Daily Loaf

Taylor Lautner in GQ.

*I loved the ABC crossover promos as much as everyone else, but the Lost plane crashing onto Desperate Housewives?! Sorry ABC, that is not going to make me watch Terri Hatcher’s skeletal frame neurotically wash dishes while some other woman my mom’s age bangs Hurley so that she officially can consider herself a cougar. Crossover FAIL.

*Twilight’s Taylor Lautner is having a hard time keeping his shirt on for photoshoots these days and women everywhere can be heard murmuring to themselves while flipping through the new issue of GQ: “He’s only 17. He’s only 17. He’s only 17…”

*Breaking News: John Stamos Admits Being Drunk on TV… in 2007. I am reeeeeeally glad that he finally cleared that up because the last two years have been torture for me, wondering whether or not Uncle Jesse had a few cocktails before he appeared on that Australian morning show. Finally, we can all rest easy knowing the truth. So yeah, you’re welcome.

*My hero, the hilarious Tina Fey, was on Letterman this week where she talked about losing her virginity at 24 due to her “homeliness” when she was younger and this got me thinking… What did Tina Fey look like in high school? Was her senior picture as bad as mine? Worse? Is there hope for nerdy girls everywhere? Thanks to the power of Google image search and the hard work of the investigative internet journalists who came before me, I have your answer after the jump…

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For more reviews of the summer’s biggest movies, be sure and visit CL’s Movies & Television site.

Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy gets girl back. It’s a formula as old as drama, but it’s also sort of fanciful. In real life, the boy who loses the girl often sits brooding on the sidelines for months while his lost love lives it up with a new paramour. Enter (500) Days Of Summer, a movie that wants you to know up front that it’s not some silly love story. Instead, Summer is a movie about love and all its messy fallout — hurt feelings, confusion, resentment, etc. The film is also an assured directorial debut from music video director Marc Webb, and he gives his tale a clever structure and playful visual style that helps separate it from the standard rom-com pack.

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This week we discussed episode 2 of Top Chef Masters: The Lost Supper. Our special guest this week was Jeff Houck, food writer for The Tampa Tribune, who added a great dose of humor to the show and kept us in stitches.
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Finally! After much mystery, the much-adored AMC series Mad Men has announced the date of its third-season premiere: Sunday August 16 at 10 p.m. Was the delay in setting a premiere date something to do with this controversy, which may wreak havoc with your DVR? Or was it manufactured to work up anticipation among fans? Whatever. I’m a fan, and I can’t wait. But please, do not tell me what happened in the final episode of the second season. I didn’t DVR it, the show disappeared from HD On Demand before I could catch it, and I have succesfully skipped over all mentions of the finale in print and online. (Though I think I heard there was a divorce. Or was it a baby?) For diehards like myself, AMC will run the obligatory pre-premiere marathon recap of the previous season starting at 7 a.m. (!) Sunday Aug. 9 Monday Aug. 10. (Thanks to the St. Pete Times’ Eric Deggans for alerting me to my error. No thanks to AMC’s publicist for the confusing, that is to say wrong, information in her press release.)

There’s been discussion amongst the Mad Men faithful at CL of having an ongoing podcast à la our popular Lost-cast. Let me know if you’d listen. Who knows? Maybe I can get everyone riled up again with a controversial statement.

Game 1 of the 2009 NBA finals is in the books and it was certainly not a good situation for the Orlando Magic. Here’s the thing, though: It’s not the end of the Magic world here.

Yes, I know that the Lakers have won like a trillion series in a row when winning the first game of a set but that does not concern me. Do I think the Orlando is going to win the series? No. Did I think the Magic were going to win the series before Game 1? No.  But I did, and still do, think the Magic have a good shot. There was about a 0% chance of a sweep to begin with. It would have been preferable for Orlando to take Game 1, to be sure, but if the Magic are going to win the title, they’re going to need to do it in 6 or 7.

I think that in the 2-3-2 format, the team with home court has an unusual advantage. It is extremely difficult to win the middle three games, but not impossible. Even so, your goal as the Magic (or any team without home court) is to rip one. That’s it. Do you want more? Of course, but these are the NBA Finals and the teams are good. Even when a team gets swept, they were still a hell of a team that had a hell of a season. So one is sometimes all you’re going to get.  For all the nay-saying in regards to Orlando’s ability to beat Cleveland, they only took one in C-town but they only needed one. So, after Game 1, the Magic are right where they should be.

“But Ryan, the Magic lost by a lot and didn’t look good in the process.”

True. Here’s a few counter points to consider: Read the rest of this entry »

No new Lost tonight (I can hear you wimpering), but that doesn’t mean you have to go completely cold turkey. Here’s part two of our season-ending podcast covering “The Incident Part 1 & 2.” If you missed part one, check it out here. In this second part, we finally get to David Warner’s statement (full text after the jump), discuss the series endgame for Season 6 and generally try to cram our blown minds back into our skulls lest we get brain on the carpet. Enjoy!

CL’s Lost podcast: Season 5, Ep 16 “The Incident Part 2″

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It’s season finale time, and we’ve got a special two-part edition of our Lost podcast — now with a studio audience! (You didn’t expect us to cram all our speculation into a normal-length podcast, did you?) In Part 1, we cover the “The Incident part 1 & 2,” discussing the epic fall of Ben Linus, whether God and the devil play Chess Backgammon, and if it’s good to be touched by a Jacob. Part 2 next week …
Lost podcast

On this week’s edition of the Lost podcast, we discuss Jack’s crazy plan to to nuke the island, John Locke’s Jacob-quest, and why PoHo hates episodes devoted to nothing but plot advancement. Click below to download the podcast or listen right now by hitting the play button on the media player below. Namaste!
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On this week’s edition of the CL Lost podcast, we discuss Daniel Faraday’s past, pat ourselves on the back for calling the Faraday/Widmore connection, and debate whether “The Variable” was a great Lost episode or the greatest Lost episode ever!
Download the podcast here.

Plus: Curious what Wayne Garcia’s notes looked like? Check them out after the jump …

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Here’s the latest installment of our highly-acclaimed* Lost podcast. In this week’s edition, we discuss Wednesday night’s clip show, speculate on who’s going to kick the bucket before the end of season five and mop up some open questions from previous weeks.

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*-Allegedly.

This week, we start off with J.J.’s heavy, 5 minute dissertation on Egyptian gods*. Please bear with us, as the information overload gives way to a jaunty discussion of why Miles & Hurley rock, which cast members can act, what’s “in the shadow of the statue,” and how it can be that London has never seen The Empire Strike Back?!!?

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*-We have scanned J.J.’s exhaustive notes, which were written on a tiny scrap of notebook paper. They can be found after the jump, and may or may not help you figure out exactly what he’s talking about. Good luck.

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Joe's enthusiasm during this week's podcast deeply concerns London.

Back by popular demand, it’s the second installment of our Lost podcast. This week, the round-table talks Egyptian gods, Richard Alpert’s eyeliner, Locke’s divinity and why you can’t trust a word Ben says. Plus, we add Leilani to the mix, checking facts and keeping us honest. Video clip from the show below the jump. Enjoy …

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Video:

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Join the CL round-table of Joe, J.J., London and Ham Gravy as they talk out this week’s puzzling Lost episode, “Whatever Happened, Happened.” And if you guys think you can answer any of the questions that have our chatty crew’s heads spinning, please take a shot at it in the comments section.

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New Lost tonight, and here’s a sneak peak at tonight’s episode. Don’t tell me what happens in it. I’ll wait to find out.

• Obama caps executive pay at $500,000. Let the cries of the apocalypse begin.
• The President continues his bipartisanship attack by appointing a Republican to the Secretary of Commerce post.

Much more news is one click away …

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We’re pretty busy down here at Loaf central today, what with the Super Bowl only four days away and time quickly running out. Of course, time was of the essence once again on last night’s episode of Lost. From 9 p.m. until 10:02 p.m. (very slippery thwarting of the DVR folks, ABC), I studied it like the Zapruder film — and came away with about as many concrete conclusions. I would love to break it all down for you, but I’m swamped. In the meantime, I would direct you to Doc Jensen’s EW column … but Doc took the day off as well! Asst. Prof. Vary is filling in, and he/she seems to be doing a fine job. Check back later, as I’ll try to add some more content to this post as time permits.

Feeling a little confused? If you’re new to Lost and need a quick rundown of the first four seasons, or want to brush up after the long lull between last year and last night’s season 5 premiere, we’ve got you covered. Quick. Easy. Just the highlights.

Start delving into one of television’s best dramas, after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

After what seemed an eternity, ABC’s Lost has finally returned for another 16 episode run. When last we saw the castaways on TV’s funkiest island it was May 29, 2008. Hillary Clinton was still alive for the Democratic nomination. The Dow was above 12,500. On a personal note, I’ve gotten engaged and bought a house since the island vanished before our very eyes. Time marches on.

Of course, Time (with a captial T) is what this season of Lost is all about. Rather than give a full recap of each episode (CL Intern Michelle has her take here, and I highly recommend Entertainment Weekly’s Doc Jansen as well), I’ll focus on the things that captured my imagination or made my head spin — often simultaniously. It strikes me that much of the fun of Lost comes from sorting through everyone’s theories, and then finding out exactly how far off we are when a new episode airs and changes everything.

One final note: If the season premiere of Lost is sitting on your DVR until you have a free moment, you’ll probably want to stop reading now.

Still with me? Good. Click below and check out my quick hits on last night’s season premiere …

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True to form, the season five premiere of Lost last night was enthralling, dramatic — and thoroughly confusing. As an avid fan of the show from day one, I have struggled to follow the show’s basic —  and by basic I mean unpredictable, often nonsensical and chronologically out-of-whack — plot lines. But, as if the flashbacks and introduction of more characters than I ever thought possible on a show about a desert island weren’t enough, executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are messing with time.

The two-hour show attempted to explain last season’s mysteries by, naturally, throwing in more characters and more island history.  Three years into the future from where we were left off in season four, Ben and Jack are desperate to get back to the island. We’re not really sure why, but it is stated emphatically by various characters that humanity will need otherworldly help if the characters who left the island do not return, and soon. Meanwhile, on the island, they are jumping around through time— like a repeating record on a turntable — Locke is meandering alone in the woods, and Sawyer is angry and shirtless.

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