kate shooting him was baller.

Everyone having happy endings? Technically. Lots of people still died. Don't forget that the happy reunion at the end there was after all those people died, including the crappy deaths still of Sun, Jin, Boone, Shannon, Charlie, etc.

I thought Kate and Jack being together was fitting, along with Sawyer/Juliet in the end there. What happens to them all after they take off the Island? Who knows? Richard Alpert starts a dance club? Lapidus and Miles start a private airplane company? What happens with Sawyer and Kate? Hmm. The main cool thing? Claire getting to come back to Aaron. And that is a nice thing to have realized. Good job, Kate. You managed to accomplish that.

I thought it was really fascinating that they saved Jack for last to realize what was going on. And I loved the ending shot with Jack dying probably where he woke up, with Vincent by him, with the plane flying over, with him happy about succeeding, with his eye closing.

That's all I'm gonna write for now. I hope you all enjoyed it. If you didn't, I really do think that it's the type of ending that will be better with more time to think and to process. Or not. I'm gonna watch the Kimmel show. I might write something else later this week.

Random notes:

-The explanation for the neck mark on Jack? Very cool.

-Kate pointing out the ridiculousness of Christian Shephard's name was good stuff. And the other meta-type stuff, like how Jack's the obvious choice according to MIB.

-Oh man if they'd killed Rose/Bernard that woulda been so traumatizing.

-Jack-Locke fight = Neo - Agent Smith fight

-The flash-realizations were all pretty cool. Shannon-Sayid was a cool surprise. Boone... how did he know already? What did he flash on? Hmm. Maybe... ARZT?

The Wizards Win the Lottery... and LOST: Week 15

Oh snap. One final typical hour of LOST. And only 5 days until the last 2.5 hour finale and Sunday night extravaganza. How crazy it is to imagine. The show must come to an end.

First, before we get into the show, I wanted to make note of the most exciting moment of the year for my sports teams thus far (my sports teams aren't very good): the WIZARDS WINNING THE DRAFT LOTTERY. The Wizards have historic bad luck. Out of 13 times in the draft lottery, the team only moved up once, when they got Kwame Brown. Yeah. That didn't go well.

Last year, the team thought they might have a good shoot at Blake Griffin, a nice last piece to go along with Arenas/Butler/Jamison/Haywood. That didn't go well either. They thought they could trade the 5 pick for some key veterans. Also not so well. So today, with the Wizards being an afterthought after the demolition of this year's team and the albatross of Gilbert Arenas' contract, the focus was elsewhere. Would the Nets get Wall and woo LeBron? Would the T'Wolves get the #1 pick and have to decide whether or not to get a 3rd straight PG in the top 10 of a draft? Would the Jazz somehow get a top-3 pick and make the Knicks feel even dumber?

I gave myself false hope this year, as I did last year. Last year, I convinced myself that the Wizards would get the fortune of picking Griffin in order to complete its recipe for a playoff contender. This year, I hoped that the presence of Irene Pollin, the wife of the late Abe Pollin, would give us good result. Abe Pollin was the longtime Washington Bullets/Wizards owner, well-respected as a person but not so great as a maker of a good NBA team. Pollin, in all accounts, seems like a likable guy, someone who the players respected, who helped revitalize part of DC with the Wizards' arena. He chose to change the team's name from Bullets to Wizards after seeing too much violence in his time. When Gilbert did his stupid thing this year, it was Pollin's legacy he put to shame before trying to make amends.

The Pollins are selling their stake to the Capitals' owner, the popular and successful Ted Leonsis (see Leonsis' bucket list here: http://www.tedstake.com/2006/01/06/my-101-list-the-story/. He's a baller). This was to be one of Irene's last tasks as an owner. She wore her late husband's championship ring from when the Bullets won it all long ago in 1978. I mean... if you're gonna win a draft lottery, it has to be this year, right?

And so it was. The Wizards get first pick. Will they take consensus pick John Wall? Likely. Maybe they'll go with Evan Turner, the consensus #2 pick who isn't a PG, like Wall and Arenas. We'll see. All I know is... WE GOT THE #1 PICK YEAHHHHHHH.

Some random notes:

-The new Nets owner Prokhorov is really really tall. And hilarious. Welcome to the NBA.

-Danny Granger coiled over when they announced the Pacers' slot. Dude had such a low shot at winning it all. Get over yourself, boy!

-Aaron Brooks looks like a baller.

-David Kahn is a tool, and I'm glad the T'Wolves fell to #4 and lost a shot at Wall or Turner (sorry to any TWolves fans). He acts like he knows what he's talking about and jabbers on in front of the press, but he's a dope. I hope he gets fired next year.

--

SPOILERS AHEAD for the penultimate LOST episode...

That's more like it, Mr. Wayne. This week's LOST episode did a good job with setting stuff up for the final episode. I still feel like there's so much to cover before the show ends, but I just have to remind myself that 2.5 hours of TV is a long time, and the LOST guys probably knew what they were doing. OK, I'll try to split this entry up into little sections to make it more organized.

I. Jacob and Jack

In the past I've said that I don't think there will be a Jacob or a MIB. I would change that now to say that there'll probably still be a Jacob (Jack) at the end but not a MIB, similar to what it was like when it was just Mother. And hopefully, I think Jacob hopes at least, there won't be conflict on the Island any longer. Or I dunno, maybe just not a MIB.

Jacob wanted Jack the whole time. He made that apparent at least since the Lighthouse episode. But the key here is that it had to be Jack's choice, and Jacob didn't legitimately manipulate Jack into going down this path wrongfully. Jack was always the one. He was the one who helped people when they all crashed. He was the one everyone turned to. He's the one who most wants to do what he can to help out. He wants to sacrifice for his friends. Sawyer made a snide comment about Jack's god-complex, but even he knew that it made sense, and he likely had a sense of gratitude that he didn't have to do it, just as Hurley and Kate did.

After Jacob's explanation for why Kate was scratched off, I guess that means Sun wasn't the Kwon on the ceiling. And I guess I was wrong about Locke being the one. Still, I hope that his sideways Locke gets to have some kind of key role in turning things around.

It was good to see Jacob explain why he picked them too. Sawyer showed resentment about being taken here, but Jacob pointed out how crappy their lives all were. Not that he didn't put them in another crappy situation though, but at least it probably has something to do with the fate of the world.

II. Ben

First, Ben in the sideways was interesting, but it hasn't yet reached a point where I get it quite yet, unlike the Locke/Jack and Desmond storylines that seem to be getting somewhere. Desmond's beatdown stirred something in Ben, but again, it wasn't the full-on Desmond/Hurley revelation quite yet. Otherwise, thus far, it was just interesting to see him talk nice with Rousseau (and amusing dialogue, like Rousseau saying "We insist, even if we have to kidnap you!").

Ben's turn to evil in the Island world was a jarring contrast. Not sure how I felt about this at first. I mean, when I think about it, it makes sense, and I think I'm fine with it. Initially I think I just wanted Ben to be good and for him to have made it to the good side in the end. At the same time, we got to see Sayid go good. If Ben goes bad... I mean, someone else has to go bad. Or doesn't have to, but it does make sense. And it makes sense that it is him, with his hatred for Widmore, his love of power and the Island, and his indifference to the survivors. I don't see Ben becoming a new MIB though, because I believe good will win out. I see him getting killed in the finale. That being said, I still have no clue how this plays into Ben in the sideways.

I had a feeling Richard would get owned, just because the series is so close to ending and because I felt like someone would die. If that's his death though, that kinda sucks for someone who was alive for so long. Would have expected more for him. Maybe Lapidus and he will tag-team MIB and nail him with a steel chair in the finale.

Wasn't expecting Widmore to die, but again, we're near the end. And that was a great scene between him, Locke, and Ben. (as for Zoe... well, no one cares about you, Zoe. And are they gonna show any of the other Widmore workers now that he and Zoe are gone and they're on Hydra Island?). It was good to see his love for Penny show before his death and for Ben's anger about his daughter's death blending into his desire for reveng. The touch back to Alex earlier in the episode was a good key for that as well. And I do believe that MIB wouldn't have killed Penny after what Widmore said (although who knows, maybe him getting off the Island really would kill everyone anyway). And where the hell was Miles? Just another room?

III. Sideways and Desmond

It was good to see some progress with Desmond in LA. Hurley and he working together was great, and it was funny to see Ana-Lucia and for Desmond to say she wasn't ready yet (was she on the plane? I say yes but irrevelant). It was strange that Desmond didn't say anything to them while in the prison, but oh well, Desmond's got a plan. And crazy to see him turn himself in. I figured he would try to awaken Sawyer/Miles first, but again, we'll see what he does with those two. Reminded me a little of the Joker in the prison in The Dark Knight, heh.

So Hurley and Sayid are headed somewhere now. Not sure where. To Jack? And Desmond/Kate will see Faraday/Penny and probably Miles (and Sawyer?). And something will happen. Hm. Somehow, this will touch back to the Island timeline. Actually, it's time for a new header.

IV. Things to Cover in the Finale

Jack vs. Locke. So are we gonna have a game of Red Rover to prevent MIB from getting to the light. Heh. I guess we'll see. And Desmond will be a key player somehow, and somehow he could be an asset to either team. I think it's important to note how MIB wants to destroy the Island, and the LAX timeline has the Island underground and uninhabitable (except by Aquaman and mermaids). I still have no guesses on what the LAX timeline will do to the Island timeline. But I'm super-psyched to be blown away by it.

Odds on Jack/Kate/Sawyer/Hurley all making it? Probably low. I'm guessing Kate and Sawyer go down. And... shot in the dark guess... they will declare their love for each other. And I would be shocked to see Hurley die.

Where's Island Claire? These questions and more on Sunday's episode. Get pumped, folks. Get pumped.

Random notes:

-"Previously on" scenes at the beginning. OK that's back.

-I bet Juliet is Jack's ex-wife. I just have a feeling about that. I do think they would show her at some point in the sideways, especially after her saying that "it worked", and that would be the most interesting way to do it. IAt first I was confused when Claire said morning because I was like is that the mom but of course it wasn't.

-Aw Kate don't make us cry again by talking about Ji Yeon. WHAT ABOUT LAPIDUS. HE'S ALIVE I KNOW HE'S ALIVE

-Widmore: As usual, Benjamin, i'm 3 steps ahead of you.

I guess they won't ever explicitly state the rules between Ben and Widmore, but I'm guessing it was just that their families wouldn't be affected, and Widmore's men broke that. Then, Ben didn't wanna kill Widmore without killing Penny, and he decided it was time for Widmore to die because he was so angry he was on the Island again and because he was about to get a truce from MIB.

-Is it just me, or does it seem strange to have a hot woman next to some male criminals? Doesn't anyone remember The Silence of the Lambs?

-I will say, it's an annoying plot contrivance when they have the survivors separated while walking in the forest. Like they would not pay attention to each other with a Smoke Monster around. Come on.

-The fan-made commercial that won was pretty good (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCwzyNMySrM), although this one might be better for hardcore LOST fans (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4VLi1A9cMI). I think the winner one is the more conventional choice though.

-Good exchange between Ben and Widmore:

Give me your walkie talkies.

Why?

Because I asked.

-Interesting placement of the picture of Alex in Ben's house after Ben and Locke reenter the home to kill Widmore.

-Locke and Jack in the parallel world. The theme is to let go for Locke.

-After Jacob told Jack about the field and the light and stuff, now I really wanna see a map of the Island!

-Weird voice at the end during the quick promo for the finale. Who was that, you think?