by Thom Yee

Let’s pretend this didn’t happen.

Green Lantern.  Its mere mention is enough to send shivers down the spines of comic book fans and moviegoers alike.  And it’s probably the reason we haven’t heard as much from Ryan Reynolds lately (R.I.P.D. not withstanding).

For my part… I didn’t hate Green Lantern.  On the plus side, Ryan Reynolds and Mark Strong were strong choices as Hal Jordan and Sinestro (spoiler alert Sinestro is sinister) and the basic plot was serviceable.  On the minus side, none of the characters were all that likable, the villains were either pathetic, uncompelling or poorly defined, the movie failed to capitalize on all the weird-looking aliens the way a lot of the marketing seemed to be going for, and I really just think the Green Lantern power set — which is basically a magic wishing ring — doesn’t translate that well to the screen.  You just don’t get that visceral thrill of people hitting each other (giant, green energy fists don’t count).  And Blake Lively was just awful.

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by Thom Yee

G.I. Joe: Retaliation images courtesy of Paramount Pictures and MGM

Overall, Scrubs was a pretty good, possibly great show.

It was the kind of show that a lot of young adults needed in the ’00s because it felt real as it explored its young protagonists’ fanciful psychoses.

Even though it was uneven and occasionally a little too up its own ass, it had a lot of strong character arcs and emotionally raw moments.

To me and a lot of Scrubs fans, a truly standout performance was Brendan Fraser as Ben, one of the few people that Dr. Cox (the acerbic doctor of internal medicine at Sacred Heart Hospital) actually liked.

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by Thom Yee

Sound City images courtesy of Variance Films, Roswell Films, and Gravitas Ventures

Nostalgia is a hell of a thing.  It circles our minds, advises us on the seemingly wisest course of action, and occupies our thoughts as we pretend to transcend into the future.  It even drives large parts of our economy.

Nostalgia is all around us, everywhere.  We can deny its presence as we produce our important works in a vain attempt to do something new, but it’s always there for one simple reason:  we all want a do-over.  It’s the reason why we ask ourselves what we would do if we could go back — to a simpler time, to a happier time, to a more hopeful time where anything was possible.  And for a lot of us, the main thing we would do if we could go back is our damndest to stay there and not have to move forward.

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