Said Abd El Gawad

David Lynch is one of my favourite film-makers.  Hopefully he will find the money and motivation to transfer his thoughts to film a few more times.  Until then, here is my ranked list of Lynch's feature films. 1. Eraserhead A unique experience, a total-body transfer to another plane of existence with gorgeous black-and-white photography and immersive sound. 2. Elephant Man Beautiful black-and-white images paired with heart-breaking emotion. 3. Lost Highway Perhaps Lynch's most under-rated film.  A creepy, moody mind-screw. 4. Mulholland Drive Mostly wonderful, slightly weakened structurally by the fact that it began life as a pilot for a TV series. 5. Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me Less than the best moments of the series but still a powerful tale of evil lurking in the northwest. 6. Blue Velvet I haven't watched this is a while and I'm almost afraid to.  Dennis Hopper's performance is the stuff of dreams -- very bad dreams. 7. The Straight Story A quiet but strong fi...

I've always felt that Nikki and Paulo were the least understood and most under-appreciated characters on LOST.  I might even go so far as to say that they among my favourite characters on the show.  Their presence in the first half of season 3 helped propel the plot forward.  The writers provided crisp, thoughtful dialogue.  The actors showed both depth and range.  The Pikki-centric Exposé stands alongside The Constant and the pilot as LOST's greatest episodes. And if you believe that, I have some prime real estate on The Island to sell you.  Some call it the Dark Territory , but don't let that scare you, it's actually quite nice. But seriously, although most of Nikki and Paulo's time on-screen was useless if not annoying, I do thoroughly enjoy Exposé and feel that it (almost) redeems their stultifying screen time in earlier episodes.  Lot #526 of the official LOST auction contained several props from Exposé and when one of these, a chair back, appeared on eBay...

During our day tour of Oahu's LOST locations with Hawaiian Escapades we caught a brief drive-by glimpse of a familiar vessel moored within one of Oahu's marinas.  When I set out on a walking tour of Honolulu the following day I meant to track her down -- Searcher, the boat on which Penny Widmore eventually made her way to The Island to rescue her beloved Desmond and his compatriots. Though it was a little farther walk than I had imagined, my search finally ended at the Kewalo Basin Boat Harbour. I suspect the bloke who owns this boat got a little more than he bargained for.  I wonder how many LOST fans have circled his vessel over the years, snapping photos and gazing in delight?  You can count me in their number, as I tried to get pics from every angle I could manage.               Although I thought Searcher was unoccupied during this photoshoot, near the end someone emerged from inside so I wrapped things up and set out on the long journey back to the hotel.  En route I stay...

Scattered between Honolulu's beaches are several marinas housing hundreds if not thousands of watercraft.  LOST made good use of these areas during the series run.  "PRODUCTION VALUE!" as the kid in Super 8 says. The iconic photo of Desmond and Penny that appears several times uses a Honolulu marina for its backdrop.  One of my favourite fake-outs occurs in season 3's Flashes Before Your Eyes when it is revealed that Des and Pen are actually standing in front of a fake marina backdrop in London.  This photo has an interesting production history -- when it first appeared during season 2 a different actress was shown in the photo, since Penny had not yet been cast.  (The inconsistency was fixed for repeat airings and the DVDs.)  The scene in Flashes where the photograph is taken also doesn't quite match up with the original -- is it a production continuity error or a hint that Desmond's flash isn't the same history that he had already lived?       The marin...

Whereas Waikiki beaches tend to be packed with oiled-up tourists, just a few minutes away the Ala Moana Beach Park has a decidedly different vibe.  This area tends to be favoured of the locals, and during my stroll along the beach I noticed many family get-togethers and work events set up under tents, hundreds of people young and old enjoying picnics and mid-day barbeques. In the season 6 episode Everybody Loves Hugo , Hurley and Libby finally enjoy the beach date that was so rudely interrupted by Michael back in season 2.     I'm fairly sure that the 2 screenshots above are taken along the narrow portion of the beach which runs along Ala Moana Boulevard.  The first shot of Libby below also looks to be at Ala Moana, though possibly a little closer to the Waikiki side.  I'm not so sure of the final screenshot below -- the background doesn't seem to match my memory; probably it is either CGI, a different location, or a brain fail on my part.