Overthinkers of the world, unite! You have nothing to open but your threads.

In rap news, Lil’ Wayne began his one-year jail term this week, pleading guilty to attempted weapons possession. The obvious joke is that doing a bid can only help a gangsta’s career, but that actually hasn’t been true. It certainly hasn’t helped Mystikal’s career any, though he only just got out.

Question: what should Lil’ Wayne do with his year off from recording (other than reflect on his crimes, rehabilitate, blah blah etc)?

Mr. Carter entered the following statement in his defense: I keep it real crisp like Kellogg, stack it like Lincoln Logs, then I drive my Lincoln over your dog, dawg.

Second, have we all taken a moment to let our jaws drop over the Tron Legacy trailer? Because really, wow.

Question: A revanchist Alice in Wonderland; a mature Tron sequel; and even that trailer for The Sorceror’s Apprentice looked a little edgy for a movie inspired by a Fantasia cartoon. Has the success of Pirates of the Caribbean inspired Disney to treat its properties in a more adult manner? If so, what does this suggest for the future?

Finally, we doff our bandannas for Corey Haim, who apparently succumbed to a drug overdose earlier this week at the age of 38. Best known for his adolescent attitude in such 80s classics as Lucas, License to Drive and The Lost Boys, Corey had regained some D-list cred by teaming up with Corey Feldman in “The Two Coreys” and a cameo in Crank 2: High Voltage. Fame treats few of us kindly, and young Mr. Haim worse than most.

This is how he'd want us to remember him: making out with Lala Sloatman.

Man, Lil’ Wayne doing a bid, Corey Haim dying: does OTI have any good news this week? As it happens, we do! Overthinking It is sending correspondents to PAX East, Penny Arcade’s East coast convention and gamer expo! OTI staff will be wandering the floor, documenting the happenings on the official Overthinking It Twitter account.

“But Perich,” you’re asking, “how will I recognize the OTI crew? Or how can I identify myself as a loyal Overthinker?” Well, you could always buy an official Overthinking It branded T-shirt!

Well, ACTUALLY ...

Are you coming to PAX East? Do you want to catch up with the Overthinking It staff? Sound off in the comments, since this is your … open thread.

Ah, that’s more like it!  This episode made my day–and I’ll explain more about why on Monday.  For now, let’s mull over these questions, shall we?

Let’s call this season “Greatest Hits.”  So far, we’ve been to the hatch (although it was a little, erm, exploded), the Barracks, the caves, and, this episode, the beach camp, the Dharma sub, and the Black Rock.  Plus, Smokey went and told us that we’d be hanging out with him and his buddies at the Hydra Station soon.

Question 1: What classic Lost location would you like to return to before the season is out?  I’m quite positive we’ll be seeing the frozen donkey wheel again, but the place I’d really love to see, if only for a second, is the “pile of notebook-filled canisters where the pneumatic tubes end.”

Question 2: So, whose lips wobbled when Ben said, “Because he’s the only one who will have me”?  Come on.  Raise your hands.  Don’t be ashamed.  (For the record, my notes read: “Ben!  WAAAHH!”  Not that I could see what I was writing.  I had, um, something…sniff…in my eye.)  And for those of you who aren’t buying Linus’s transformation into epic woobie, why aren’t you buying it?

Question 3: So Miles FINALLY got something meaningful to do in this episode.  Welp, I guess he’s a goner now.  So, is Miles going to receive a karmic death for stealing Nikki and Paulo’s diamonds or what?

Question 4: Widmore!  Okay, that’s not really a question, but… Widmore!  He’s here!  He’s made his way to the Island!  What do you think’s going to happen?  Will he join up with Crazy Jack and His Island Boppers?  Why did Jacob want him to come to the Island, anyway?  And where are Penny and Desmond?!  For GOD’S SAKE — WHERE ARE PENNY AND DESMOND?!

Question 5: I can’t come up with a good question about Richard. Can YOU?

See you on Monday.

The celebrities! The glamour! The inexplicable robot dance to the soundtrack of UP! Since everyone loves Monday morning quarterbacking, we’re giving you an opportunity to share your approval, gripes, jokes, and opinions here, in a special 2010 Oscars Open Thread.

Question 1: The night’s clear winners were Kathryn Bigelow and The Hurt Locker, a perfectly creditable film by any standard, but essentially a glorified buddy-cop picture. Did the winningest picture of the night deserve all the accolades heaped upon it—writing, directing, and best picture? How do you think it managed to beat out Avatar for all of those?

Deposed

Question 2: If there was a loser, it was James Cameron. Though Avatar picked up a few little men, none of them went to Cameron, and they were for technical categories—visual effects and cinematography—nothing to do with storytelling and artistic achievement. Did Avatar get what it deserved? Or was it robbed?

Question 3: In the Streeps/Bullock stakes, the victor was Sandra Bullock. Hope you won your Oscar pool with that one. What, exactly, do you think was being honored here? The actress? This particular performance? The longevity and diversity of her career? (By all of those measures, doesn’t Streep have the edge?). Hey, we’re not snobbish—as listeners to our podcast know well, at OTI we are a fan of actors who work. We just wonder if this Oscar was really for Demolition Man.

Bonus Questions for Overthinking

• What did you think of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as hosts?
• This year’s ceremony largely moved along at a brisk—sometimes even a breakneck—clip. Did it lack in character what it gained in speed? Or were you happy that they kept it to a relatively zippy three and a half hours?
• Seriously, what was up with that robot dance to the soundtrack of UP!?
• By what stretch of the imagination is Twilight a horror film? And what was that montage doing there in the first place?

Nothing Oscar-related is off limites, for it is your… Open Thread!

You find a thread at the end of your week. Open? (Y/N)

Nothing really interesting happening in the world of pop culture this week. Everything’s at sort of a standstill. So you can talk about … oh, wait, there’s the 82nd Annual Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Award Ceremony coming up on Sunday. We could probably talk about that.

We’ve talked the Oscars to death in a lot of other posts, so let’s just focus on recent Oscar news:

• Mo’nique, odds-on favorite for Best Supporting Actress (Precious), made gossip columns for refusing to campaign for votes. Why a successful comic actress wouldn’t want to associate herself with the child-abusing role that made her a star, I have no idea.
• Nicolas Chartier, producer of Best Picture nominee and critical darling The Hurt Locker, has been forbidden from the Sunday night ceremony for e-mailing Academy members urging them to vote for his movie. So first we’re supposed to campaign for the Oscar, now we’re not. Unbelievable! If you can’t count on consistency from the body that’s nominated Meryl Streep for a dozen Oscars, what can you count on?
• Finally, Sacha Baron Cohen has lost his slot as an Oscar presenter, after the Academy nixed a skit spoofing James Cameron’s Avatar. Cameron claims that he would have been okay with the gag. Having seen a description of the proposed skit, though – where Cohen plays a female Na’vi knocked up by Cameron, who confronts him a la Maury Povich – I’m glad it got axed. Where’s the punchline?

Question: list your picks for Oscar winners!

Submit the most accurate list of Oscar picks, and you could win the respect of the smartest people on the Internet! And isn’t that worth more than anything? Well, except winning an Oscar. Or getting paid to predict who’ll win the Oscars (which we aren’t). Discuss these and other quandaries in the comments, since this is your … open thread.

It's hard not to want one, isn't it? Think how that'd look on the XBox.

I’m not quite sure why I didn’t love this episode.  All the dramatic pieces were there, but for whatever reason they didn’t click together for me.  Anyway, due to that, and due to the fact that I didn’t see anything new, theme-wise, in this episode, this is probably going to be my only Lost-related post this week.

But look!  Questions!

Question 1: So, what’s the deal with Sayid’s accent?  Is he slipping into his Brit-tongue accidentally, or is there some story-related reason for it?  Or is he just angry about what the show is doing with his character?

Question 2: When Un-Locke asked Sayid, “What if I told you you could have anything you wanted?” was he talking about the Island, as in, “This Island is a mystery box that can give you whatever you want” –OR!!– was he referring to the alternate timeline, which he made or WILL MAKE later in the season?  After all, Sayid said he wanted Nadia, and in the alt-world, he got Nadia…

My favorite part of the episode was easily when Ben slooooowly backed away from Evil!Sayid.  Back away, Ben.  Back away.

Question 3: What do you think Ben’s role is going to be in all of this?  I’m personally still holding out for a redemptive death, but hopefully it won’t happen next week.  I need Ben with us until the very. last. episode.  For reals.

Question 4: Do you have any Lost-type questions you’d like me to overthink?  I’m stumped, people.

They say God never closes a door without opening up a thread. We’re here to do his work.

A quick rundown of geek hits: rumors fly that The Office’s John Krasinski is in consideration to play Captain America, that Ole Miss will change its mascot to Admiral Ackbar, and that Conan O’Brien has been blowing people away with his Tweets. Sorry; that last one sounded kind of dirty. And yet it’s the story most likely to still be true three months from now. Isn’t that how Hollywood works?

Question: Which actor would you like to play Captain America? Which pop-culture icon should become your school’s mascot?

There's potential for an OTI article here - how long can an Internet meme lay dormant before reviving it again becomes funny? It certainly forces us to IT'S A TRAP! ... sorry. that slipped out.

In less entertaining news, “Growing Pains” actor Andrew Koenig was found dead in a Colorado park yesterday, after having gone missing for several days. Police suspect suicide. His father, Star Trek veteran Walter Koenig, said that Andrew had been dealing with depression for some time. Among child actors who peak early, this isn’t unheard of.

Do you have anything cheerier for us to end on? Then by all means say it! Because this is your … open thread!

[By popular demand, we're bringing you a Lost-oriented Open Thread this week.  And if it goes well, we'll bring you another one next Wednesday, too!  But don't worry—this isn't this week's only Lost post.  I'll still be subjecting "Lighthouse" to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve.  Come back Monday to see the full piece!]

So, here we are, four (or five, depending on who’s counting) episodes into Lost’s sixth season, and I’ve gotta tell you, I am loving it.  Although I disliked the flash sideways-es at the beginning, I think that had less to do with the narrative structure and more to do with the fact that Kate is just an uninteresting character. The events that occurred on the Island and in the flash Universe worked together to remind me of why I was so interested in the character of Jack back in seasons 1 and 2, before he started pining too much after Kate, before he got a tattoo in Thailand, before he stopped asking the important questions.  I’ll talk more about his flashsideways in my full post on Monday, but I was glad to see him get a full episode of character development before the season was up.

Question 1: The flash sideways-es: Awesome, or a waste of time?  Would you prefer a faster, more epic pace, or are you as cool as I am with these super-slow-burning character episodes?

"So, you and me are just gonna talk this whole episode? Uh, that's cool. I guess."

Speaking of Jack, it seems the the Daddy issues we thought the show forgot about are back and raring to go.

Question 2: Does this mean that Sayid, the only main living character who doesn’t have Daddy issues of his own, is doomed to die before the show’s climax?

And, speaking of Daddy issues, the unseen Christian Shephard haunted this episode.  (My bet is that we’re not going to see him again until the climax of the show — maybe the third-t0-last episode.)

Question 3: Takin’ all bets!  Christian Shephard: good or evil?  On the good side: Jack reminded us this week that he helped the Lostie’s out in the first season by leading them to the caves!  (Also his name is “Christian Shephard.”)  On the evil side: Back in the day, we saw him hanging out in the creepy cabin (which was probably being used by evil Smokey) with Infected/Evil Claire.

Speaking of Claire…

Question 4: Claire: What’s the deal?

The Othahs ate ha baybee!

And, finally, the big question:

Question 5: Now that the answers of Lost are coming out all fast and furious, do you WANT all the questions to be answered?  While I certainly want the big questions answered, I don’t want the show to lose its sense of mystery, either.  It’s like, if I were in a room with a poet, would I have him or her gloss every single word?  Then the poem would lose its spark.  Of course, I can easily understand the other point of view: “I invested so many hours in this thing.  I need to know that it all makes sense, that it holds together!”  (Also: is this debate just a meta-level recapitulation of the old “faith vs. science” debate we keep seeing in the show?  Am I like poor, deluded Locke, saying, “I looked into the eye of this network television series, and what I saw was beautiful”?  And if you, the rationalist answer-lovers, don’t get the answers you desire, will you take a telescope, Jack-style, and start smashing all the mirrors in Darlton’s houses?)

See you on Monday.

Falling from the sky like an unraveled skein, it’s this week’s OPEN THREAD.

In the stranger-than-fantasy-fiction category, J.K. Rowling has been hit with a plagiarism lawsuit by an author claiming that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire stole several ideas. Or rather, the lawsuit’s being filed by the dead author’s estate. I’d make some joke about a Hogwarts artifact that communicates with the dead, but (A) I don’t know the series that well, and (B) this is such a transparent publicity stunt I can hardly jape about it.

Question: is plagiarism even that big a deal, outside of schools?

Because once you've made the first $1,000,000, your future writing probably won't be scrutinized at all.

Martin Scorsese’s latest, Shutter Island, opens in theaters this weekend. Metacritic gives it a 64/100: generally favorable reviews. DiCaprio’s Boston accent? A 29.

Question: what’s the worst accent ever attempted on film?

Dude, you see that feckin' Statie ovah deah? Dude, bro, he looks WICKED pissed.

And finally, GamesRadar observes that this week marked the 20th anniversary of the U.S. release of Super Mario Bros. 3. A groundbreaking platformer, with astonishing level variety, an unprecedented range of powerups and gameplay that was challenging without being frustrating, SMB 3 set the bar high for the greatest franchise in video games.

Question: does SMB 3 stand up to the test of time?

Do you want to plagiarize someone else’s Shutter Island review so you can get back to your Tanuki suit? Then HAVE AT IT, YOUNG’N! Because this is your … Open Thread!

If you live between North Carolina and New York, you’re digging yourself out from over a foot of snow this week. If you don’t, you have no idea what I’m talking about. And speaking of not having any idea what we’re talking about, how about we OPEN up this THREAD?

First off, in news that readers of this site are likely to care about, the rights to the Terminator franchise have been sold for $29,500,000 to hedge fund company Pacificor. That’s less than 15% of what the last movie cost to make, or less than 8% of what it grossed worldwide. Halcyon Holding Corp was forced to sell the rights to Terminator off in order to pay off its debts – debts held largely by Pacificor. If this reminds you of those plays from the 19th century where the bank threatened to foreclose on the farm unless the evil manager could marry the nubile daughter, well, quit spoiling Terminator 5: Foreclosure, jackass.

Question: if you could acquire the rights to one franchise for less than $30,000,000, which would it be? And what would you do with it?

Ohhh, good for you! McG, you got something to say?

Second, some movie news: Valentine’s Day, The Wolfman and Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief all debut this weekend. Critics are largely unimpressed by these three, which should shock nobody. Speaking of shocks, Bioshock 2 found its way into reviewer hands this week, and the worst thing anyone can say of it is that it’s “exactly as good as the first one.” Damning with faint praise? Better than damning with OH HELL IT’S BIG DADDY GO RUN HIDE AAAAH!

Question: Adapt either Valentine’s Day, The Wolfman or The Lightning Thief to a grim, atmospheric first-person shooter rife with complex moral dilemmas. Go!

Call me jaded, but I'd rather pay $9.50 to see the entire cast of Valentine's Day get tossed around by a Big Daddy for 80 minutes. ... too soon?

Did anything else happen this week? If so, we clearly missed it. That’s why we rely on you, our readers, and this: your … open thread!

Is it cold in here, or is it just the bitter windchill cutting across the American Northeast? Or did I just answer my own question? Maybe I should shut the window and OPEN up a THREAD, perhaps?

Two items of note this week: first, the 2010 Oscar Nominations were announced on Tuesday. Avatar and The Hurt Locker both have 9 nominations, ranging from Best Sound Mixing to Best Picture and Best Director. James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow going head to head – talk about drama. Fortunately, they’re at least on speaking terms; Will Ferrell and Mo’nique have yet to reconcile.

Question: A movie about a Hollywood couple who divorces, then goes on to direct two movies both of which are nominated for Oscars, gets nominated for an Oscar: too meta, or not meta enough?

Oh, Jimmy; it's so funny when you pretend you can hurl lightning.

Second, a big game of American (that is to say, “padded”) football will be played this Sunday: the AFC/NFC conference championships, colloquially known as the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl ads, typically some of the most expensive commercials sold throughout the year, continue to draw controversy, with Tim Tebow’s anti-abortion ad, as well as ads from CareerBuilder and GoDaddy, already making headlines. Even more shocking? The two teams with the best regular season records are playing in the Super Bowl! You know how rarely that happens?

Question: Do you know how rarely that happens? Without consulting Wikipedia?

You think they'll let me star in commercials if I win this Super Bowl, Peyton?

In a postscript, can someone explain what’s going on with Overthinking It’s Facebook page? We’ve gained 800 fans in the last week and it’s just not slowing down. We don’t want it to stop, but we’re sort of scared of where it’s leading us. Anyhow, if you want to say that you were a Facebook fan of Overthinking It “back when it was still cool,” join soon. At this rate, we’ll have 35,000 fans by the end of 2010 and then it’s just going to be a mess.

Do you have answers regarding Facebook? Perhaps you can share some Oscar predictions? Care to lay a wager on the Super Bowl? Or have we once again missed that important news that you crave so much? Sound off in the comments, for this is your … Open Thread.