Bits and Bobs

First up, I saw Green Day again, this time at the Comcast Center. I swear to god they are the best live band around. They played for three hours straight. They were unbelievable. I mean, check out this setlist. Billie Joe is my personal lord and savior.

The sad news was that I was also going to see AFI play that night. The shuttle bus I took to get there got stuck in traffic and I missed them. Entirely. (I complained to the bus company and got a voucher in case there's another concert I want to see down there. Better idea - play BOSTON bands! Not a freaking hour away). Ah well. I saw them twice last year. But still. It was still disappointing. They are one of my three favorite bands of all time. Maybe there'll be a Blaqk Audio show I can catch in the near future.

Also - instant streaming kills my productivity. Most recently, I've been watching Veronica Mars. At first, I wasn't sure why it had such a rabid following and thought it was just okay. And then somewhere about halfway through the first season I could not stop watching. ohmygod - SO ADDICTED.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~thar be spoilers ahead~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

So. It all builds up to the big season finale, which I was desperately trying to get through before sushi making started last Wednesday, and I'm at the point where I am YELLING AT THE SCREEN. Because most of the second half of the season (on top of the murder mystery, which is done really well) is whether or not Veronica and Logan are going to get together, those crazy kids. And of course, the whole episode wraps up on a cliff hanger and we don't see who is at Veronica's front door.

So again. I put off my roommate for another five minutes to start watching season 2, because I have my priorities in order. And of course it's Logan and young love wins out and all is well. And then we made sushi and it was delicious.

The next day I sit down to watch the rest of the episode. The episode is told in flash back but it becomes rapidly apparent that Veronica is no longer with Logan, she's with... I've forgotten his name already. Duncan. That's right. Sorry. The boy is so devoid of any personality I tend to be distracted by shiny things in the room while he's on.

My problem with all of this is not that Veronica is with Duncan (or even that I got spoiled. I went online to lookup one of the songs in an episode - the show has great music, including an excellently placed garbage track - and found out that Logan and Veronica do not end up together. Ah well.) Characters can make stupid choices. Real people do it all the time.

The problem I have is that the creators of the show put a lot of time and effort into carefully building up this relationship and then they tear it down in the course of a little under 2 minutes. Veronica doesn't discuss the fact that Logan set the community pool on fire before breaking up with him? He's under trial for murder, he just found out his father is a murderer, and you can't cut him a little slack or have a discussion with him before dumping him? Not to mention you don't pipe up when your father throws him out of the house? You don't hear him out? This is not the intelligent, caring character we grew to love.

Maybe she was too excited about finding out that Duncan wasn't a blood relation. Maybe she sensed Logan would always do bone-headed rich boy pranks. But whatever the reason, we hardly even get her voice-over talking about it. It's tons and tons of build-up all about Logan, and then... complete gear shift. Dropped like a hot cake. I got whip lash.

It's a poor show running decision. They had done such a good job with character development in season 1, if Veronica had wanted to move on in season 2, then that same sort of growth and change would have been nice. Maybe given some progression I would actually care about Blandly McBeige she's dating.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~spoilers ended~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Also, does anyone else think the writing for Wallace comes off as uncomfortably like a white guy trying to write urban at times?

In other news, the box office is looking to be particularly tricky this week. Estimates are ALL over the map. I have to say - I love such a wide open weekend. When everyone agrees on the top 5 slots and there are no surprises to mull over - it gets boring. I love that people are really debating over the chances of about 5 new releases (Vampires Suck, Piranha 3-D, Nanny McPhee, Lottery Ticket, the Switch). The Expendables staying in the top spot (despite the biggest percentage drop of the week) seems like the only sure bet.

Can I mention I weep for America a little bit when a 0% reviewed film could have a chance at being the top film? Damn you, Wednesday receipts. After the clever marketing, I hope Piranha 3-D does better.

And finally, I just realized today that I have been confusing Mila Kunis and Rachel Bilson for years.