This Week in Television - May 23-27, 2011

Glee
That was one of the laziest and most sloppily written episodes of television I've ever seen. It seemed even campier than usual for Glee, especially in the opening scenes. I felt like the characters were almost parodying themselves and/or delivering their lines as if they were in a live play. And why were the girls having a pillow fight in their hotel room? Was that scene written by 12 year-old boys? Additionally, it's too much of a movie staple to have feathers flying during a pillow fight. I don't think they stuff pillows with feathers anymore, and anyway you would have to be hitting really hard to burst them open. But for a finale, where was all the tension and the cliffhangers? And remember at the end of the last episode when Quinn hinted that she had "plans for New York"? The payoff for that was awesome--Oh wait, there was no payoff because she was in the background doing nothing for the whole episode. Seriously, the writers made it look like she had some evil plan to get Finn back and then they turned it into...Quinn cutting her hair. FAIL. I do think Brittany's "My Cup" was a better song than Rachel's "My Headband", though.

Across the Universe

Impressions before seeing it
When I first saw the trailer a few years ago, I thought it looked campy. When I watched the trailer again more recently, I had a different outlook and really liked how the visuals and movement in the shots went with the music, and I became more interested.

How was it?
I know this movie has a bit of a cult following, and I suppose I can see why, but on most levels it just didn't do it for me personally. I like The Beatles, but - and this is also one of Glee's many flaws - I usually hate hearing covers of familiar songs because they're never as good as the originals. And that's just the music.

There is a story running through the many Beatles songs but I didn't really find it compelling, and the characters spent so much time singing and dancing to songs that weren't personal to them due to being well-established Beatles songs that I didn't feel like I knew them very well, and thus I couldn't connect with them during what were supposed to be the emotionally moving scenes. In fact, the integration of the songs with the story felt forced to me, hitting the audience over the head by naming all of the characters after names found in Beatles songs and turning some lyrics into lines of dialogue and/or actions for some of the songs that weren't sung. I actually found myself rolling my eyes when a character climbed in through a window and introduced herself as Prudence, followed up by Jude saying "She came in through the bathroom window." I don't know, maybe some people find that clever or cool, but to me it just feels hackneyed and lacks subtlety. And I can't put my finger on it, but I really didn't like Jim Sturgess as Jude. His onscreen presence bothered me enough that I disliked the character when I could have at least been indifferent to him. On the plus side, this movie does have some weirdly unique visuals that I enjoyed seeing on Blu-ray. Maybe worth one viewing for that, but I don't know if I'll be coming back for a second look.

Recommendation
I can't say I recommend it because there were just too many things I didn't like, though maybe I'll change my mind again in a few years. If you're looking for a musical that is truly awesome, I would suggest Once, 8 Femmes, or Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

This Week in Television - May 15-20, 2011

Survivor: Redemption Island (Sunday Finale)
That was actually fairly predictable and had no surprises. Most of the jury didn't even have questions for the final three, there were just a lot of angry comments. But I say this every season and I'll keep saying it: three people in the finals is pointless, because one of them always gets 0 votes. Every single time. And I knew this time it would be Natalie, because coattail riders don't get votes unless the jury has literally no respect for the others. Rob may have blindsided everyone, but he's no Russell. I thought the reunion show was actually more surprising because it contained things I wouldn't have expected, like Russell shaking Rob's hand, Grant still being pissed at Rob, and Phillip apparently being a real federal agent.

Glee
Glee rarely has any emotional effect on me, but for me the heart of the show has always been Sue and her sister. NOT the kids and their fickle romances, or even Mr. Schue and Emma, but I suppose they might be a very, very distant second. So I found this episode to be touching, until Finn broke up with Quinn again, and then I went back to not caring. And I don't like the idea - scratch that, I hate the idea - that Sue is going to respect Mr. Schue and stop trying to take down the glee club. I hope that's only temporary, because if her sister is dead then Sue is only at her best as the evil supervillain.

The Office
All of the guest stars were an obvious ploy to keep people interested without Steve Carell around, but I didn't mind much because I enjoyed all of the interviews with those strange applicants. I think my favourite was James Spader, somehow bordering between creepy and awesome and reminding me of a smarter, more aware version of Dwight. But I also really liked the build up to "The Finger Lakes Guy" being Jim Carrey, and I would like to see Will Arnett guest star on Community, because then he will have appeared on all four of the great NBC comedies. I don't think things are looking good for inside candidates Dwight, Andy, Darryl, and Kelly, and the network probably wants one of those movie star outsiders who can bring ratings, so maybe one of those actors can clear their schedules to return permanently in the fall. I'm hoping for Spader, Carrey, or Arnett, but Creed as manager was a hilarious substitute while we wait over the summer.

Parks and Recreation
These last two episodes of the season were brilliant. First, everyone dealing with Chris' changes to the department made for an interesting and funny storyline, and I'm getting on board with the Leslie/Ben relationship, so I didn't mind watching them get sloppy with their secrecy, which became an even bigger ripple effect in the second episode as it nearly destroyed the horse funeral. That one was especially brilliant with all of the developments that popped up without the episode feeling crowded: Li'l Sebastian dying, Tom possibly leaving for Jean-Ralphio's company, Leslie possibly running for Mayor and having to break up with Ben if she does, Chris possibly wanting to date Ann again, April becoming Andy's band manager, and the appearance of Ron's mysterious OTHER ex-wife Tammy, who is apparently so evil that even the hardcore Tammy we already know is scared to death of her. That is a lot to pack into a half hour, but they did it and it was amazing. The whole season has been strong, actually. Well played, Parks and Rec. Well played.

Hero of the Week: James Spader on The Office. Explanation not needed.

Douchebag of the Week: Angela from The Office, who already got it once for the same reason: too much boasting about her senator boyfriend. This week also adds her condescending remarks to Pam. Get off your high horse, little woman!

Glee's season finale is next week, but otherwise this pretty much concludes the television season. Keep an eye on the blog this summer, as I will be doing some special posts. We have the blog's second anniversary next month, I'll be doing a post on my favourite movies of 2010 (late, I know), I'll be watching some TV shows on DVD, and there will be a post about this entire TV season where I hand out plenty of pointless awards, including hero and douchebag OF THE SEASON!

This Week in Television - May 9-13, 2011

Glee
Some good Sue Sylvester moments, and I laughed at Rachel immediately suggesting singing "Run Joey Run" again at prom, but once again this show is just crazy unrealistic. I don't think I'll go down the list because there was too much wrong with this episode, but for one thing I would think the Principal or someone would have known the prom queen/king results ahead of time and Kurt would have been saved the embarrassment, or he would've chosen not to announce Kurt's name after seeing it on the card. I mean someone had to tally the votes and put the results in the envelope, and realistically that would have been either a teacher or a brown-nosing student, and they would have done something about it. And if you want people to properly invest in the Quinn/Finn/Rachel love triangle, stop switching them around so damned much. Why should we care about either relationship if Finn is always making eyes at whichever one he's not currently with? It tried to be an emotional episode, but time and time again I have trouble caring about these unrealistic kids in unrealistic situations.

Survivor: Redemption Island
Once again old Probst proves what a dick he is by giving Natalie a hard time at the challenge and telling her she might as well sit down because she has no chance of winning. He was right, but it wasn't something that needed to be said out loud. Figured Ralph would lose the Redemption Island challenge because the puzzle had words on it, and he is nearly illiterate. I'll put the Sunday finale in next week's post.

Community
Cool, I thought the second part was going to be more Western again, but even in a two-parter Community refuses to repeat itself. Though many consider Star Wars to be a space western of sorts, so that makes it a more smooth transition. Didn't work quite as well as last week's Western theme, though, because it was too loose. I'm not enough of a Star Wars nerd to recognize all of the references they probably slipped in, but I got the basics, like the white paintball uniforms resembling storm troopers, the villain in black beneath a costume that hides his identity like Darth Vader, and Abed and Annie's Han/Leia banter. I haven't heard anything about Chevy Chase leaving the show, so maybe season three will be about everyone trying to convince Pierce to rejoin the group, while Chang either steals his spot or becomes even more furious when they continue to reject him even with a vacancy. Or maybe they'll say "We need another old guy" and put Leonard in there, and realize that he (or Chang) is worse than Pierce. Should be fun, though.

The Office
It had to be done. They hinted at what Dwight does with power in earlier seasons, but Michael's exit gave the writers a perfect opportunity to let him be boss for an episode. And one episode is just the right length, because as a permanent replacement it would've gotten old fast and his character would lose motivation, having attained his most desired goal. But it was funny how quickly he went from being drunk with power to everyone in the office having power over him. Creed becoming acting manager at the end was hilarious.

Parks and Recreation
Kind of nice to see another side of Leslie and Ann's friendship, because they've been so loving and forgiving of each other this whole time but at some point they had to acknowledge each other's flaws. Tom's "business ideas" were great (as in funny, not as in practical) and seemed like the exact kind of thing he would come up with. And I'm always happy to see Jean-Ralphio and Andy as Burt Macklin.

Parks and Recreation
I enjoyed this second episode more, though. Amy Poehler and Adam Scott have actually been so good at playing their sexual tension that I was rooting for them to finally hook up, even though it was obvious they were going to. Tom hosting "Know Ya Boo" was awesome, leading to a nice little plot about April and Andy still not knowing each other that well. I attribute Jerry and Donna's success in that game to Jerry being such a nice guy that he has probably taken the time to get to know everyone around the office. And because, while everyone hates Jerry, I don't think Donna's opinion of him has been established to the extent that everyone else's has. And how can it not be hilarious when Ron Swanson eats a little girl's lunch and gives her a land mine to protect her property? Also gold: Perd Hapley's 80's hair.

Hero of the Week: Tom from Parks and Recreation, for his pimpin' business ideas and "Know Ya Boo".

Douchebag of the Week: Gabe from The Office, because his behaviour over Erin was annoying and creepy.

This Week in Television - May 2-6, 2011

Glee
Brittany's talk show and Sue's crazy disguises were the highlight of this episode. Also it's always fun to see Kristin Chenoweth back, as she is one of the better guest stars. As usual, everything else was lame. I don't know why the glee club kids like to think that singing = romance. They're always saying "I don't want you singing a duet with my girlfriend/boyfriend!" But maybe that can be considered typical jealous teen behaviour. At least they balanced it out by showing that Emma was mature enough not to be jealous at the sight of Mr. Schue singing with April. And I saw it coming that Sam was not having an affair with Kurt or Quinn. Even for Glee, that kind of writing would have been too awful if it were that simple.

Survivor: Redemption Island
I think it's unfair when they force someone to choose between their own loved ones and everyone else's. They're pretty much forced to go with the less selfish option or else they'll look like a huge douchebag. Maybe Mike was a nice enough guy that it was easy for him, but still, I don't think I've seen anyone be selfish yet when Survivor does that. Andrea was the right choice for Redemption Island, especially if they want someone to beat those other guys over there.

Community
I knew there was more paintball coming, and I was wondering how they could top, or at least match, the first one. Cool idea making this one a western. That way they're not repeating themselves. I like that Annie was the hero in this one rather than Jeff. The thing with the cards was interesting, because at first I was wondering why Pierce didn't get one of those cool card intros, but it made sense at the end. Josh Holloway was perfect casting as the mysterious "Black Rider."

The Office
Interesting how everyone except Dwight was sucking up to the new boss when it used to be the other way around. It seems a little much that they would go so far as to applaud his imaginary juggling routine though, but it was funny when Pam later made fun of it in the lunch room. Ryan seems to have pulled a Pam in terms of making up a job for himself and convincing his superiors that it exists, though in a much douchier way because he's Ryan. Hopefully with Deangelo gone he'll be back to square one. Speaking of that, Deangelo's exit from the show was totally random and unexpected. I thought he would just get fired or quit, but maybe that would be too easy/obvious.

Parks and Recreation
Another fantastic episode. It's always funny when Ron is bothered by things other people enjoy, and all of that messing with him paid off doubly in a nice ending scene when Leslie gave him a birthday evening she knew he'd actually like. The storyline with Parker Posey had some great moments too, like the public forum about the fence, and when Tom pretended to be angry at her while slipping her his resume and Andy completely buying the angry part.

30 Rock
The cold opening featuring Dr. Spaceman was great because Dr. Spaceman never disappoints, but I have to admit the rest of the episode wasn't as good. Jack using Kenneth as a substitute for Avery just became creepy rather than funny, Jenna tends to lose what little comedic appeal she has when she's not paired with Tracy, Kenneth, or Pete, and Liz's story about Tracy invading her vacation just seemed too generic. Two jokes I recall enjoying were Liz being accused of a hate crime against a Jewish tree, and Victor Garber's blatant setup for an obvious reveal: "Jenna, even with your back to me I can definitely tell it's you."

Fringe
Even though they went into the future, it didn't really feel like the future to me. With the exception of Olivia's niece Ella, nobody looked 20 years older. They mentioned that Peter was supposed to be 47 years old, but it wasn't until the end of the episode that I thought I might have spotted some grey hairs at his temples (not sure though, it was VHS quality since I had to tape the episode). And even if they weren't planning to age the younger characters, Walter probably would have been in his 80's and thus a lot more wrinkled, frail and hobbled, but he too looked the same. I almost thought it was going to turn out to be some sort of third alternate universe. Anyway, enough about trivial, superficial things. The trip into the future was an interesting one, but hopefully they will be doing something good with it because Heroes fell into this trap of showing us several different futures that really didn't matter since the past kept getting changed, and I don't want Fringe to go down that road, too. But combining the two universes together and forcing them to cooperate was an idea that just might be crazy enough to work. I don't understand what caused Peter to be erased from existence, though. Not sure if I missed something or if they left that answer for next season.

Hero of the Week: Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation. There are some weeks where I have to sit and think about who these should go to, but there was no question in this case. Leslie was 100% awesome, from her disapproval of turning waffles into dog excrement, to uniting Pawnee with its rival city through an impromptu wiffle ball league, to giving Ron Swanson the perfect birthday. Rock on, Leslie!

Douchebag of the Week: Ryan from The Office. In the first two seasons, Ryan was actually mild-mannered and likable, but ever since his rise and fall at corporate he's been arrogant, pretentious, self-centered, and apathetic. The only part of his presence I enjoyed this week was when Kelly told Deangelo that he hasn't had a real job at Dunder Mifflin in years.

Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel

Impressions before seeing it
I can't remember where I first heard about this one, but the impression I got from the synopsis was that it was just three guys in a bar talking about time travel paradoxes the whole time. It speaks volumes about my nerdiness that I was interested in that.

How was it?
So this movie is about three friends, two of them nerds and one of them a cynic, who go to the pub one night and, after meeting a woman from the future (Anna Faris) who came to fix a time leak, discover that entering the pub's bathroom takes them back and forth through time.

I love time travel adventures, so I thought this movie was a lot of fun. Like Hot Tub Time Machine, which I also loved, there are a few references and tributes to other time travel movies, most notably Back to the Future (notice the watch-glancing pose on the poster?). Being the nerds that they are, our heroes know a bit about how to handle things, such as making sure not to come in contact with your past or future self, and not interfering in ways that could change the future, but that doesn't mean it's a breeze for them because they can't control where in time the bathroom takes them.

For a lower budget British movie, it was fairly well done, though there were a few things toward the end that didn't quite make sense to me. I'm not sure if they were flaws or if I'm just stupid. And as part comedy, I wouldn't consider it a total success in that department but not a total failure either, and my rule about that is that it's okay for a comedy to be unfunny as long as there's something else to enjoy about it, and of course this movie is full of time travel action. And, again, it's not unfunny, just not hilarious.

Recommendation
Fans of time travel should really enjoy it. I think Hot Tub Time Machine was funnier, but that's just my sense of humour, and for those who like variety, Hot Tub only went to one place in time, while FAQ goes all over the place. But both should be seen!

Machete

Impressions before seeing it
I thought it was a cool idea to take one of the fake movie trailers from Grindhouse and turn it into a real movie, and as a part of that genre I knew it would be fun.

How was it?
Technically, Machete is a bad movie. The plot is dumb, some of the acting is cheesy, and the action is unrealistic to the point of being cartoonish. Does that matter? Not in this case. Planet Terror - and to a lesser extent, Death Proof - also had these qualities, and those movies were just as fun. It's all intentional and meant in a "wink-wink, let's laugh about this crazy 70's genre" way that only enhances the enjoyment factor. It edges on parody and can be considered part comedy, though there's also plenty of unnecessarily explicit violence and a bit of nudity. To me, this is a good excuse to make bad movies. There are plenty of terrible blockbusters out there with no excuse for their schlock, but if your movie is not going to be good, why not do it in a way that makes it look as if it's bad on purpose? It may not have been intentional in the 70's, but that is the grind house's purpose today.

One thing that bothered me, though, is that I feel like movies shot in this style may as well be set in the 70's, but Planet Terror and Machete are not, as they include modern technology like text messaging and video chat. It took me out of the movie when Booth (Jeff Fahey) and Torrez (Steven Seagal) were seen, through slight film grain, talking on their laptops. It just doesn't fit when the rest of the movie more or less feels like it could have come from the 70's. But on the flipside, the best thing about this movie is the violence. Twisted and sometimes funny, my favourites include a scene where Machete, in the back of a cop car, impales the driver with his blade and then steers from the back seat by twisting the blade back and forth; and another where he rips out a dude's large intestine and uses it to rappel out the window of a building and into the window of the floor below. As you can see, it's completely ridiculous, but that's the point, and it's all in good fun. And on a neat little side note, you can find replicas (or maybe it's the same footage, I'm not sure) of the shots seen in the original Machete trailer from Grindhouse, making it even more retroactively authentic.

Recommendation
If you don't "get" these types of movies where everything is over the top and intentionally cheesy then you probably won't enjoy this (I suppose it can be called "Mexploitation", being about Mexicans). But I think you'll like it if you liked Grindhouse, or just love a lot of crazy, mindless violence. I had fun with it, because that's all you can do.

This Week in Television - Apr. 25-29, 2011

Glee
To break it down, Quinn's back story was the kind of far-fetched crap you only see on TV, prom king/queen is only a big deal in the movies (and if prom is this season then the show should be over, because it comes during the last year of high school so everyone would be moving on after this season), the dance sequence in the mall where the only lyrics in the song were "Barbara Streisand" was one of the weirdest performances Glee has ever done, and it doesn't work so well when you're trying to convince your audience that young, attractive people are playing ugly characters. I did, however, like the scene with Emma in therapy. Taking 48 minutes of her 50 minute session to scrub the chair so she could sit down was exactly the wake-up call she needed to deal with her disorder.

Survivor: Redemption Island
Even though Steve was making a ploy to save himself and Ralph, the girls should have listened to him and voted Rob, because now Rob is probably going to win. Or Matt if he survives Redemption Island. It will probably be between them, and like all seasons that have a pointless three-person finale, the third person will get 0 votes.

Community
Shirley-heavy episodes tend to drag a little, as she is the least funniest character, but I did like Troy and Abed pimping out their special handshake to Pierce, and all of Chang's weird little "Chang baby" facts. Britta looking under Shirley's skirt with that hypnotic stare and droning sound reminded me of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and I almost thought they were going to give us an angle of Shirley's genitals represented as a colourful, whirling kaleidoscope shot.

The Office
What was interesting about this episode was that it showed Michael's true feelings about the others in the office. We spent several episodes this season winding down Michael's relationships with some of his co-workers, but when it came time to say goodbye, some were clearly more heartfelt than others. I think Jim, Pam, and Dwight were no-brainers, given that they are part of the main cast (Dwight's didn't work for me, though, because I could tell his skepticism about the letter was going to be a mislead into something nice, but the paintball match was a better touch); Andy, Erin and Phyllis were also rewarded with Michael's grace (Phyllis may have had sore hands, but Michael's satisfaction with the knitted mitts made up for his horrible reaction to her homemade oven mitt back when they played Yankee Swap in season 2's Christmas episode); Angela, Kevin and Kelly got farewells that didn't quite work, though Michael meant well (I suppose his gift of not annoying Kelly could be retribution for "Diversity Day", when he annoyed her so much that she slapped him in the face.) Everyone else basically just got some little junk gifts or a few fleeting words. The most surprising was Ryan, given Michael's longstanding man-crush on him. The beer sign might be Michael's most prized possession, but I think he got over Ryan enough in the WUPHF episode to know their relationship isn't as special as he thought. My favourite moment was the ending where Pam runs to meet Michael at the airport. It simultaneously reminded me of the end of Lost in Translation and all of those wonderful, now classic Jim/Pam season enders. It was perfect, because looking back, Jim and Pam were the first to have sympathy for Michael and start caring about him, but Jim did not experience the Michael Scott Paper Company, nor did he attend Pam's art show, but Michael did, making Pam his greatest friend in the office. I know Michael rubs some viewers the wrong way, especially during his more awkward moments, but for me it has been one hilarious, 7-year delight. The Office will not be the same without him, but I will keep watching until the end, and hopefully Michael will pop up in the series finale. So long, Mr. Scott, catch you on the flipside.

Parks and Recreation
Never really thought about what April and Andy's living conditions would be like, but it makes perfect sense that nothing is done around the house, because Andy is clueless and lazy, and April is careless. And I like that they tied that in with Ben doing what he came to Pawnee to do, which is fix things. The painting was cool (yet Jerry still got gypped on the kudos), but while I wouldn't consider it pornography like the media did - not all nudity is necessarily sexual - it's probably not something that should be on public display. But instead of destroying it or making an entire second painting, wouldn't the easiest solution just be for Jerry to paint a bra or something on the centaur? I know the "switcheroo" reveal was better in terms of comedy writing, but I thought someone would've at least suggested it, or would that ruin the painting's empowerment? I guess the toplessness shows the centaur's confidence and lack of restraints/boundaries. Ron's speech at the art gallery was also awesome.

30 Rock
Tracy's storyline was kind of lame, unless you find it funny to hear "Smooth move, Ferguson!" repeated over and over again, but I did enjoy Liz's housework montage accompanied by Tina Fey singing a song about montages, and some of the stuff with Kim Jong Il doing his own movies and broadcasts.

Fringe
Whoa. I was actually just expecting the machine to take Peter to the other side, but it appears he's still on this side... TEN YEARS IN THE FUTURE! Or it could just be a vision and not actual time travel. The smoking eyes in that drawing of him might symbolize, say, a vision of destruction, and it looked like there was a lot of destruction going on.

Hero of the Week: Pam from The Office, for making sure Michael got his goodbye and ending the episode on a perfect note.

Douchebag of the Week: Marcia from Parks and Recreation, for wanting Jerry's painting destroyed because she thought it was porn. Overreact much?