ClartoGlogenwap

I had to pause to get all my laughing done so I wouldn't miss more laughs. I've seen a few telenovelas (one I was even hooked on) and this is, compared to the ones I've seen, a hilarious over the top satire of the genre. I'm not sure about the cultural sensitivities etc and await a more knowledgeable person's input on that. Artie, Pete and Myka are pulled into a telenovela to rescue the grandmother of Pete's ex-girlfriend, Kelly Hernandez. She'd been sucked by an artifact into the show itself and retained no memory of having had another, 'real' life. Myka is pulled in by accident with Kelly but Pete and Artie arrive later with a brilliant artifact - Harvey Korman's cufflinks. Apparently, Korman was famous for not being able to remain in character. :D So, the trick is that you hold a cufflink and retain your real memory. This is signaled by a trumpet and an audience yelling "Ole!" The secondary story is Steve and Claudia investigating a frat house hazing ritual that involves and artifact that allows the person affected to split his personality into two - one responsible half and the other the wild half. Unfortunately, the reintroduction of the halves can have dangerous side effects. Naturally, there are more personal revelations involved for Steve and Claudia.

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I have. It's a keeper!

right in the title! And if you remember Blazing Saddles and its ending, you'll see how it's an accurate title for this hilarious episode. It's a walk through the mirror into another mirror etc etc. I don't want to spoil anything for y'all but please remember, TV about TV is usually lots of tongue in cheek and this is no different. If you've watched any of the Supernatural series, this episode will have you in stitches. There are cheeky references to the actors, producers, tvland, and the whole schmooze fest of it all. Seeing the characters attempt to get their heads around it was worth a chuckle. As someone also mentioned, watching the actors *try* to act was super. I guffawed through the whole scene and had to rewind. I hope you enjoy this meta universe as much as I did!

I'd never watched a Korean film before this one and I will now try to find all of this director's work. So beautifully filmed a devastating tragedy I've not seen in years. Someone has already mentioned the use of sound in this film. I agree. This is a sense that most directors under-utilize. Chan-wook Park, however, is masterful- toying with us, making us imagine horrific scenes and feel choking anxiety for the characters. Of course, he's brilliant for the eyes, too. The image of Park Dong-jin following the organ dealers up the stairs of the abandoned building is able to convey the desolation of that building and the difficulty of the climb with simple layout and angle. This is one of those films where you watch horrified as the story takes yet another turn further towards the dead-end that has been hinted at all along. A dead-end that no one escapes. If you want to feel suffocated in beauty and hopelessness, this is the film for you.

***Possible spoilers!!!***

With such a fantastic story, a good director could have done wonders. However, a director who lets his/her vision get in the way of telling the story could make a chaotic and dragging piece that leaves one hating the producers for having chosen him/her. Guess which type of director we have here? The story is wonderful- A young man starts to wonder about his life in his subterranean hive-like society and whether everything is as it seems. The earth is said to have undergone horrible contamination and the people below its surface are the only survivors. The garish lottery in which people win trips to "The Island" (the one uncontaminated piece of land left) is the highlight of everyone's day. After some tense scenes that were done very very well, we find out that he is, indeed, not a young man. He is the clone of someone who lives on the surface. He is, euphemistically said, that person's "insurance policy." When one wins The Lottery, one is sent off with great fanfare but, in actuality, it's organ (or baby) harvesting time. The love interest then wins The Lottery. Of course a long chase ensues. Long. Very very long. It lasts roughly fifty minutes. Yes, 50 minutes. In a movie that is paced tightly, that would not have been a problem. This movie is not that. Only a better director could have managed that. This story would have been done supreme justice by Ridley Scott, for example. In fact, were I the screenwriter, I would never allow the producers to use my work again.

In this country, many people recognize kaviar (yes, caviar) as slang for crap. Well,as far as this film goes, this is not far off. Cibulkova is a fantastic actress but this character, like all the others in this film, is sadly one dimensional. Were one to believe this film, happiness is only to be found in a successful relationship. Thankfully, they do include the relationships of children to their parents but still, it is a simplistic and frustrating way to approach life. Worse yet, watching characters sabotage themselves then fall into deus ex machina solutions is maddening. Not even the pathetic comeuppance saved for the most loathsome character can offset the vapidity of the situations surrounding the entire plot. One keeps saying to oneself, "No one could possibly be that stupid!" Guess again. This film is worthwhile only to make the viewer feel vastly superior. Watch it for Cibulkova, if at all. She's worth the effort if you catch this on TV.