Love and Distrust is another collection of short films I picked up. Mini reviews of each below.
The Summer House
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Talulah Riley
This one was one of the worst pieces of crap I've ever seen. It was like a fan fiction written by a 13 year-old girl - which isn't far off either, given that Robert Pattinson is in this. Basically it's about a girl visiting her aunt in 1969, they pick out a dress for her to wear to their moon landing party, her ex-boyfriend shows up wanting her back, she rejects him, interspersed with footage of the moon landing. The end. I'm glad this was only a short film, because if it was full length I would have blown my brains out.
Blue Poles
Starring: Sam Worthington, Emma Randall
I imagined this was one of Sam Worthington's first roles because his performance wasn't very good, but IMDB says he'd been acting for four years before doing this one. The short itself wasn't too bad though. It's a little road trip story about a guy who picks up a free-spirited hitchhiker and they fall for each other when staying in a motel. Doesn't stand out, but isn't terrible (although after The Summer House, anything would've seemed good).
Grasshopper
Starring: James Franco, Rachel Miner
In this one, James Franco plays a snooty businessman who shares a train car with a whore (Miner). He accidentally leaves his palm pilot on the train, the whore finds it when he calls the number, and they arrange for her to give it back to him. Sounds boring, but I didn't want to spoil the interesting part. I liked this one, although it was a little sad and depressing.
Pennies
Starring: Amy Adams
I bought the collection for this one because I'd already seen it online and liked it. Amy Adams plays a desperate waitress trying to make money in a short amount of time before a knife-wielding man on the other end of the phone cuts her daughter. There's a cool little plot twist at the end that completely changes the tone of the movie, and I like Amy, so thumbs up.
Auto Motives
Starring: Michael Imperioli, Robert Downey Jr., James Cameron, Allison Janney, Jim Rash, Melissa McCarthy, Moon Unit Zappa, Octavia Spencer
This one was like a short film made up of even shorter films. Directed by actress Lorraine Bracco, Auto Motives is a series of unconnected stories involving people and their cars. There's a creep trying to lure women into his convertible; a couple of robbers who lost the keys to their getaway car; a middle aged woman in a limo seducing a midnight cowboy to spite her ex-husband; two women in an RV seeking to be country music stars; a dweeb who gets stuffed into the trunk of a car after trying to run from the mob with their money; and my favourite, two car washers who work for director James Cameron, appearing as a douchebag version of himself in a big black Hummer. Apparently these were improvised, a credit to all of the actors except McCarthy and Zappa (the ladies in the RV) because their part was annoying and not funny. But this was a fun one and it was a nice surprise to see a lot more familiar faces than I thought I would (including Jim Rash, the Dean on Community!).
Tallies
Tallies
(some box sets are counted as more than one)
DVDs: 411 | Blu-rays: 624 | Television: 291 | Foreign Language: 91 | Animation: 102
Criterions: 38 | Steelbooks: 36 | Total: 1035
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
This Week in Television - Nov. 22-26, 2010
It's a short week this week due to the American Thanksgiving, so just this once I thought I'd extend the post by adding my thoughts on three pilot episodes I downloaded during the week.
Glee
Sue marrying herself was awesome. Even though there are already at least one or two movies with that very plot, I still found it funny because it's Sue Sylvester. How can you go wrong with a track suit dress? Also very cool how she handled the situations with Kurt and her mother. I'm indifferent about Kurt leaving (I don't believe that he'll be away for long anyway) because, although he is apparently a fan favourite, he is an uninteresting stereotype to me. Bonus points for having a throwaway line about Lost guest stars and then having an actual Lost guest star on the show.
Survivor: Nicaragua
Recap episode this week.
Mad Men (Pilot Episode)
The written introduction about the advertising executives coining their own nickname tells us everything we need to know up front: these guys are confident, motivated, smooth-talking alpha males. The interesting thing about the pilot is that it pretends to set up Don Draper as being slightly different from the others - a more morally sound and socially conscious ad man - but it turns out that this, too, is only a dishonest image being sold to the viewer. At the end of the episode, Don proposes a shady marketing angle for cigarettes and then goes home to his wife and kids, who until that point we didn't realize he was cheating on. The show itself becomes the ad man and we are the consumer. Well played, Mad Men. Well played.
The Walking Dead (Pilot Episode)
I'm not huge on zombies but I'm starting to enjoy them after recent experiences (Zombieland, Dead Rising). I liked that, in this one, we skipped all of the initial craziness and carnage and came upon the zombies slowly, as our main character was in the hospital and only awoke once the zombie apocalypse was already over, and even then he was only coming upon the walking corpses one at a time at first. Also the zombie makeup/effects were very well done. Good production values all around, basically. I don't know if I can say the pilot has hooked me, but I am interested enough to watch another episode.
Eastbound and Down (Pilot Episode)
When it comes to comedy, you can't go wrong with a main character sporting a mustache and a curly mullet. Danny McBride plays a former baseball star who becomes washed up and has to teach gym at an elementary school. I liked the montage of his deteriorating skills as we see the speed clock measuring his pitches getting slower and slower over time. Like a lot of great characters, Kenny Powers is another of those who would be far from likable in real life but makes a hilarious TV character. He is arrogant, obnoxious, lazy, and dumb, but we root for him because he's funny and because his life has become really sad and pathetic after he once lived the dream.
Hero of the Week: Sue Sylvester from Glee. Even though I generally praise her every week, this is her first time making Hero of the Week.
Douchebag of the Week: Pete from Mad Men, because he already seems like the douchebaggiest of all the "mad men".
Glee
Sue marrying herself was awesome. Even though there are already at least one or two movies with that very plot, I still found it funny because it's Sue Sylvester. How can you go wrong with a track suit dress? Also very cool how she handled the situations with Kurt and her mother. I'm indifferent about Kurt leaving (I don't believe that he'll be away for long anyway) because, although he is apparently a fan favourite, he is an uninteresting stereotype to me. Bonus points for having a throwaway line about Lost guest stars and then having an actual Lost guest star on the show.
Survivor: Nicaragua
Recap episode this week.
Mad Men (Pilot Episode)
The written introduction about the advertising executives coining their own nickname tells us everything we need to know up front: these guys are confident, motivated, smooth-talking alpha males. The interesting thing about the pilot is that it pretends to set up Don Draper as being slightly different from the others - a more morally sound and socially conscious ad man - but it turns out that this, too, is only a dishonest image being sold to the viewer. At the end of the episode, Don proposes a shady marketing angle for cigarettes and then goes home to his wife and kids, who until that point we didn't realize he was cheating on. The show itself becomes the ad man and we are the consumer. Well played, Mad Men. Well played.
The Walking Dead (Pilot Episode)
I'm not huge on zombies but I'm starting to enjoy them after recent experiences (Zombieland, Dead Rising). I liked that, in this one, we skipped all of the initial craziness and carnage and came upon the zombies slowly, as our main character was in the hospital and only awoke once the zombie apocalypse was already over, and even then he was only coming upon the walking corpses one at a time at first. Also the zombie makeup/effects were very well done. Good production values all around, basically. I don't know if I can say the pilot has hooked me, but I am interested enough to watch another episode.
Eastbound and Down (Pilot Episode)
When it comes to comedy, you can't go wrong with a main character sporting a mustache and a curly mullet. Danny McBride plays a former baseball star who becomes washed up and has to teach gym at an elementary school. I liked the montage of his deteriorating skills as we see the speed clock measuring his pitches getting slower and slower over time. Like a lot of great characters, Kenny Powers is another of those who would be far from likable in real life but makes a hilarious TV character. He is arrogant, obnoxious, lazy, and dumb, but we root for him because he's funny and because his life has become really sad and pathetic after he once lived the dream.
Hero of the Week: Sue Sylvester from Glee. Even though I generally praise her every week, this is her first time making Hero of the Week.
Douchebag of the Week: Pete from Mad Men, because he already seems like the douchebaggiest of all the "mad men".
Labels:
eastbound and down,
Glee,
mad men,
survivor,
the walking dead,
this week in television,
TV
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The Shoe Fairy
Impressions before seeing it
Here's a new one: I saw the first few minutes of this on TV a while back and I thought it looked interesting, but I never got to see the rest of it. And then I never heard about it again, because it's obscure over here and there is no Region 1 DVD. Then I finally found a region free version. Yay!
How was it?
To be honest, when I popped in the DVD and saw those first few minutes again, I couldn't remember why I had found it interesting. Not that the opening was boring, but back then I remember thinking this was going to be one of those cool, charming foreign movies, and this time it didn't feel like the beginning stood out at all.
Anyway, in The Shoe Fairy, our main character Dodo is addicted to buying shoes. This is about to sound sexist, but as a male I couldn't care less about shoes. However, I do love to buy DVDs and Blu-rays so I was able to identify with the concept of obsessive collecting. Nice save, Shoe Fairy. Then it kind of turns into a love story when Dodo hooks up with her dentist (at whom I giggled immaturely when it was revealed that his name was Smiley Wang). The movie tried to make their relationship endearing by creating cute little moments between them but it didn't have the same kind of charm as, say, the relationship in Life is Beautiful. For example, when Dodo sleeps in the morning, Smiley Wang (hehehe) blocks out the sun for her by sitting in front of the window and placing numerous hats on his head (their curtains shrunk in the laundry), which is kind of cute but the same effect could be achieved if he would simply stand up, or put something else in front of the windows. And finally, this movie just has way more background muzak (that's what it is, it sounds like the generic background muzak of an instructional video) than is necessary for a movie. It's like the opposite of No Country for Old Men, there is music in almost every scene.
Recommendation
A little lengthy for its simple - and slightly weird - story, but it does have a bit of charm to it. Maybe check it out if you ever find it on TV, but I can't really say it's worth hunting down the region free DVD. Thought it would stand out more, but it's kind of average.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
This Week in Television - Nov. 15-19, 2010
So apparently FOX is moving Fringe to Fridays at 9 in January. Translation: FOX hates the crap out of Fringe and wants to create an excuse to cancel it. You're stupid, FOX. In other news, Community's Christmas episode in a couple of weeks will be done in stop-motion animation. If that show was a woman, I would marry it.
Glee
Gwyneth Paltrow was another good choice for a guest star, although seeing as how glee club is an extra-curricular activity and not a class, realistically they would just cancel the meetings until Mr. Schue got back, not insert a substitute teacher (even if Kurt did ask her and it wasn't the school's doing). Actually I would've preferred that as a storyline, the kids get all pent up and crazy with no glee club for them to musically release their emotions, driving Sue to hatch a wacky scheme or something. No, wait: PRINCIPAL Sue. Booyah!
Survivor: Nicaragua
Clearly the only people Jeff Probst ever respects are the ones who can win the challenges. It really wasn't necessary for him to rag on the yellow team, and once again I have to point out that as host of the show he's supposed to be unbiased. And it looks like the players themselves hate smart people because Brenda's exit makes Sash the only smart one left. At this rate, Fabio will end up in the finals simply because he's the dumbest, and then the jury of smart people will vote for whoever is with him instead.
Community
This was a great episode, but I will say it felt a little bit different because Britta, Pierce, and Shirley were barely in it and Community is usually about the group dynamic. But Jeff was right that he never learns: we know he faked his degree and that cost him his lawyer job, and then he tried to get test answers from Duncan and was duped, and here he tries to fake a credit and gets busted, but we probably haven't seen the last of cheater Jeff. All of the ridiculous conspiracy stuff and fake shootings were awesome, as was Troy and Abed's blanket fort, complete with Turkish District and Natural History Museum.
30 Rock
I love computer voices - the less human-sounding they are, the funnier they are - and while Jack's voice wasn't as funny as those generic computer voices, it worked because of the choppy intonations of different words and the things it said. However Pete came off as needy, gullible, and a suck-up when he showed enthusiasm for "Jack's" invitation, and it felt out of character to me. Well, maybe not the needy part, there is a lonely side to him because he doesn't like spending time with his family and thus he probably spends most of his leisure time alone. Liz's storyline kind of reminded me of the episode with the teamster subs.
The Office
Once again The Office coincidentally does the same joke as a show that aired immediately before it: pranking someone using voice recordings. Again, I'm not saying one stole from the other, but airing last puts The Office at a disadvantage when this happens. And I think the only time I really laughed at this episode was when Michael said he wasn't sure how Creed came to work at Dunder Mifflin. Ryan is a tool and we don't really need an episode with him in the foreground, and Dwight's Hay Place was actually kind of boring (although it was cool to see Jack Coleman show up as a possible love interest for Angela, and Kevin getting lost in the maze was mildly amusing). WUPHF is almost like a Michael Scott idea because it's the kind of thing that is stupid but can almost seem brilliant if you think about it a certain way. It could be convenient to access all of someone's social networks and contact media at the same time, sure, but doing that then makes all of those accounts redundant because WUPHF would be the only one you need, and if it's the only one you need then it doesn't serve its own purpose of accessing multiple communication methods. But hey, Twitter is even more useless and that caught on. The Office hasn't been as good this season, but I intend to stick it out... mostly out of loyalty and sentimentality.
Fringe
I think emotionless masks are creepier than "scary" masks, so The Candyman stuff...might have been effective if I'd seen it as a kid. This was a good episode for Broyles though. Up to this point his character development has been fairly thin, and in a way I guess it still is since this was Alt-Broyles (Foyles?), but it's something for Lance Reddick to do anyway. Loved the ending, too. Things are coming together not-so-nicely for the Olivias.
Hero of the Week: Olivia from Fringe, because when Peter got the call I audibly went "Yesss!" And because she probably knows that Ronald Reagan wasn't in Casablanca.
Douchebag of the Week: Ryan from The Office. Again, he was very much acting like Michael in that he has no business plan and is just trying to get by on presentation alone and the appearance of his self-imposed frat boy "coolness".
Glee
Gwyneth Paltrow was another good choice for a guest star, although seeing as how glee club is an extra-curricular activity and not a class, realistically they would just cancel the meetings until Mr. Schue got back, not insert a substitute teacher (even if Kurt did ask her and it wasn't the school's doing). Actually I would've preferred that as a storyline, the kids get all pent up and crazy with no glee club for them to musically release their emotions, driving Sue to hatch a wacky scheme or something. No, wait: PRINCIPAL Sue. Booyah!
Survivor: Nicaragua
Clearly the only people Jeff Probst ever respects are the ones who can win the challenges. It really wasn't necessary for him to rag on the yellow team, and once again I have to point out that as host of the show he's supposed to be unbiased. And it looks like the players themselves hate smart people because Brenda's exit makes Sash the only smart one left. At this rate, Fabio will end up in the finals simply because he's the dumbest, and then the jury of smart people will vote for whoever is with him instead.
Community
This was a great episode, but I will say it felt a little bit different because Britta, Pierce, and Shirley were barely in it and Community is usually about the group dynamic. But Jeff was right that he never learns: we know he faked his degree and that cost him his lawyer job, and then he tried to get test answers from Duncan and was duped, and here he tries to fake a credit and gets busted, but we probably haven't seen the last of cheater Jeff. All of the ridiculous conspiracy stuff and fake shootings were awesome, as was Troy and Abed's blanket fort, complete with Turkish District and Natural History Museum.
30 Rock
I love computer voices - the less human-sounding they are, the funnier they are - and while Jack's voice wasn't as funny as those generic computer voices, it worked because of the choppy intonations of different words and the things it said. However Pete came off as needy, gullible, and a suck-up when he showed enthusiasm for "Jack's" invitation, and it felt out of character to me. Well, maybe not the needy part, there is a lonely side to him because he doesn't like spending time with his family and thus he probably spends most of his leisure time alone. Liz's storyline kind of reminded me of the episode with the teamster subs.
The Office
Once again The Office coincidentally does the same joke as a show that aired immediately before it: pranking someone using voice recordings. Again, I'm not saying one stole from the other, but airing last puts The Office at a disadvantage when this happens. And I think the only time I really laughed at this episode was when Michael said he wasn't sure how Creed came to work at Dunder Mifflin. Ryan is a tool and we don't really need an episode with him in the foreground, and Dwight's Hay Place was actually kind of boring (although it was cool to see Jack Coleman show up as a possible love interest for Angela, and Kevin getting lost in the maze was mildly amusing). WUPHF is almost like a Michael Scott idea because it's the kind of thing that is stupid but can almost seem brilliant if you think about it a certain way. It could be convenient to access all of someone's social networks and contact media at the same time, sure, but doing that then makes all of those accounts redundant because WUPHF would be the only one you need, and if it's the only one you need then it doesn't serve its own purpose of accessing multiple communication methods. But hey, Twitter is even more useless and that caught on. The Office hasn't been as good this season, but I intend to stick it out... mostly out of loyalty and sentimentality.
Fringe
I think emotionless masks are creepier than "scary" masks, so The Candyman stuff...might have been effective if I'd seen it as a kid. This was a good episode for Broyles though. Up to this point his character development has been fairly thin, and in a way I guess it still is since this was Alt-Broyles (Foyles?), but it's something for Lance Reddick to do anyway. Loved the ending, too. Things are coming together not-so-nicely for the Olivias.
Hero of the Week: Olivia from Fringe, because when Peter got the call I audibly went "Yesss!" And because she probably knows that Ronald Reagan wasn't in Casablanca.
Douchebag of the Week: Ryan from The Office. Again, he was very much acting like Michael in that he has no business plan and is just trying to get by on presentation alone and the appearance of his self-imposed frat boy "coolness".
Labels:
30 rock,
community,
fringe,
Glee,
survivor,
the office,
this week in television,
TV
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Impressions before seeing it
Never read the comics, but a while back I saw a clip from the scene where Scott (Michael Cera) fights Lucas (Chris Evans) and I thought it was really cool how they were writing the sound effects on the screen, like an updated version of the technique used in the old Batman TV series. +4 Interest gained!
How was it?
As I was watching this, one word came to mind: hyperreal. And I'm not just saying that because of the fancy special effects and video game structure. The writing of the characters is also stylized (especially Scott Pilgrim himself) because they sometimes have a way of being overly fast, energetic, and cartoonish, which could be viewed as a misstep because usually you want your characters to be down to earth and relatable. In another movie I would have deducted a lot of points for that, but it works here because of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World's overall package: a sprightly, action-packed adventure that blends video games (points and stats appearing on screen), comic books (panel-like split screens, visible sound effects, animated cut scenes in the style of the Scott Pilgrim comic), and the fantasies of an adolescent daydreaming boy (dream sequences, crazy powers, young love). Obviously this movie wasn't meant to be realistic - it's more like reality with everything cranked up to 11 and some to 11,000 - but even the weirdest and craziest movies need something for the viewers to connect with, and here it is not necessarily the characters themselves, but their relationships. At its core, Scott Pilgrim is about young people making fickle, impulsive decisions based on love (even as Scott complains that Ramona [Mary Elizabeth Winstead] is guilty of this, it seems to have slipped his mind that he chased a girl he'd only met once while still dating Knives [Ellen Wong]). +1 Knowledge!
And I wholeheartedly agree that young people are irresponsible about love, and that's why daycares and kindergarten classes are currently being flooded with children who you know have young parents because they were named something awful and pretentious like Cadence or Grayson. -9 Appetite!
Recommendation
It will be easy for you to enjoy this movie if: a) you are a huge enough nerd that the idea of watching a live action video game sounds awesome to you, and b) you can suspend your disbelief just enough to accept the hyperreality of something with such a premise. I qualified for both. +8 to Fun!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
This Week in Television - Nov. 8-12, 2010
Glee
For once I don't mind the way some of the after school special issues were handled. I still think Coach Bieste looks like a man in drag (and no doubt the students on the show do too), but this was a reminder that she is a woman with feelings, and in the Kurt storyline I like how nothing really changed, because there probably is no way to change the mind of an adamantly homophobic jock. Also liked Mr. Schue's very accurate observation about how nothing screws us up more than high school, and Sue's hilarious comments about the disgusting things she was being forced to picture.
Running Wilde
It was a nice change to have some of Puddle's narration done instead by Fa'ad singing Medieval style couplets, but we've already seen episodes where Steve and Emmy are involved in a battle of stubbornness. I did enjoy the jokes about the manipulation book (the title of which is an acronym spelling "BUY ME") and how Steve had multiple copies of it.
Survivor: Nicaragua
Jeff Probst is such a dick. He's always asking loaded questions at tribal council to intentionally stir up trouble and then acts shocked when the Survivors blow up at each other. And this, along with his reputation for favouring the muscular challenge dominators, gets him Best Reality Host at the Emmys? Marty had a good double-function plan for the vote, but neither function worked. Possibly because he has been one of those people getting in arguments at the last few tribals. But it was hilarious when he exaggerated his walk just to piss off Naonka.
Community
I was just thinking the other day that some of my favourite scenes are when the whole group is together in the study room, and that there hasn't been enough of that this season. Imagine my delight when they aired an episode where they locked themselves in the study room for the whole half hour and did a very solid, satisfying, and funny episode that was simply about the characters and nothing else - not even Annie's pen. I think this one might go down as one of the best episodes in the entire series when it's over. My reaction to the possibility that Shirley may be pregnant with Chang's baby was about the same as Troy's, but I kind of hope it happens because it could lead to a lot of really funny storylines. Apparently you do actually see Annie's Boobs take the pen at the beginning of the episode. I really should pay attention to the background more.
30 Rock
Loved the stuff with Congressman Steve Austin being so shady that he encourages people to think he is either the wrestler or the Six Million Dollar Man just so he'll get more votes, and his campaign commercials with diapers and shotguns were gold. Also some really hilarious lines like "Your mother exploded," and "Lesbian Mario Brothers!" Liz's butt did look good in those jeans, but it was supposedly a butt double and not Tina Fey. FAIL.
The Office
I of course agree with Kelly that Glee is flawed, but not for the reasons she cited. It was funny when, in true middle-aged lady fashion, Phyllis thought Glee was the name of one of the characters, when Michael threw the pizza dough into the ceiling fan, when Creed read the Chinese without translating it, and when Darryl described Andy and Gabe using very simple, superficial facts about each because he doesn't really care about them, but I think they've been doing a few too many episodes away from the office this season. We haven't even returned to the Packer/Danny double-hiring conflict and that was like three episodes ago. Also I'm a little bored with the Jim/Pam/baby storylines.
Fringe
The numbers were an interesting way to connect the "monster of the week" story with the serialized main story. And it's always cool to see the typewriter-mirror communication room. I can see the mysterious device (vacuum?) playing a big part in the season finale, or perhaps even the series finale if they stretch it out that long. There are a lot of pieces to find first. Astrid is the best lab assistant ever, but on the other hand I feel that neither her or Olivia really have any character flaws, or at least none that have ever been explored on the show.
Hero of the Week: Steve Austin from 30 Rock for his campaign commercials and general craziness (casinos on the moon!)
Douchebag of the Week: Jeff Probst from Survivor. You're supposed to be a neutral mediator, not a biased third party trying to influence audience opinions!
For once I don't mind the way some of the after school special issues were handled. I still think Coach Bieste looks like a man in drag (and no doubt the students on the show do too), but this was a reminder that she is a woman with feelings, and in the Kurt storyline I like how nothing really changed, because there probably is no way to change the mind of an adamantly homophobic jock. Also liked Mr. Schue's very accurate observation about how nothing screws us up more than high school, and Sue's hilarious comments about the disgusting things she was being forced to picture.
Running Wilde
It was a nice change to have some of Puddle's narration done instead by Fa'ad singing Medieval style couplets, but we've already seen episodes where Steve and Emmy are involved in a battle of stubbornness. I did enjoy the jokes about the manipulation book (the title of which is an acronym spelling "BUY ME") and how Steve had multiple copies of it.
Survivor: Nicaragua
Jeff Probst is such a dick. He's always asking loaded questions at tribal council to intentionally stir up trouble and then acts shocked when the Survivors blow up at each other. And this, along with his reputation for favouring the muscular challenge dominators, gets him Best Reality Host at the Emmys? Marty had a good double-function plan for the vote, but neither function worked. Possibly because he has been one of those people getting in arguments at the last few tribals. But it was hilarious when he exaggerated his walk just to piss off Naonka.
Community
I was just thinking the other day that some of my favourite scenes are when the whole group is together in the study room, and that there hasn't been enough of that this season. Imagine my delight when they aired an episode where they locked themselves in the study room for the whole half hour and did a very solid, satisfying, and funny episode that was simply about the characters and nothing else - not even Annie's pen. I think this one might go down as one of the best episodes in the entire series when it's over. My reaction to the possibility that Shirley may be pregnant with Chang's baby was about the same as Troy's, but I kind of hope it happens because it could lead to a lot of really funny storylines. Apparently you do actually see Annie's Boobs take the pen at the beginning of the episode. I really should pay attention to the background more.
30 Rock
Loved the stuff with Congressman Steve Austin being so shady that he encourages people to think he is either the wrestler or the Six Million Dollar Man just so he'll get more votes, and his campaign commercials with diapers and shotguns were gold. Also some really hilarious lines like "Your mother exploded," and "Lesbian Mario Brothers!" Liz's butt did look good in those jeans, but it was supposedly a butt double and not Tina Fey. FAIL.
The Office
I of course agree with Kelly that Glee is flawed, but not for the reasons she cited. It was funny when, in true middle-aged lady fashion, Phyllis thought Glee was the name of one of the characters, when Michael threw the pizza dough into the ceiling fan, when Creed read the Chinese without translating it, and when Darryl described Andy and Gabe using very simple, superficial facts about each because he doesn't really care about them, but I think they've been doing a few too many episodes away from the office this season. We haven't even returned to the Packer/Danny double-hiring conflict and that was like three episodes ago. Also I'm a little bored with the Jim/Pam/baby storylines.
Fringe
The numbers were an interesting way to connect the "monster of the week" story with the serialized main story. And it's always cool to see the typewriter-mirror communication room. I can see the mysterious device (vacuum?) playing a big part in the season finale, or perhaps even the series finale if they stretch it out that long. There are a lot of pieces to find first. Astrid is the best lab assistant ever, but on the other hand I feel that neither her or Olivia really have any character flaws, or at least none that have ever been explored on the show.
Hero of the Week: Steve Austin from 30 Rock for his campaign commercials and general craziness (casinos on the moon!)
Douchebag of the Week: Jeff Probst from Survivor. You're supposed to be a neutral mediator, not a biased third party trying to influence audience opinions!
Labels:
30 rock,
community,
fringe,
Glee,
running wilde,
survivor,
the office,
this week in television,
TV
Monday, November 8, 2010
Mystery Team
Impressions before seeing it
I think the poster sold me, and reading a quick little review of it that my buddy wrote. Thanks, Corey!
How was it?
Mystery Team is dumb and silly, but the good kind of dumb and silly because you know it's intentional and because it's funny. The main characters are basically three young adult losers who refuse to grow up, solving trivial childish mysteries for kids half their age (they've been doing it since they were kids themselves) and being belittled by everyone they know. That is, until the trio gets involved in a mystery that is very much for adults.
It plays a little like an episode of South Park at times - one of those episodes where the kids are playing some game, playing in adult roles in adult situations without realizing how serious it is - or like Step Brothers, only instead of middle-aged men acting like little boys, it's young men acting like little boys. And since I like Step Brothers and South Park (those episodes I described are some of my favourites), that's fine with me. I am also becoming a fan of Donald Glover (who stars in Community and co-wrote this movie) and Aubrey Plaza (of Parks and Recreation), and it's great to see people from two different NBC comedies starring together. It did get somewhat serious at the end, which contradicted the silliness of the rest of the movie, but I just attribute that to character development and a lead-in to the ending, so I'm not complaining.
Recommendation
Basically just a good, entertaining laugh. Check it out if you like some of the similar titles I mentioned above.
This Week in Television - Nov. 1-5, 2010
Survivor: Nicaragua
I do think it was unfair that Naonka made all the tortillas and everyone else ate them and she got the smallest one, but she should've just said something instead of taking the crazy way out like she always does, which was to steal food. Was it stupid to vote out Alina over Marty? Not necessarily. Marty may be the more strategic player, but at this point he is also desperate and powerless so others can get leverage over him, making him a useful tool.
Community
There was really no reason for the "head mean girl" to be played by Hilary Duff, or anyone famous, but the Robocop stuff with Abed was fun, and Chang's exaggerated reactions to the burns. Even better was the secret trampoline of tranquility (tranquiline?) storyline, although I saw it coming when Pierce's spy copter followed Jeff and Troy. Also really cool to see Troy and Abed in the Morning make a comeback. And, like everyone else, I will continue to refer to Star Burns as Star Burns no matter how many times he asserts that his name is Alex.
30 Rock
I liked the characterization in this episode, illustrating what Liz and Jack mean to each other by keeping them apart, and that neither Jonathan, Tracy, nor Jenna have all of the qualities of an ideal protege - apparently Liz is the only person at NBC who does. The joke about Googling one's self is kind of old by now (Craig Ferguson does it regularly in his monologues), but then they flashback-whipped to Tracy using Liz's office to do it and that made it funny.
The Office
I don't think I really laughed at this episode (except for the beginning with everyone sneezing on Dwight), but I guess it was a good one for Michael's character. We've always known how lonely and needy he is, and it makes a lot of sense that he would enjoy a church youth group, the kind of people who would automatically accept him with open arms. And then in true Michael fashion he gets bored on the bus ride and realizes he just signed up for 3+ months of manual labour.
Fringe
I liked the second half of the episode better than the first half. Briefly visiting the other side in order to prove who she is was a cool way for Olivia to finally admit that she is not Fauxlivia (and her visions of Peter are a clever way for them to keep Joshua Jackson in the episodes since he's only in one universe.) The plot with the Ashmore twins wasn't really that interesting, though.
Hero of the Week: Hero Cat from 30 Rock. Why not, he's already a hero.
Douchebag of the Week: Joshua from Community, for secretly being racist. That came out of nowhere! OR DID IT?
I do think it was unfair that Naonka made all the tortillas and everyone else ate them and she got the smallest one, but she should've just said something instead of taking the crazy way out like she always does, which was to steal food. Was it stupid to vote out Alina over Marty? Not necessarily. Marty may be the more strategic player, but at this point he is also desperate and powerless so others can get leverage over him, making him a useful tool.
Community
There was really no reason for the "head mean girl" to be played by Hilary Duff, or anyone famous, but the Robocop stuff with Abed was fun, and Chang's exaggerated reactions to the burns. Even better was the secret trampoline of tranquility (tranquiline?) storyline, although I saw it coming when Pierce's spy copter followed Jeff and Troy. Also really cool to see Troy and Abed in the Morning make a comeback. And, like everyone else, I will continue to refer to Star Burns as Star Burns no matter how many times he asserts that his name is Alex.
30 Rock
I liked the characterization in this episode, illustrating what Liz and Jack mean to each other by keeping them apart, and that neither Jonathan, Tracy, nor Jenna have all of the qualities of an ideal protege - apparently Liz is the only person at NBC who does. The joke about Googling one's self is kind of old by now (Craig Ferguson does it regularly in his monologues), but then they flashback-whipped to Tracy using Liz's office to do it and that made it funny.
The Office
I don't think I really laughed at this episode (except for the beginning with everyone sneezing on Dwight), but I guess it was a good one for Michael's character. We've always known how lonely and needy he is, and it makes a lot of sense that he would enjoy a church youth group, the kind of people who would automatically accept him with open arms. And then in true Michael fashion he gets bored on the bus ride and realizes he just signed up for 3+ months of manual labour.
Fringe
I liked the second half of the episode better than the first half. Briefly visiting the other side in order to prove who she is was a cool way for Olivia to finally admit that she is not Fauxlivia (and her visions of Peter are a clever way for them to keep Joshua Jackson in the episodes since he's only in one universe.) The plot with the Ashmore twins wasn't really that interesting, though.
Hero of the Week: Hero Cat from 30 Rock. Why not, he's already a hero.
Douchebag of the Week: Joshua from Community, for secretly being racist. That came out of nowhere! OR DID IT?
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Thursday, November 4, 2010
Battlestar Galactica - Season Two
Not that season one was bad in any way, but I think season two was a big improvement, mostly because when I wrote up my post for last season there was really only the one candidate for best episode, and this season has several because of some really cool, high tension storylines.
I haven't really changed my opinions of which characters I like and dislike (although Col. Tigh's wife Ellen is easily worse than he is, but I knew that last season). Even as Starbuck went into a disastrous downward spiral and President Roslin's approval ratings dwindled as she made some difficult decisions, I still liked and respected them as characters, and that is a testament to the show's writers. I suppose I dislike Gaius a little since he is so shady and tends to be morally grey a lot of the time, but he also provides comic relief so I don't hate him. We're also given two more Cylon models and a look into their motives. I was puzzled last season when they seemed to place a lot of emphasis and both love and God, both of which should be irrelevant to a machine, but here it is explained... sort of.
One thing I will say that bothered me slightly is that some of the romantic relationships seemed rushed, like we were only given a short time to see two people fall in love and then were suddenly supposed to just go with it (which I did, because there was no other choice), Lee and Dualla especially. But only a minor complaint, because I am loving this show.
Best Episode: For me, one of the coolest parts was in the season finale, "Lay Down Your Burdens: Part 2", when we jump a year ahead and see where everyone is at, because I've always liked seeing the shocking differences between then and now when you saw nothing in the middle (like in The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time when you go back and forth, or like My Generation should have done better but didn't). However my pick for best episode - and I'm going to cheat a little here - is "Pegasus" and "Resurrection Ship" Parts 1 and 2, a three episode arc in which the Galactica finds a lost battlestar from the fleet, but the commanding officer outranks Adama and a civil war ensues because she is a cold bitch trying to take over the fleet, and seeing the crew of the Pegasus is almost like a Bizarro version of the Galactica crew. Awesome stuff.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
This Week in Television - Oct. 25-29, 2010
ABC may have picked up No Ordinary Family for a full season, but I am dropping it because I've had enough of the bland, watered down writing. I'm surprised there were so few new episodes airing this week though, a lot of shows missed out on Halloween episodes.
Glee
I guess this episode was kind of fun, because it's the first time New Directions has done a play (in this case Rocky Horror Picture Show for the Halloween episode) instead of just performing songs, and I've always found the process of casting characters as other characters to be interesting. Kurt was a shoo-in for Frank but it was nice to see that he didn't want the part, given that his character is already a stereotype and that would be too obvious. Sue heckling the rehearsal was great, but Meat Loaf and Barry Bostwick (probably the only two Rocky Horror castmembers who weren't doing anything) had pointless cameos.
Survivor: Nicaragua
At first I thought Marty had made a dumb move, because he could have achieved the same end result by playing the idol and then it wouldn't be in the hands of the opposing alliance, but now that I think about it, this was a better choice for him because it's less selfish and therefore could gain him some respect and trust (and also because it looks like they're merging next week and that totally gives him a better chance, but he wouldn't have known that yet). And I have to say that in all the seasons of Survivor I've watched (which is all of them), I don't think I've ever seen anyone have more fun in a challenge than Alina and Benry in the ball ramp tile smashing challenge. But I'm highly disappointed that Jill went home since I was rooting for her.
Community
Bonus points for the Halloween title sequence! I knew right away that Shirley was Glinda the Good Witch, but it was funny that nobody could tell (Annie guessed Miss Piggy.) Didn't know Chang's, but only because I'm not familiar with figure skaters. Pierce's Captain Kirk costume did indeed "reach a new level of authenticity" when he got all sweaty and puffy. And then, for no reason at all, George Takei ends the episode by doing a favour for people named Kevin. Awesome.
The Office
I can't blame anyone for plagiarism because it was probably a coincidence, but it made The Office look bad when they followed Community by using two of the same jokes as them (a man dressed as Lady Gaga, and people assuming that one's race is part of their costume.) But I did appreciate the role-reversing irony of Todd Packer as a nun (albeit a pregnant one) and Angela as a slutty nurse. I could tell Kelly was Snooki (yet I don't even watch Jersey Shore) and I thought Ryan was "The Situation" to complement her, but apparently he was Justin Bieber. Both costumes still made sense for their characters. Andy and Meredith as Bill and Sookie from True Blood is interesting if you think about the story behind that, which I'm guessing is that Meredith heard about Andy's costume plans and planned accordingly in a twisted attempt to get in his pants. In the past I enjoyed Jim's simple yet still somewhat creative costumes, but that was "independent Jim", so it was kind of cute when the Halperts had their family costume moment. Also funny when Oscar won the costume contest due to the number of nutjobs at Dunder Mifflin (Creed's line about it being the best Edward James Olmos costume he'd ever seen nailed it).
Hero of the Week: Jeff Winger from Community. Still cool as a zombie!
Douchebag of the Week: Fabio from Survivor, for peeing in the pool during a challenge, being crappy at blocking the shots, and generally being an airhead.
HALLOWEEN BONUS - Best Costumes: Troy and Abed as Ripley and the Alien on Community, Michael as MacGruber on The Office, and Becky as Sue Sylvester on Glee. And Dean Pelton made a better Lady Gaga than Gabe, because he is weirder.
Glee
I guess this episode was kind of fun, because it's the first time New Directions has done a play (in this case Rocky Horror Picture Show for the Halloween episode) instead of just performing songs, and I've always found the process of casting characters as other characters to be interesting. Kurt was a shoo-in for Frank but it was nice to see that he didn't want the part, given that his character is already a stereotype and that would be too obvious. Sue heckling the rehearsal was great, but Meat Loaf and Barry Bostwick (probably the only two Rocky Horror castmembers who weren't doing anything) had pointless cameos.
Survivor: Nicaragua
At first I thought Marty had made a dumb move, because he could have achieved the same end result by playing the idol and then it wouldn't be in the hands of the opposing alliance, but now that I think about it, this was a better choice for him because it's less selfish and therefore could gain him some respect and trust (and also because it looks like they're merging next week and that totally gives him a better chance, but he wouldn't have known that yet). And I have to say that in all the seasons of Survivor I've watched (which is all of them), I don't think I've ever seen anyone have more fun in a challenge than Alina and Benry in the ball ramp tile smashing challenge. But I'm highly disappointed that Jill went home since I was rooting for her.
Community
Bonus points for the Halloween title sequence! I knew right away that Shirley was Glinda the Good Witch, but it was funny that nobody could tell (Annie guessed Miss Piggy.) Didn't know Chang's, but only because I'm not familiar with figure skaters. Pierce's Captain Kirk costume did indeed "reach a new level of authenticity" when he got all sweaty and puffy. And then, for no reason at all, George Takei ends the episode by doing a favour for people named Kevin. Awesome.
The Office
I can't blame anyone for plagiarism because it was probably a coincidence, but it made The Office look bad when they followed Community by using two of the same jokes as them (a man dressed as Lady Gaga, and people assuming that one's race is part of their costume.) But I did appreciate the role-reversing irony of Todd Packer as a nun (albeit a pregnant one) and Angela as a slutty nurse. I could tell Kelly was Snooki (yet I don't even watch Jersey Shore) and I thought Ryan was "The Situation" to complement her, but apparently he was Justin Bieber. Both costumes still made sense for their characters. Andy and Meredith as Bill and Sookie from True Blood is interesting if you think about the story behind that, which I'm guessing is that Meredith heard about Andy's costume plans and planned accordingly in a twisted attempt to get in his pants. In the past I enjoyed Jim's simple yet still somewhat creative costumes, but that was "independent Jim", so it was kind of cute when the Halperts had their family costume moment. Also funny when Oscar won the costume contest due to the number of nutjobs at Dunder Mifflin (Creed's line about it being the best Edward James Olmos costume he'd ever seen nailed it).
Hero of the Week: Jeff Winger from Community. Still cool as a zombie!
Douchebag of the Week: Fabio from Survivor, for peeing in the pool during a challenge, being crappy at blocking the shots, and generally being an airhead.
HALLOWEEN BONUS - Best Costumes: Troy and Abed as Ripley and the Alien on Community, Michael as MacGruber on The Office, and Becky as Sue Sylvester on Glee. And Dean Pelton made a better Lady Gaga than Gabe, because he is weirder.
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