Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: Nebraska


Some people say that Alexander Payne tends to treat his Midwestern characters condescendingly. Whether it is Election, About Schmidt, or his latest film, Nebraska. They lament that he laughs at, and not with, the good, simple folk of the Heartland.

Monday, December 16, 2013

The Week Ahead: Edward R. Murrow Imagines Dragons

Well, last week mostly went off as expected, although Burn After Reading and Andrew's announcement about his favorite movies of 2013 list came out over the weekend. The one "Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium" that didn't make it in last week was Nebraska, in part because the week ran out on Andrew. He wanted to wait until he saw the film a second time (which he did yesterday), so look for this post sometime early in the week.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

My Favorite Movies of 2013: An Announcement

SPOILER: This is going to be one of them.


After a somewhat disappointing summer (that still had some great films), the fall has been absolutely wonderful for films. In addition to seeing many in the theaters, I've become acquainted with several great films via streaming, several of which never made it anywhere near the giant multiplexes of the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago*.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

The DVD Case Pantheon: Burn After Reading


When trying to categorize the Coen Brothers films, two distinct categories emerge. The first group are movies that are primarily dramatic, such as Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, No Country for Old Men, and The Man Who Wasn't There. The second group tend to be straight up comedies, such as Raising Arizona, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Big Lebowski, and O Brother Where Art Thou?. Granted, none of there movies are without some humor (even No Country for Old Men), and even the lightest of their comedies includes (imminent) hangings, suicides, and bounty hunters getting blown up by their own grenades. Arguably their greatest (and one of my favorites), Fargo, deftly straddles the line between the two groups, often coming down on the comedy side, while being far too violent to completely live there.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: Philomena


Every country has something in its past it isn't proud of. For the United States, it's the eradication of the Native Americans. For the United Kingdom, it would be the centuries of mistreatment of Ireland. And for Ireland, it would certainly have to be the Magdalene Laundries. Although not the only country to have these institutions, Ireland is the one most associated with them. The places were known for the cruelty of the nuns that ran them towards the women who lived and worked there, even going so far as to not administer pain killers or really do much to help if a birthing went wrong. Far too many women (many of which were barely older than children themselves) and their children died because of cruelty and apathy of these institutions. Amazingly, the last Irish one stayed open until 1996.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

The DVD Case Pantheon: 50/50


Truth be told, I was initially disappointed that this was the first movie up in the queue for this feature. It isn't a matter of enjoying it. As it's part of this feature, it is a movie I really like. However, it just wasn't one of the movies I wanted to write about.

Watching again, I remembered exactly why it's in my pantheon. It's often funny, while occasionally painful. The performances from both the main characters and several supporting characters are pretty good. Most of all, it feels pretty real.

I say 'feels' instead of 'is' because I've never directly gone through the situation in this movie. Perhaps people who have gone through similar situations would disagree with the accuracy or tone of the film. I'd imagine the experience of dealing with such a traumatic, painful, and downright awful illness like cancer is a very singular experience, even if there are certainly similar situations they all go through. I would expect there would be some real experience brought to the movie, considering it was loosely based on the life of writer Will Reiser*.

Above all, the part of the movie that feels the most genuine is the main character's mother, played by the great Anjelica Huston. I'm not certain how my mother would react to a situation like that, but it would be pretty close to how she acts. Her character could have been played completely for easy laughs ("haw-haw, mom's be worrying and embarrassing us, amiright"), but she's not. She's a person, with her own fears, needs, and wants, and a big part of Joseph Gordon Levitt's character growth is realizing this.

Another great thing is that Levitt is not treated as a saint because he has a life threatening illness. He gets high with his chemo compatriots (the great Matt Frewer and the even greater Philip Baker Hall), he breaks up with his terrible girlfriend**, and has trouble getting it up when his pal hooks him up with a rebound girl. He doesn't ever come to some tranquil peace with his situation before the climatic surgery, and in fact never gets much beyond the anger stage.

Fortunately, the movie ends on a happy note, as Levitt survives the surgery that saved his life, he gets the girl, and Seth Rogen daub salve into his friends hideous back scar. It's a sweet victory because it feels earned. For that, I'm glad to consider it one of my favorite movies.

Up Next: Burn After Reading, then The Wrong Guy, and then our first challenger Good Night and Good Luck

*Seth Rogen, a friend of Reiser, was basically playing a fictionalized version of himself. Yes, I know he plays himself in everything he's in, but at least he does it very well in this film.
**In the span of about a year, Bryce Dallas Howard played a girlfriend that cheated on a person with cancer in this film and a awful racist queen bee in The Help. To be fair, the girlfriend character she played wasn't exactly played off as evil, just a very flawed young person who was too inexperienced to take the out she was given. At least she didn't eat a poop filled pie in this one.

Monday, December 9, 2013

The Week Ahead: There's a 50/50 shot you will Burn After Reading this in Nebraska, Philomena

First off, I apologize for the title of this weeks "The Week Ahead", but it had to be done. This is probably the last time two movies on Andrew's "DVD Case Pantheon" and two movies for "Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium" can be used in an actual sentence like that. Just be glad I didn't try to fit Out of the Furnace in there somehow.

As you can tell from the title, this will be a big week for two current movie features. The first two entries of Andrew's "DVD Case Pantheon" will be posted sometime this week. We'll start with 50/50 on Wednesday and then Burn After Reading on Friday.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Introducing the DVD Case Pantheon

As promised earlier this week, I am starting a new feature this week, called "DVD Case Pantheon". The idea is to randomly pick from a list of my favorite movies, and write about them. All in all, the list will be about 75-80 movies (depending on multi-movie cases), all of which reside on the top two shelves of my DVD case*.

Although most of my favorite movies are in this list, that doesn't necessarily mean all of them are. Some I don't have on DVD. Others have yet to come out on DVD. A few are sitting outside the pantheon, waiting to be rediscovered and take their rightful place among the august body of movies atop the case.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: Frozen


Once upon a time, there was an animated film released by the venerable Walt Disney Animation Studio. The name of this film was Frozen, and it was indeed one of the finest films of that year, and one of the finest the studio had released in many years. It featured beautiful animation, plenty of humor and heart, and songs that few in the realm could resist singing along with.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: Blue is the Warmest Color


Blue is the Warmest Color* is a very good film. It is a heartbreaking coming of age story about a young woman who finds her soul mate, and what happens after that. It's a beautiful film, and it features great performances by two young actresses. It's a film that I strongly recommend, although one of those that might be a bit awkward to watch with your family during the holidays.

Assuming you can find it near you. It's a three hour long film in French with English subtitles, so that's already two strikes against it. On top of that, it's rated NC-17, which means some theater chains won't even consider showing it.

OK, here is where I discuss the elephant in the room.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

The Week Ahead; Movies, Movies, and Movies

As this blog moves towards it's first year, it's time to take a quick look back, while also looking forward. It would be accurate to say the frequency of posts has been inconsistent. We started quick out the gate, but lost steam, primarily because the contributors and administrators took new jobs and moved to new places. This was a mixed blessing, as Andrew gained easier access to movies (and the resources to watch them), but lost much of the time to keep up the blog. Beyond a few posts saying goodbye to The Office and 30 Rock, some summer recaps, and a few random posts here and there, the blog was mostly dormant through the spring and summer. As the fall movie season warmed up, the posts have picked back up, although not regularly, with Andrew's "Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium". There are many more coming, and expect to usually get one or two of these a week, provided Andrew is not on vacation or too busy to watch new movies.

In addition to the continued editions of "Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium", we'll be attempting to keep up several other weekly features, starting with this one. Each week we'll be sharing a quick preview of what will be showing up during the rest of the week.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire


Confession time: I did not see The Hunger Games in theaters when it came out. Having graduated high school in the previous century, I am not the target age demographic for most of the YA titles that seem to be making their way to the theaters these days. This, combined with the mixed reviews for the first film, pretty much kept me away. It wasn't until this month that I even bothered to watch it, and only then because I had heard some good buzz about Catching Fire, and because it was streaming on Netflix.

I liked the first one well enough, although it wasn't without its problems. The sequel, while still with some flaws, is much better. Like all sequels, everything seems to be bigger. The contrast between the privation and misery of the districts and the oblivious extravagance of the Capitol is greater, the stakes are higher, and the obstacles found in the arena more terrifying. Too often this can lead to a franchise getting overblown and creatively empty. In this case, however, it helps the movie.

Also helping the movie is the introduction of Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the new game master, a character who is all about "moves and countermoves". His icy gamesmanship plays well with Donald Sutherland's wrathful dictator President Snow, so much that I would have probably enjoyed a version of the movie that was just them sitting around a table, watching monitors and discussing what to do as the rebellion started by Peeta and Katniss' defiance in the previous Hunger Games slowly builds.

Alas, that is not how the movie actually is, but there is still plenty of good things going on. I like the twist of the Quarter Quell, bringing previous winners of various ages into the mix. Not only does it reduce some of the squickiness of teenagers fighting each other to the death, it also creates a situation where more excellent ringers (such as Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer, and Jena Malone) can be plugged in. It also creates a way to return our main characters to the arena of the games that actually works in the context of the story.

The biggest problem I had with the movie is the "love triangle" that seems tacked on just because it's expected of YA series, particularly those with a female protagonist. While nowhere near the awfulness of the Twilight series*, it just feels tacked on and unearned. It somewhat distracts from the performance of Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson as Katniss and Peeta.

That being said, it's just one part of a film that is pretty entertaining. Like many middle segments of franchises, it doesn't really have an independent beginning or end. This isn't really a detriment to the movie. However, I would recommend watching the first one before seeing this if you've never seen or read anything from the series, otherwise you may get lost. Haters of cliffhangers beware, as this one ends on a cliffhanger that sets up the next two films based upon Mockingjay, the third and final book in the series.

Verdict: Strong Recommendation, if you liked the first one or the book series. If you've never seen the first one, watch it and then watch this.

*Very few things reach the awfulness of the Twilight series

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: All is Lost

The cast list of All is Lost makes Gravity look like Cleopatra*. There is only one character, known as "Our man", played by Robert Redford. We don't know why he is out on a yacht in the middle of the Indian Ocean, or what he regrets so much in the note he is writing at the beginning. We don't even know the events that led to a floating modal container full of shoes crashing into his boat, which is the start of his mostly continuous problems. Beyond a few garbled voices over the radio that he temporarily gets working, we don't meet anybody else. The film is a stripped down story of a man and his boat, a story boiled down to the age old conflict of man versus his environment.

Given Robert Redford's notorious history as a person that is difficult to work with, it seems fitting that his latest role is one where he is the only character, and as such the focus of the entire film. Also, given Redford's reputation as pretty damn good actor, he gives a great performance. As he faces each obstacle, from the relatively small to the absolutely terrifying and life threatening, he mostly keeps his cool, using ingenuity and a strong will to survive to keep moving forward. Whether it is patching up the hole in his hull, making it through a gut wrenching storm, learning celestial navigation on the fly, or coming up with a way to use condensation to get fresh water, he is bound and determined to survive as long as he has air in his lungs.

This is not a film for those looking for a light-hearted escape from the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Things just keep getting worse as the movie goes along, even as "our man" overcomes everything in front of him. Some of the obstacles are scary, others are absolutely heartbreaking. By the end of the film it is skirting close to survivalist "porn", but thankfully never goes over that line. The visual effects, primarily the storm that tumbled the yacht around, are mostly flawless, a mixture of practical effects with CG where necessary. The trend of returning to more practical effects, while still improving CG and using it to support real effects, is very welcome to me.

Some people may get angry at the ending. I'm pretty sure the two other people in the large theater I watched it in did not like it. However, I can't think of any other way it could have ended. If this is playing near you, go see it and make up your own mind.

Verdict: Strongly Recommend, unless you are incredibly sensitive to watching movies that take place on the ocean or tense survivalist situations.

*This might be a bit of an exaggeration

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: Dallas Buyers Club

Dallas Buyers Club is not one of my favorite movies of the year. It is a good movie, certainly, but not quite up to par with the best I've seen. Like many biographical films, it tries to apply a formula to a true story, and the result is mixed at best. However, what isn't in dispute is the acting, as both Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto give excellent performances.

It isn't just because they went through great pains to be as thin and haggard as people in their situation (Aids sufferers in the mid 80s) would be. Just because they lose a lot (or gain) a lot of weight does not guarantee a memorable performance or a quality film. Leto already has experience with this, bulking up to play Mark David Chapman in the already forgotten Chapter 27. Commitment to "suffering" for their craft is but one part of acting, and isn't always a requirement*. If that performance isn't also worth watching, or the film around is god-awful, all you've really done is put your health at risk for damn near nothing.

The best thing about Leto's performance as Rayon, the business partner of McConaughey's Ron Woodroof in the titular Dallas Buyers Club, is that the characters is played (or written) as some transgendered saint. Far too often these types of movies like to make the marginalized characters that support (never lead) the good fight above reproach. Rayon, however, is purely human.  She fights back against her drug addiction, which is always dangerous, but down right suicidal for an AIDS patient, but ultimately fails.

Likewise, McConaughey is (mostly) not a "white savior", a white male who leads a successful crusade to help the suffering marginalized population. Sure, he moves a long way from his homophobic shit-kicking, rodeo loving electrician ways by the end of the film, but he's not exactly Harvey Milk. At first he begins distributing the drugs to AIDS patients as a way to make money, but eventually he takes it on more as a cause, going so far as to keep it going even when the money stops flowing. He may have warmed up to the afflicted, but he isn't necessarily successful, losing his fight to distribute the unapproved drugs in court, although still retaining the ability to self-medicate.

I am too young to remember the fear, paranoia, and bigotry related to the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. By the time I became conscious of the disease, Ryan White and Magic Johnson were the faces of the disease, and the homophobic "gay cancer" was fading slowly into the dark recesses of history. To a certain extent the movie conveys the vast amount of disinformation and complexity that surrounded the crisis. Unfortunately is doesn't go as far as contextualizing that as it does in establishing its two main characters. Also, a post movie title card kind of undercuts how the story is told. Had the movie taken a bit more nuanced approach about the complexity and necessarily dispassionate work of scientific medicine and regulations, perhaps it would have been a much better movie.

That being said, it is well worth checking out at some point, if only just for McConaughey and Leto's performance. I recommend this film, so go see it in theaters if you see 1-2 movies a week, and definitely check it out once its out for home video. There is a pretty good chance both of these actors will be winning awards for their performances.

Verdict: Recommend

Friday, November 22, 2013

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: About Time

Let me tell you a little story about a man named Tim (ugh, that sucked, excuse me a sec, I have to find a closet)

Shut it, Love Actually. The cupboard door, that is, so we can travel back to enjoy this movie again. (That was even worse. Excuse me again.)

I have to admit I was skeptical about this film when I watched the trailer about sixty times this summer and fall*, as it looked like a kind of by-the-book romcom with a little twist. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find it much closer to Groundhog Day, although it didn't quite get there. Perhaps it could have used more Bill Murr...what? Oh god, I went too far back and stepped on a bullfrog when I was ten. Somehow Groundhog Day became a movie where Paulie Shore fought an army of animatronic groundhogs on the International Space Station. Excuse me, I have to right this grievous wrong.

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: Thor: The Dark World (EDITEDx2)

PREEMPTIVE EDIT: I fixed Tom Bombadil's name, so don't fret you Bombadiliacs. Just be glad I didn't cut his part out entirely.
I'VE BEEN MAKING AN ASS OF MYSELF EDIT: I should have been paying more attention to getting the correct title for the movie. Interesting enough, I did get it right the last time I referred to the movie's full title.

The big move studios are in the middle of a period of transition, one that we haven't seen since the death of the old studio systems in the late 60s and early 70s. The implosion of the DVD market, thanks mostly to the proliferation of Netflix and other streaming services, has left the large companies that own them looking for the next viable business model. For right now, this appears to be chasing the markets abroad. This international focus can be thanked for plenty of the ills of movies today, especially the emphasis of recycling of plots and franchises over developing new stories. Remember this when you watch the fourth reboot of Spiderman in 2019, the six part Adventures of Tom Bombadil series in 2021-2026, and the four hour, $1 billion dollar movie based upon "Hungry, Hungry Hippos" in 2022*.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: Twelve Years a Slave

I seriously considered not using my regular title for this feature on this one. The juxtaposition of the lighthearted Futurama reference with a film like Twelve Years a Slave is awkward and unintentionally humorous. However, I've used it for every one of my previous reviews, some of which were of fairly serious films, so it stays nonetheless.

So what do I mean by that clunky introduction? Just that Twelve Years a Slave is a great film, but also a very serious film. At times it feels like you are watching a contest to see which recognizable actor can be the most awful to the protagonist, or to his fellow slaves. Whether its the casual sleaziness of Paul Giamatti's slave trader, the cowardly bullying of Paul Dano, or the jealous rage of Sarah Paulson to one of her husband's favored slaves, a young woman named Patsey, it's hard to watch. Even some of the less terrible characters, such as Benedict Cumberbatch's gentle and relatively fair slaveowner, are awful in a completely different way, simply because they are willing participants in the "peculiar institution" of slavery.

Of course, the worst of the bunch is Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender). The drunk, lecherous, and generally cruel man is terrifying, mainly because you are not sure what he is going to do. Granted, as I was familiar with the story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor, in a brilliant performance), I realized that he was going to survive whatever misfortunes he would have. That doesn't change the fact it was tough to watch him go through the indignities of the situation.

There are many painful scenes to watch in this film, scenes that make the pain and cruelty of slavery so vivid, despite the fact that it's constitutional legitimacy and legal standing have been gone in the United States for over 150 years. In fact it feels right at home with the oratory and literature put forth by the abolitionists during the run up to the Civil War. If there was some weird world where cinema and the Antebellum United States coexisted, I could see outraged southerners burning this film and threatening to destroy any theater willing to show it, while the abolitionists from Boston to Lawrence proclaiming its God-given virtue.

I highly recommend that you go watch this film, if it is playing somewhere you can watch it. If not, I recommend you rent it, stream it, or buy it as soon as it comes out on DVD, Netflix, etc... It's a film that should be watched by everyone to not forget the horribleness and degradation of both slave, master, and those who were willing to support, or at least unwilling to stand up against, this most undemocratic of practices.

* For more cinematic information on this story, you can make a decent trilogy out of this film, Glory, and Lincoln.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: Captain Phillips

So Fall 2013 is shaping up to be a pretty great time to go to the movies. Opening a week after the tense, gripping, and highly recommended Gravity, Paul Greengrass' Captain Phillips is almost as tense and gripping, and just as good of a movie.

I have to be honest that I wasn't looking forward to this. Frankly, I was kind of underwhelmed by the trailer. I guess it really wasn't so bad of a trailer, but considering it was the same exact trailer played before most of the movies I've watched since May, it grated on my nerves after a while. Still, I changed my mind about seeing it after reading some good reviews.

And I'm glad I did.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: Gravity

Look, I understand why people don't go to the movies these days. With DVRs, Netflix/Hulu/Amazon, iTunes Season Passes, and many other ways to get our entertainment at our fingertips, a trip to the local cineplex seems less essential than ever. Even a non 3D ticket often pushes $10 these days, especially when you are in major metro areas. And those 3D tickets cost a couple dollars more, even more for an IMAX showing. Why blow a month's worth of streaming on a ticket to a movie, particularly when it's Clash of the Beige Generic Monsters, or Jack and the Beige Giants.

And frankly, who could blame you? For the most part, movies have failed to figure out how to use 3D. It isn't that it is impossible to use successfully, Avatar showed how well it could be used to enhance the experience, and Pixar and Dreamworks Animation has used it to add depth to their movies. Still, many movies, whether filmed for 3D, or done in post production, have failed to take advantage of it.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: Prisoners

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

If you saw the trailer or commercials for Prisoners, you pretty much have the gist of what is going on. The youngest daughters of two families are abducted, Jake Gyllenhaal is the investigator charged with finding them, Paul Dano is the weird guy with the RV who is kidnapped and tortured by Hugh Jackman, assisted (or at least not opposed) by Terrence Howard and Viola Davis. Fortunately, they kept the result of Jackman's brutal beating of Dano out, something that isn't the case in the actual film.

The political allegory of this film is not subtle, boiling down pretty much to "torture is bad and pointless, m'kay?" I guess the secondary message would be that torture is useless when dealing with a mentally challenged and psychologically scarred person who may not be guilty. Or that those who stand by and let monstrous behavior happen are just as guilty as those who do it. Either way, these points aren't very subtle, and neither is Hugh Jackman's performance.

Fortunately the movie is saved by Gyllenhaal's performance. You can feel the stress get to him, as the sleepless nights pile up and the frustration mounts. He's had a perfect record with his cases, but you can tell it's not about the performance, but about finding those kids. When it appears that all is lost, and he thinks he has blown the case, he goes off the rails in a completely understandable, yet scary way.

Beyond that, the cinematography was great. It captured that dreary feeling of late November, made worse by the tragic events that were unfolding on screen. To me, it seems almost criminal that Roger Deakins (look at his impressive filmography) has never won an Academy Award. Although not as epic or as colorful as some of his other work, this works just as well  for the needs of this film. In a couple places, there are dark holes that characters have to jump down into. In both cases, they are shot so you see nothing but the empty darkness. It was foreboding and scary, particularly after the scene with all of the snakes writing around in trunks.

This was not a great movie, but it was worth seeing. Like too many movies these days, it is far too long. Just because Peter Jackson does it, doesn't mean every movie needs to be 2.5-3 hours long.

As the fall season kicks into gear, with Gravity coming out this weekend, it will likely get lost in the shuffle. It's worth checking out just for Gyllenhall's performance and the cinematography. If you haven't seen it already, I would suggest waiting a few months until it comes out on Blu-Ray/DVD or until its available on your streaming service / premium cable network of choice.

Rated R 153 minutes

Monday, September 23, 2013

Recap of the Emmy Awards

So, yeah....the Emmy Awards aired last night. Granted, most of the time I was primarily focused on the Bears vs. Steelers game, which was at first much less painful, then became far too close, to the point that I turned it off because I didn't care to watch them blow a 3 TD lead. Of course, some of the weird filler crap at the Emmys was so bad that it made me want to turn back to NBC to see Roethlisberger pick apart Chris Conte again. Death seemed to hover over the entirety of the broadcast, with long tributes to various actors that died in the last year, plus Carrie Underwood singing "Yesterday" (Released in 1965) to commemorate the broadcast of Kennedy's assassination (1963, of course). This was in addition to the usual "In Memoriam" segment. Now remembering these actors, who are gone but not forgotten is not a problem. However, could you have shown some of their work?

I don't know why I care about these awards (or any awards) for that matter. They should matter to me about as much as they do Ron Swanson*, although perhaps they'd mean more if the right people won them. In some cases they did (Tony Hale, Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad), in other places the wrong person/show won (Modern Family for anything it won, Jeff Daniels), and others someone won who deserved it, although in the process shutting out someone who also deserved it (Julia Louis-Dreyfus beating out Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Lena Dunham, and Laura Dern for Best Actress in a Comedy).

I still can't believe that Amy Poehler and Jon Hamm have yet to win an Emmy. Part of the problem is tough competition, especially with Hamm. Having to go up against Bryan Cranston almost every year is never an easy thing to do. With Poehler, I wonder if the character of Leslie Knope is just not the type of character that tends to win these awards. Both Mad Men and Parks & Recreation, home to two of the best ensembles on TV right now, have never won a single acting Emmy. I'm not sure how that happened, but there it is.

I suppose it's nothing new. It took until this year for Bob Newhart to win an Emmy (for guesting on The Big Bang Theory). The characters of Leslie Knope, Don Draper, Ron Swanson, and Michael Scott have exactly zero wins to their name. The Wire was never even nominated for Best Drama. Of course, animated series are completely ignored. I'm sure you can go back through the years and find many other examples (such as Bob Newhart).

So another year is down, and we can forget about the snubs, while remembering the few that they actually got right for a little while longer. Then next year, when the nominations come out, we can gripe again how Nick Offerman was criminally ignored, Modern Family is over-represented, and figure out who's going to beat Jon Hamm and Amy Poehler...again. And hopefully, the awards show won't take place the same night as the penultimate episode of the Best Drama winner's series, and a Bears game.

*A character that has netted Nick Offerman no nominations, let alone wins. One of the best comedy characters out there can't get a nomination because it's apparently guild rules that 67% of the spots go to Modern Family actors.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: The Family

While watching The Family, I was struck by how similar it was in ways to one of my favorite movies. No, not Goodfellas, although there was the obligatory reference to the film. Instead it was The Incredibles. Now granted, the Parrs were routinely moved around because of the country's disdain for their former heroes, not because he was a snitch against the mob. And in the Pixar film, only Bob seemed to have the problem of reverting to his old ways, as opposed to the family in The Family. Oh, and I'll have to watch The Incredibles again to confirm this, but I'm pretty sure none of the characters went around dropping f-bombs. Nevertheless, there was still a familiarity there, particularly with Tommy Lee Jones as the put upon government official who keeps having to cover the tracks of the violent family.

I wish it was as good as The Incredibles. It felt kind of half-baked, alternating between light-hearted "fish out of water" comedy with deadly-serious violence. Sometimes this works pretty well, but more often it is just confusing and jumbled. In addition, I can't imagine even a valuable and politically connected witness like Robert DeNiro's character would be able to get away with some of the crap he was doing.

I wouldn't call it a total waste of time, as there were a few good chuckles. For a movie from the doldrums of early September it was fine. I'd say it's worth checking out once it comes out on Blu-Ray and DVD, or if you are just itching to see a movie and have already seen better ones already.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Summer Movies, Part 3

Now that Labor Day has passed, the summer movie season is officially over. In a few weeks the Fall/Holiday movie season will kick off, and I am eagerly awaiting many movies that will be coming out this fall. However, that is another post, as this one is for taking a breather and looking back at the last group of movies I watched this summer. Despite only having one "summer blockbuster" in this batch, it was probably my favorite set, as some of my favorite movies of the summer were in this group.

The Wolverine
Eh, it wasn't too bad, bub. That seems to be the theme of the movies this summer, as most of the movies I've seen have been OK, but not anything great. The most interesting thing about this movie is it sets up the next X-Men movie that sounds like it could be an absolute flustercuck.

The Way Way Back
I really liked this film. In fact, it almost felt like it was manufactured for the express purposes of me enjoying it. In other words, it kind of felt at times like a paint-by-numbers coming of age story with "quirky" characters. However, the performances of the cast (especially Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney) are anything but cookie-cutter, and its still an enjoyable story.

We're the Millers
This would probably be my vote for surprise of the summer, as it turned out to actually have some fairly funny parts. Considering how awful the trailer was (the Red Band one was a bit better), the fact that it was merely decent makes it a welcome surprise. Again, the cast plays a big role in making this work, especially Nick Offerman.

Jobs
I almost forgot I saw this film. It wasn't too bad, although it seemed a bit second rate at times. Josh Gad was pretty good as Steve Wozniak, and Kutcher's Jobs was actually fairly decent. It wasn't quite as enjoyable as Pirates of Silicon Valley. I wonder how much better Aaron Sorkin's will be, assuming that ever gets made.

Blue Jasmine
I'm pretty certain this is the first Woody Allen film I've ever seen in a theater*. Definitely one of my favorites of the summer, although definitely not an uplifting film. All of you Louis CK completeists will want to check this out, as he makes a rare cinematic appearance in this one. I would gather this is probably worth a longer post, once I get a chance to see it again.

The World's End
I actually saw this before Blue Jasmine, but I figured I would save the best for last. This was definitely my favorite movie of the summer. In fact, I think it might be my favorite entry in the Cornetto Trilogy**. It's definitely the most mature and reflective of the three movies. More importantly, it's damn funny, in several different ways. Like the other two movies in the trilogy, this one is a gold mine for quotes, many of which are most certainly not PG-13***. Although I'm not quite as old as the characters in the story, it still resonated with me, and the end...yeah...the end. I can see how this might not be a favorite of a lot of people, but I really like the ending. If you can, I recommend you see this with someone who has no idea what the hell the Cornetto Trilogy is, has never seen the other two movies, and assumes this is just a small foreign film about some schoolyard chums getting back together for a night of drinking and self-reflection.****

Recommendations
Blue Jasmine
The World's End
The Way Way Back

My Favorite Five of the Summer
5. Blue Jasmine
4. Monsters University
3. The Heat
2. The Way Way Back
1. The World's End

*I have yet to delve deeply into his films. The only one I own is Midnight in Paris, although I really liked Manhattan and Annie Hall.
**Yes I'm aware that this might be fightin' words with the other member of this blog. I don't care.
***The rough standard I try to maintain on this blog. Please don't go back through the archives to prove me wrong.
****Yes, that totally is what this is. Totally. Mm-hmm.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Some random thoughts on Breaking Bad's "Peekaboo"

WARNING: Breaking Bad spoilers below

This past week or so I've been watching Breaking Bad on Netflix, partially to get ready for the final episodes. I don't think I'll make through season five, as I'm just now on season two's "Peekaboo". Still, I'm enjoying going back through the episodes as far forward as I can get the next couple of days..
I don't know if I really have a favorite episode of Breaking Bad. Because of it being heavily serialized, I don't tend to think of it in purely episodic terms, and instead tend to remember favorite scenes or moments in the show.

However, if I had to pick an episode, "Peekabo" would probably be near the top of my list. When I started watching the series, I enjoyed it from the beginning, but it wasn't until this episode that where it was going really clicked into place. It was here that Jesse's humanity started to come through, as seen in dealing with that poor kid and the hands down winners of "Albuquerque's Worst Parents" award. Before this episode, all Jesse was to me was the unlucky screw-up who was in over his head. Obviously, he has done some absolutely terrible shit as time has gone on*, but there is still some level of humanity in him, to the point that I hope against hope there is some redemption out there for him.

Conversely, this is the episode where Walter really started showing himself to be Heisenberg at heart. Before this, it was conceivable that Walter was a genuinely good man, driven to do terrible shit because of a desperate need to provide for his family. However, his meeting with Gretchen Schwartz showed that perhaps Heisenberg has always been inside of Walter, as opposed to being a recent creation. I recall thinking before I saw this episode that Walter was just being stubborn in refusing help from his former associate and friends**. After that encounter, where Walter dropped the F-bomb at Gretchen, his reasons became much clearer. It isn't like this was the first time he had shown the rage and anger bubbling beneath his chemistry teaching surface, but it sure was the first time I saw how deep that resentment and sense of betrayal went. He wouldn't cross the line from Tyrion*** to Tywin**** until he let Jane die, but he stepped a lot closer to it*****.

*Walter may have killed Jane with his negligence, but Jesse helped her fall off the wagon. Also, let's not forget he killed Gale the Superdork. 
**Also, I rationalized that him accepting their help would have made this one boring show. Unless it became a The Office style comedy starring Badger, Saul Goodman, and Skinny Pete. 
***A flawed, but sympathetic character who does some awful things, mainly out of desperation, but who also does some pretty bad-ass things.
****A character you are actively rooting against, but enjoy watching do their thing.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Summer Movies, Part Two

OK, let's move on to part two.

Man of Steel
I kind of enjoyed the latest edition of Superman, at least while I was watching it. However, there really wasn't much that stuck in my head, other than mulling over exactly how insane Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) was in the movie. Oh yeah, and thinking about how the Smallville Casey's will be getting a lot more business.* Perhaps they can use some of the more problematic elements (such as the incredibly high death toll/property damage) in the sequel.

Monsters University
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this, considering from its trailer it looked rather middle of the road. Please stay tuned for a longer post about the latest adventure of Mike and Sulley.

Much Ado About Nothing
Who follows a top grossing summer Blockbuster with a barebones rendition of Shakespeare shot at his house? Joss Whedon, that's who. There isn't much value beyond watching some of your favorite Whedonverse regulars play at Shakespeare, and some inspired physical comedy from Amy Acker and Alexis Denisov. Which was good enough for me.

White House Down
I still contend that Roland Emmerich's big, dumb summer movies are in a different league than the typical big, dumb summer movie**. With one exception*** I've enjoyed every one of his movies, even if they are full of implausible science, magical "technology", and ridiculously over the top set pieces. White House Down did not disappoint, although it wasn't quite as good as some of its summer brethren. Still, it has one of my favorite over the top movie lines ever.

The Heat
So far, this is the funniest movie I've seen all year. Yeah, the plotting is far too beholden to typical "buddy cop" cliches. However, that is secondary to the performances by Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock. When you watch this, be on the lookout for a cameo by Paul Feig, the director of the movie.

Despicable Me 2
Eh, this wasn't too bad, and a few parts were pretty inspired. Like the first one, this one felt like they had a edgier film in there somewhere, before those edges were smoothed over by committee thinking and screen tests. The minions had some good moments, particularly towards the end (you'll know it when you see it). I can't see a movie based around them being very good.

The Lone Ranger
This was definitely a weird movie at times. There certainly were parts I enjoyed, and I'm not going to try to dissuade you from seeing it*****. However, I can't forgive the movie for holding the Promontory Point ceremony in Texas (hundreds of miles from the actual site in Utah), or for playing a anachronistic "Stars and Stripes Forever". C'mon, Mr. Verbinski, couldn't you at least use a contemporary march. Considering this was right after the Civil War, there were plenty that could have been used.

Pacific Rim
Holy crap, a big popcorn movie that ISN'T a sequel or reboot of a franchise? That's a real shocker. Like many movies this summer, it wasn't as original as it could have been. After all, this is a Guillermo Del Toro film, so you kind of expect more. However, I stopped caring about the time one of the giant Jaegars picked up an ocean freighter and...well, you'll just have to see the movie.

R.I.P.D.
Jeff Bridges was fun to watch, as usual, and I enjoyed Mary-Louise Parker as well. Frankly, they seemed like they were picked up out of a much better movie, and placed in some mediocre Ryan Reynolds vehicle. Once again, a pretty great premise was poorly executed. I think the next time I want to see Bridges fart around as a frontier lawman, I'll go with True Grit.

My Recommendations
Monsters University
White House Down
Much Ado About Nothing******
The Heat
Pacific Rim

* You midwesterners know what I'm talking about. After the big fight in Smalltown, you can spot a Casey's in a overhead shot of the town, well away from the battlezone where at least one of its competitors was destroyed.
** See Bay, Michael for more details.
*** Godzilla, for the record. That's a completely forgettable piece of crap.
****For the record, completely out of context: "I CHOOSE THE PEN!"
*****Judging by the box office, the movie doesn't need any help convincing people not to see it.
****** Only if you are a Whedonverse fan.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: Summer Movies, Part One

Who's ready for some thoughts on the Summer movies? Because reviews of movies that have been out for two months is very timely. Oh well, at least I'm not making separate posts for each. I will try to avoid spoilers on some movies, but there is a spoiler coming up for one of them, although you probably already know that if you care about the movie. (Hint: The movie is Star Trek)

Iron Man 3
Iron Man is one of my favorite "comic book" movies. Iron Man 2, although enjoyable, was not nearly as good. I found Iron Man 3 to rest comfortably in the middle. I particularly enjoyed the twist that came part way through the movie, although this is not quite a consensus opinion here at Doctor Strangeblog. The movie probably could have used a bit more coherence with the whole Tony Stark suffers PTSD from the whole flying into a trans-dimensional portal to save the world thing*, but I had a good time watching it, and thought it was pretty funny.  Like all Marvel movies, be sure to stick around until after the credits.

Now You See Me
This one was a big surprise at how much I enjoyed it. Yeah, it was the typical twist upon twist upon twist kind of movie, but considering it was a movie about magicians, that seems to be expected. Fortunately, they didn't play "The Final Countdown" once, or the movie probably would have lost me.

The Great Gatsby
When we are introduced to one of Gatsby's crazy parties for the first time, I'm pretty certain my body almost shut down due to an overwhelming of the senses. I'm also pretty certain that this was the whole reason Baz Luhrmann directed the movie. It's just too bad he didn't show as much enthusiasm for the rest of the movie. The actors did pretty well with what they had, but in the end perhaps this is just a story that is unfilmable. Even though directors beat on against the current, borne back ceaselessly into failure.**

Star Trek Into Darkness
KAAHHHHHNNNNN!!!

Now that is out the way, I enjoyed the movie. Even if it kind of falls apart when you think about after the fact. And it really didn't do that much to stand up against the troubling lack of strong female characters NOT in a Paul Feig directed movie (more on that in part two). Still, it has Scotty, in a trendy club, wearing a suit that is hopelessly out of date. Ever the true engineer, that one.****

After Earth
Why did I see this? I'm not sure, although I'm guessing its because it was there. I can't say the science holds up on this one too well. Although I like to think that it maybe is a sequel to The Happening. Still, I think I'll pass on the next Smith family therapy session. Even if it has killer baboon squads and tigerish animals that attack eagleish birds nests.

This Is the End
I have to say I was enjoying this as a movie even before the whole Apocalypse thing went down. In fact, I almost forgot that was going to happen, until it did happen. What followed was pretty hilarious. Emma Watson definitely stole the show in this one, although pretty much every character had their moment.

Final Verdict:

Go See, if It's Still Playing
This Is The End
Now You See Me
Iron Man 3
Star Trek Into Darkness

Rent it Once It Comes Out
The Great Gatsby

Check it Out If Its On Cable, and Nothing Else Is On
After Earth

Check back later in the week for Part Two. 

*Look, I know that you can't bring The Avengers back in every movie, but what is their threshold for action? Apparently ultraviolent terrorists are not part of their mission. Perhaps the other franchises will shed some light on this. But probably not. Stupid logistics and budgets fudging up the continuity.
**Sorry***
***Not sorry
****That last one is the spoiler I was talking about. Yep, totally that one.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Thoughts on "The Rains of Castamere"

Enjoy your victory now, Lannister Cat, but your time on the downside of the wheel of fortune may yet come. For the night is dark and full of terrors.

SPOILER WARNING FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ THE BOOKS AND HAVEN'T SEEN THE EPISODE. PLEASE DON'T CLICK THROUGH IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED ABOUT BOOK EVENTS THAT TAKE PLACE FROM AFTER THE ONES SEEN IN "THE RAINS OF CASTAMERE". YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.


Saturday, May 18, 2013

Farewell, The Office

When I watch a TV show, whether during its initial run, or marathoning it on Netflix, I always am on the lookout for the "Lincoln Squirrel" moment*. In other words, the point where a show goes from good or very good, to one of my all time favorites. Some of my favorite shows never had this moment, others that moment has become obscured by time, due to me seeing individual episodes long before I watched them in order. For The Office, that moment is as clear as if it just happened. In fact, I remember it so vividly I could justify calling these moments the "Jan and Michael Take a Meeting at Chili's", except for that being too clunky to use.

Unlike many of my favorite shows, I came to The Office early on in its run. My friend had DVR'd the first season of the show, and we had watched them. I was underwhelmed by the pilot, a mostly shot for shot remake of the U.K. edition's pilot. However "Diversity Day", the second episode was a major improvement, and the rest of the season was funny, at least funny enough to keep me interested for a second season.

The second season started off well, with some great episodes like "The Dundies" and "Office Olympics". Clearly the show had hit another level, as it was funnier while also improving the Jim & Pam relationship. The biggest jump in quality was the character of Michael Scott, who was no longer a pale imitation of David Brent.

As much as it had improved, I still wasn't expecting what happened in the "The Client". Yeah, I expected Jan to get angry with Michael's inability to follow her game plan with this important potential client (played by Tim Meadows), and there was plenty of the awkward comedy to be found in her mortification and frustration at what he was doing. Watching the episode again a while back I realized how clearly it was being set up what eventually happened, but that first time through it looked like the usual Michael Scott dumbassery.

And then it happened. Suddenly Michael Scott made that turn, and you realized that he knew what the hell he was doing as a salesman, and how to get close the deal with this very important customer. The show had defied expectations and added depth to Michael Scott without it feeling cheap or undeserved. From then on, I knew that the American version of The Office was a noteworthy companion to its British counterpart. I was hooked for the rest of that season, and for seven more after that.

I could go on about why The Office was such an important show, or how it reflected life so well in the cubicle jungle (even if it got way too cartoonish at times, especially after season five), but far better writers have already done that. Instead I'll just add my own thoughts on what it meant to me. As of this writing in the wee hours of Saturday morning, I've still yet to see the final episode, so I don't have any thoughts to share about the wrap up of the show. Perhaps I'll share them later. From here on out there won't be any rhyme or reason to the paragraphs, just a bunch of disjointed thoughts about this show that I will miss.

The Michael Scott Paper Company arc is season five was eerily similar to a situation I was going through at the time in my own life. No, I hadn't had my "One True Love" shuffled off to Nashua, NH. Also, my situation was closer to Pam (jumping on board with Michael's company because she feared being trapped in a stagnant situation that was not stimulating) than Michael's (a feeling of disrespect by the company he had been so loyal to for so many years). Unfortunately, my situation ended up being closer to Ryan's before he joined the Michael Scott Paper Co. than what happened on the show, but still that arc holds a special significance to me.

Somehow I enjoyed the sentimental Jim and Pam stuff such as "Casino Night" or "The Job" and the awkward humor best exemplified by "Dinner Party". From reading on the Internet, I gather that these tend to be fairly mutually exclusive groups. Also, the people in the latter group are also more likely to think the U.K. version is far superior. While I certainly enjoyed the U.K. version, I prefer the American version, in part because it is closer to my tastes, and in part Michael Scott is a far better character than David Brent. Keep in mind I saw the U.K. version in its entirety several years after the American version had become a favorite show of mine.

Even in the show's weakest years, it still had some great moments, and some of the characters still rose above the problems. The back half of season eight, my least favorite run of the show, still had Florida Stanley. Ellie Kemper as Erin was one of the best things about the later seasons of the show. She brought a great mixture of joy and sadness to a character that could have been an absolute train wreck.

Right from his debut, Creed was funny. He only got better as time went on, and was always good for a laugh, even during the dire Deangelo episodes following Steve Carell's departure. Stanley, Toby, and Meridith were also fairly consistent season to season, with occasions where they'd rise up and steal episodes.

I've wrote about it before, but I can't help but smile every time I think about the end of "The Job". There, I said it, even if it means I have to turn in my "Cynical and Ironic Humor Appreciation" badge at the security desk.

I like Ed Helms, and Andy had his moments during seasons 3,4, and 5, but he sure became annoying after that. Far too often Kevin became too much of an "Idiot Food Monster" and the show suffered for that. Ryan was a useless character after the MSPC arc, but I enjoyed his time as the overwhelmed corporate manager in season four. I have to imagine that is what it kind of feels like to be an executive at NBC.

Catherine Tate could have had a great role on the show. Perhaps she should have been the manager instead of Ed Helms. But far too often they wrote her character like a female David Brent, and it just didn't work. Ditto with trying to turn Andy into a softer Michael Scott.

Michael Scott's seemingly irrational hatred of Toby was one of my favorite aspects of the show. I'm pretty certain most people have that kind of reaction to the annoyance that is corporate HR, at least to a certain extent. Even if we have better relationships with the HR people than Michael had with Toby. On the other hand, perhaps it was just Toby. After all, his replacement was Holly...

Michael Schur is the primary guy behind Parks and Recreation, quite possibly my favorite show of all time. He wrote for The Office during its first four seasons, including some of the best episodes of the show's run. He was a writer on Saturday Night Live during one of my favorite periods of the show, and he was one of the creators of the late, great Fire Joe Morgan. Yet it is his portrayal of Mose Schrute is the first thing I think of when I see his name.

Michael never got to use that baler, so I suppose Darryl can consider that a success.

Here is where I mention Oscar. Phyllis, and Kelly. I don't really have any specific recollections to share, just that the show was richer for having them.

Gabe was both creepy and goofy looking, and occasionally funny. Robert California was a much better character in theory, at least after his hilarious appearance in the season seven finale, than he was in practice. It's OK, James Spader, you were the best part of Lincoln. Plop and little fat Dwight, Jr, I barely knew you. Cathy, you were the most superfluous character in a show that had a guy work in a closet and spoke one or two lines a week. I had to look your name up you were so unimportant.

The mental unraveling of Jan was a thing to behold. It was amazing how she went from this generic professional in the first season to the absolute train wreck of "Dinner Party".

Can't wait for season 17 of Parks and Recreation, when Ann meets her cousin Karen in Utica during Leslie's Presidential campaign.

"Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica."

Angela was far too awful to Andy during their engagement, even if he retroactively deserved it for being such an ass to Erin. Also, that baby poster was freaking terrible. You were one of the bright spots of season nine, and cats are never not funny.

Favorite Episode: (tie) "Dinner Party" and "The Job"
Favorite Season: Season 3
Favorite Story Arc: Michael Scott Paper Company
Least Favorite Episode: The clip show a few seasons back
Least Favorite Season: Season 8

*I'm aware this sounds borderline insane. To explain this would completely derail my heartfelt appreciation of The Office. The short answer is a reference to that moment when I felt The Simpsons stepped over that threshold. Google "Lincoln squirrel Simpsons" and you'll see what I mean.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Dispatches from the Popcorn Theater: Silver Linings Playbook

So it's May, which means it is time for the start of summer movie season. Kicking off this year is Iron Man 3, which I have seen, and which I will be writing about in the next few days. However, before I move on to explosions and CG spectacles of our warm weather months, I have one last movie from the oscar bait season of the fall and winter.

Had things gone differently (read: better) for me in the winter, I would have already seen this (and several other films as well) months ago. Although I had plenty of time, that corresponding freedom came with a severe lack of income, which made going to movies something totally out of the question, especially since every trip to see one would include an hour drive to the theater. I had hoped to write about some movies, both new and old, that I watched on DVD, Netflix, or other means. Unfortunately, it turns out being unemployed doesn't always inspire you to be in a writing mood. But now I have a new job, moved to a new place about five minutes from a 20 screen multiplex, and am looking forward to getting back to the movies.

Lucky for me, that theater just down the street was still playing Silver Linings Playbook when I went to see it a few weeks ago. After watching it, I was glad I had the chance to see it. I enjoyed it thoroughly, although I could see why other people would not exactly like it.

When I first started seeing the trailers and marketing materials for the film, I must admit it wasn't exactly on my short list of winter movies. Had I known the plot of the movie led up to a climactic scene involving a dance competition, I would have definitely left it off my list. On the other hand, had I first heard it was directed by David O. Russell, then I would have been looking forward to it despite the underwhelming trailer and unimaginative in-theater marketing. I ♥ Huckabees is one of my favorite films, and I also enjoyed The Fighter as well.

I enjoyed pretty much every one of the major performances in the film, especially Jennifer Lawrence and Jacki Weaver (the mother of Bradley Cooper's Pat). Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro were pretty great as well, which is a bit of surprise considering how indifferent I usually am to Cooper. I'm pretty certain DeNiro was got nominated for the Oscars because everyone was relieved he gave a good performance for once.

Sometimes the movie was incredibly awkward to watch. This was in part because too often it hit very close to home, but most of the time it was just because it's awkward to watch people lose control or walk around completely self-deluded. Still, many parts of the film were very funny. I'd share the part I thought was the funniest, but it would ruin the climax for you, so you'll just have to see it for yourself.

I recommend seeing this as soon as you can, which in most cases at this point would be on DVD or Blu-Ray. Although I won't go back and alter my Favorite Films of 2013 list, this one definitely fits right in the top 5, behind Moonrise Kingdom, Wreck-It Ralph, and The Avengers.

Next time on Dispatches from the Popcorn Theater: It's Summer Movie Season! Despite the exclamation point, Andrew is a bit underwhelmed by the lineup, but is encouraged by the kick off by Iron Man 3. Tony Stark sure knows how to make an entrance, doesn't he?

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Movies we Love: Pirates of Silicon Valley



While out in Silicon Valley the past week for a job interview, I took advantage of the unlimited mileage on my rental car to drive around. Although one purpose of my driving was to get a feel for the area, in case I got the job, I also had another, more geeky reason. Some people like to search for haunted places, or purchase sketchy maps to find the homes of celebrities. Me, I spent my time driving around looking for the campuses and office buildings of the big Silicon Valley companies. I went by several brick and mortar buildings of companies that to most of us exist only in the ether of the internet: Oracle, Facebook, HP, VM Ware, and the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Most of these were either on my way to and from the airport and interview, or were close to my hotel. A couple I found by accident while looking for a book store. But only one did I make a specific trip out of my way to drive by: the Apple campus bounded by Infinite Loop in Cupertino.

Apple, along with Microsoft, are at the center of Pirates of Silicon Valley, a 1999 made for TV film from TNT. Well, more accurately the center of the film is the story of Steve Jobs (Noah Wyle) and Bill Gates (Anthony Michael Hall), and how their companies fueled the big PC revolution of the 1980s. The bulk of the film takes place in the late 70s and early 80s, and details the formation of both companies, the development of such early PC mainstays as the Macintosh and DOS, and Microsoft's cribbing of the Macintosh to build their first version of Windows, and culminates in Jobs being fired from the company he founded, primarily for being an unhinged asshole. Wrapped around the story is a presentation by Jobs after his return to Apple in 1997, a particularly contentious one where he announced Microsoft buying a stake in Apple. The movie ends with a giant image of Gates on the big presentation screen, much like the giant head from the famous "1984" Apple commercial.

A big part of why I like the film is because of where it ends. Pretty much nobody could have guessed in 1999 that Apple was about to have an even bigger second act. Although Jobs had brought the company out of its dreadful low point in the mid 90s, pretty much everybody thought it was still Microsoft's world to lose. I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel detailing the last decade and a half, with John DiMaggio's Steve Ballmer playing a much larger role, of course. It's a case where being dated (like Back to the Future) helps, rather than hurts, the film.

Beyond that, though, it's a really well done movie, considering it was a made for basic cable movie. This isn't as surprising at it may seem today, as most cable channels have moved to focusing on creating new shows instead of movies. Back in the late 90s, TNT made several competently made movies, the best of which (in my opinion) is Pirates of Silicon Valley. It has some neat tricks, such as Steve Wozniak (Joey Slotnick) explaining how much of a BFD the Graphical User Interface was, or Steve Ballmer stepping out of the scene to highlight the significance of Microsoft selling DOS to IBM. Also, for a film based on true events, it is fairly accurate, which isn't always the case for even the best of these films*.

The best part of the film are the performances. Noah Wyle does an excellent job of not only looking like Jobs, but acting like Jobs. He nails the precarious balance of charismatic brilliance and passionate fury that pretty much made up Jobs. Anthony Michael Hall also does a great job with Bill Gates. The supporting cast does a mostly enjoyable job as well, particularly Joey Slotnick as the cheerful computer wizard Steve Wozniak and John DiMaggio as Gates' eventual successor Steve Ballmer**. What other movie can you see the voice of Bender Bending Rodriguez, Charlie's Mom from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and General Martok from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine? None other that I am aware, that's what.

When I need something to put on while I am working, this is one of my go-to movies. For some reason it allows me to focus on what I'm doing, and motivates me to get it finished. I remember watching it multiple times whenever it showed up on TNT, and I may have even recorded it on VHS at one time, watching it any time I wished as long as I was near a VCR. Eventually I bought it on DVD, and have watched it many times since. Several projects I've worked on have gotten finished in part because I was watching this. While not a requirement for every one of my favorite movies, it plays a big part in why Pirates of Silicon Valley is on that list.

*See The Social Network

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Valloween; Or, Community Returns to Form


Community had a somewhat rocky season 4 premiere last week, but this week's Halloween episode (it was supposed to air October 26th!) "Paranormal Parentage" was a funny, sweet, and a little bit spooky Valentine for fans.

The study group is meeting up at Greendale CC to head to Vicki's awesome Halloween party; Troy and Abed's "Calvin and Hobbes" costumes were absolutely adorable and perfect (seriously, Donald Glover rocked that tiger costume!), and the miscommunication between Jeff (as a boxer) and Annie (who was supposed to be his ring girl, but showed up as the creepy little ghost girl from the movie the Ring) was actually a pretty clever touch. Britta is inexplicably a ham.

Okay: Tangent. I never know whether to expect anything between Annie and Jeff; of course it's been hinted at pretty heavily since the Season 1 finale, but I almost feel like choosing "now" to expand their relationship (or close the lack there-of) would seem a little tired since the writers have already settled on Britta and Troy exploring their relationship. I hate it when shows shoehorn as many couples as possible at one time, especially when it's relationships within the main cast. At any rate, I liked that Annie stood up for herself when Jeff said "are you naive?" and she replied "I'm sure as stuff not your sexy little ring girl!". You go, Annie! That being said, she felt more like her early Community self as opposed to the more confident and clever girl she's (supposedly) grown in to.

The episode itself centers around "rescuing" Pierce from his panic room - along the way, spoooky mishaps happen to the study group as they divide up to search the house and look for the passcode. Could it be the ghost of Pierce's overbearing (and extremely racist) father? Unlike last week, the B and C plots didn't feel rushed or cheap. Britta is intent on solving Jeff's own daddy issues, and Shirley (unintentionally) shakes Troy's confidence in his ability to keep up with Britta. Abed finds the secret security room and watches the events unfold from behind the revolving bookshelf. Annie, in an act of meta so meta that it's just mindblowingly meta, reveals that she hates reference humor. Touche, Community. You do not disappoint. On the whole, though, the humor was somewhat low-key. It's not that most of the jokes didn't land - it's just like the show wasn't even trying to raise the bar humor-wise. It was a comfortable and reassuring "shhhhh, don't let the last episode give you the wrong impression."

Hawthorne Manor was a real treat to finally see - we'd heard so much about it from when Troy was living there, yet it's taken this long to get a proper glimpse of the place. And, of course, Torg the Norwegian Troll is missing from his rightful place on the bookshelf. Much like Pierce himself, the decor is stuck perpetually in the 1980s and giant picture of Chevy Chase Pierce, in his glory days, adorns his bedroom.

Now, I love Community and its doses of whackiness and suspension of disbelief (especially with the Halloween episodes). However, as much as I felt this episode will hopefully be indicative of a season that can only go up from here, I really am looking forward to a plot in the study room, at Greendale, with the characters grounding themselves and dealing with slice-of-life issues. The Study Group has a way of finding and amplifying the craziness among the normal goings-on at Greendale CC and I really like those episodes the most, I think (for example, their extreme and overblown hatred of Todd is really funny to me).

Finally, I love that Britta is ready to start her journey of becoming a Spacetimian.



Friday, February 8, 2013

Abed's Happy Community College Show: a Review

At last! At last! Community has returned to us! And to...semi-disappointed reviews? A slight bump in ratings? Oh...that doesn't sound good.

A lot has happened since Season 3's finale; Creator Dan Harmon was fired by Sony, prompting the hiring of two new Showrunners, Chevy Chase finally showed himself out, NBC only ordered the front half of a season, making Community's 4th season a sure 13 episodes long. Talks of cancellation were abound, and fan groups banded together to spread the word about the show. Adding insult to injury, the show's cries of "we're not too meta and high concept to be enjoyed by everyone!" were drowned out by another "lol look at nerds they're so nerdy! NERDS!" joke on the Big Bang Theory, which gets all the ratings ever.

A lot of the criticism behind the Season 4 opener "History 101" had to do with the "feel" of the show. Now, full (yet possibly redundant) disclosure: I actually haven't watched the episode yet. I wanted to get down these feelings of anxiety and anticipation after hearing word that OMG COMMUNITY ISN'T THE SAME ABANDON SHIP!

That's not fair. I'm going into this, my beloved show, with the hopes that the episode isn't on par with the season as a whole if it is truly bad. On the other hand, I've heard people say that the quality is equal to that of some of Harmon's weaker episodes, so that gives me a little insight as to what to expect.

Well, everyone, give me your hands, show me the door, I cannot stand to wait anymore:

"History 101"

The cold opening was genuinely pretty good; a multi-camera sitcom whitewash (complete with laugh track) that relied completely on identifying things and saying that they were things while whacky hijinks ensue (like everyone showing up with the SAME HIPSTER GLASSES!). I'd like to believe this was a not-so-subtle "Fuck YOU" * to NBC, the Big Bang Theory (as Abed makes some sort of half-hearted nerd joke the likes of which Sheldon Cooper would utter), and maybe the whole idea of the generic Sitcom formula that seems to thrive these days despite having been done to death. We go on to find out that this is Abed's "happy place" inside his mind - he'd started out with a babbling brook, but decided to incorporate aspects of his own life into it. As Abed is established as seeing things through rose colored tv-trope lenses, the show cuts to a meta version of the opening credits (referenced in the title of this blog post). Abed's internal happy place aside, I'm sticking to the idea that the cold open was definitely a message of some sort - would it take Community selling its soul to finally get the ratings it deserves? WOULD THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY, NBC?

Now, that being said, the tone itself does feel a bit off. Not Multi-cam laughtrack off, but there's something happening here that I can't put my finger on (and I'm not talking about Dean Pelton in a dress riding through the cafeteria in a chariot announcing "The Hunger Deans"...that's pretty normal). It's not Jeff's admission of his graduating "early", or New Jeff at all, or Abed's brink of mental breakdown at the idea that the Study Group has only a limited amount of time together. Is it the directing? The lighting? The cinematography? Was the catering spread subpar?

Is it because the group dynamic is broken up so early in the episode? The Study Group is barely in one place at the same time, instead opting to show Pierce and Abed side by side, Annie and Shirley together pulling pranks, Britta and Troy being progressive and making wishes, Jeff doing...the tango. Even the "Greendale babies" segment wasn't that out of the ordinary...but at the same time it wasn't hilarious.

Heart? Is the episode missing heart? The organic kind of feeling that this is actually a school, where it took people time to get to, and the people in the background are trying to get to class or eat lunch, and things happen in a way that's only meaningful to the Greendale 7 (and therefore to the audience as well)?

Okay, the ABED TV Blinde/Blonde promo was pretty funny.

"Can somebody tell me what the hell we just did?" I'm kind of confused, too, Pierce. For once, we're on the same page. I mean, the plot makes sense. The jokes are there. But nothing seems finished, or fleshed out. Jeff's characteristic "speech" at the end seems wasted because the episode wasn't set up correctly for it. The reviewers were right; it wasn't a great episode. It could have been so much more, and it should have been.

For all the people I've been bugging to get into Community, I urge you not to judge the series on this episode. Thank you for tuning in and giving it a shot; if possible, please go back and watch the first three seasons. You'll see why I love the show and really want it to thrive to Six Seasons and a Movie, but not at the cost that the latter half of the series loses what makes it so special in the first place.


* Sorry, dad, for the language.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Live from Arkham Asylum (and City)



Sorry I haven't contributed much to this blog (or any of mine, for that matter) lately - aside from just being in a general Cabin fever funk I've been catching up on my neglected Steam library.

A few months ago I purchased Arkham Asylum GOTY and Arkham City GOTY on Steam during one  particularly awesome sale. There they sat, undownloaded, unused, with the likes of Bioshock 2, Star Wars KOTOR, and Sonic the Hedgehog (I'm reeeaally behind, you guys) among others.

On a whim I decided to play through Asylum, knowing it had gotten rave reviews and was considered to be one of the best superhero video games ever made. What followed was a marathon of play-through, sleep, and searching for Riddler clues without using the various secret maps if I could help it. I quickly found that my favorite tactic was the inverted takedown, where I, as Batman, take down various gun-wielding thugs by stringing them up by the ankles from a gargoyle. Usually by the time I cleared a room a nice pile of inmates had formed under one of them, a look of grotesque satisfaction upon the gargoyle's face that mirrored my own. (This screenshot is from City, actually.)
Asylum was particularly fun in that the gameplay was almost surreal in a sense; the first fight against the two Titans was probably one of the most amusing and anxiety-ridden game fights I've ever had. I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing, and was especially confused when one Titan starting beating up another Titan. The confusion was replaced with joy once I realized I could ride around on their backs and destroy stuff. I imagined Batman's internal monologue to be along the lines of "wheeeeeeee!".

Having won the game by putting the ADD ridden Joker back in his place (Hahaha Batman I will defeat you!..Is that Jack Ryder's helicopter?) I finished the Riddler challenges...and found out that none of my achievements had been registered neither by Windows Live nor Steam.

Now I'm in the middle of Arkham City and find myself frustrated by the prospect that I (as Batman) may be dying of Joker AIDs. Apparently overdosing on a formula that turns one into a giant supermonster with bones sticking out all willy nilly does a number to the body.  The prospect of the Joker dying is actually really, really depressing to me - I mean, he's a psychopath and all around asshole and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, but it's still kinda sad. However, I had read awhile back that Mark Hamill was retiring from voicing the Clown Prince of Crime after City and I could see no better send-off than letting the Joker go out with a bang. And Joker AIDs, which he has spread to about 2000 people in Gotham, apparently.  (Full Disclosure: AIDs is never funny. However, the Joker does many things in poor taste, so I deemed it appropriate to refer to his mysterious illness in the game as such.)

The only issues I've had game-play wise with City were controls. It's taken a bit of finagling to accommodate easy to access controls using a laptop (without a mouse) but I think I've got it figured out now. Prior to the control modification I had come to the conclusion that I would not make a very good Batman (for many of the same reasons outlined here). That, and the fact that Andrew pointed out that I would never get through saying anything in the "Bale voice" without laughing hysterically.

I've therefore made the decision to repeat all of Batman's lines with aforementioned gravelly, ridiculous voice.

That's all for now; I've got some political prisoners to rescue!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

From inside the snowglobe: Continuity and Fictional Universes

Note: On Occasion, we will be reposting updated posts from the Quo Vadimus, the first iteration of this blog. Some might say this is because we're out of ideas, and they may be right. Just as accurately, we feel these posts are worthy of the "high standards" of Doctor Strangeblog, and deserve being exposed to you, our readers. We considered also editing the posts for content and to better cultivate our ideas, but we decided to keep the posts as they are, warts and all. In other words, we don't cotton to Special Editions around here.

Originally Posted: September 6, 2012

If you look at the majority of my favorite TV shows, most are serialized to some extent. They range from fully serialized shows such as Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, to Star Trek: DS9 which has standalone episodes, but is dominated by a clear serialized storyline. Even Futurama, which isn't all that serialized in many episodes, has a clear line of continuity and a few multiseason arcs. Of my most favorite shows, only The Simpsons and Newsradio really don't have any serialized elements.

I'm not entirely sure why I favor serialization of more episodic shows. I think it's because I love getting enveloped by the mythology and back story, and abhor the usual repetition and note hitting of largely episodic procedural shows such as Law and Order, CSI, and NCIS. Frankly, they are tedious and slow to me, much in the way many people think about shows like Mad Men.

Of course, because I enjoy Continuity and Serialization so much, it can cause a bit of consternation with some of my favorite shows. The fact is in most cases us fans care much more about this crap than the show creators do. This isn't always the case, particularly the auteur shows like Mad Men or Breaking Bad. However, there are plenty of holes out there. For example, let's talk about The West Wing. Sure, there is a nice story arc for most of the characters through its entire seven season run. Sure, the length of Jed and Leo's friendship varied over time, but that was explainable. However, a bit less explainable* is that sad magical village known as Mandyville. Here former media consultant Mandy disappeared to without explanation after the first season. Also disappearing into this land were Republican Ainsley Hayes, youngest daughter of the President Zoey Bartlet, and several other secondary and tertiary characters. Obviously the most famous resident of Mandyville was Sam Seaborn, who just disappeared without explanation part way through the fourth season. Granted, both Ainsley and Sam came back from Mandyville at the end of the series, but it still was a bit frustrating. I know, I know, magic xylophone and a wizard did it and such**.

Also, it's interesting how quickly you can go down a very deep rabbit hole when thinking about show universes. For example, although there are obvious animation and creative similarities between The Simpsons and Futurama, the former is considered a fictional part of the latter's universe. This is partly because there are Bart dolls amongst the trash asteroid that was threatening Earth in one of the episodes. Your brain twists even more if you've seen a latter-day episode of The Simpsons where Bender makes a cameo. Of course, the best explanation is that The Simpsons is a stupid-age show running during Futurama, and Bender's "cameo" was during one of his short periods of in universe notoriety. Then again, the only references to The Simpsons are from the present day, not in the Futurama timeline (3000-3012). Yeah, I've spent too much time (read: any time) thinking about this crap.

Of course, I would be remiss if I talked about continuity and show universes and left out St. Elsewhere. The amount of connections that could theoretically exist and relate to the end of that series is absolutely astonishing, and there is even a "hypothesis" about this. Obviously this is going way too far, and clearly wasn't the intention of the writers of the show***. Still, it can be fun at times to think about this stuff.

Although it was one of the few shows that didn't have a connection to that St. Elsewhere finale, one episode of Newsradio did parody that ending***. Which I suppose should be appropriate considering that show's lack of serialization. In the end all of this stuff, even the really well tuned and serialized stuff, is fake. They are all constructs of fiction, perpetuated by fans and (for the forseeable future) by the copyright owners. Unlike our universe, these can be extinguished by us forgetting about them, or expanded into additional universes, where different possibilities and timelines exist. Hell, perhaps our universe is just a fictional construct of some other beings. Eh, whatever, as long as we aren't in the darkest timeline.



*It is less explainable in-universe. Obviously real world situations explain about every one of these.
**If you don't get these references, then God, Jed, I don't want to know you. Or you are twelve, and thinks The Simpsons is that so-so show before Family Guy.
***Or maybe they just want you to think that's the case. The truth is out there, man.
****I would have loved to point you to a clip of that ending, but I couldn't find it during a short search.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

There Goes the Funcooker: Saying Goodbye to 30 Rock




In 2006, two shows premiered on NBC. One was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, the other 30 Rock. Both shows dealt with the behind-the-scenes happenings on sketch comedy shows. Studio 60 was Aaron Sorkin's return to television, while 30 Rock was Tina Fey's first big project since leaving Saturday Night Live. Sorkin's show was riding a lot of buzz generated by its excellent pilot that brought to mind Network. The pilot for 30 Rock, on the other hand, was roundly panned as being rather mediocre bordering on bad. I hadn't seen the 30 Rock pilot, but I loved the Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip pilot. I thought for sure that Sorkin had hit gold again, and a deserving successor to The West Wing had been found. If I even thought about 30 Rock, it was how it was likely to run through 13 episodes, maybe even a full season because of Lorne Michaels sway, and get cancelled.

Blergh, was I wrong.

Studio 60 ended up being far more "Bad Sorkin" than "Good Sorkin", and ignominiously bowed out after one season. These days it is rarely brought up, other than as evidence along with The Newsroom to show how "Bad Sorkin" has taken over his TV projects. The only time I think about the show is when Jeff Daniels is bitching about those young folks and their technology, when I remember how stupid it was Nate Corddry's parents didn't recognize Abbott and Costello, and when I listen to the admittedly great version of "O Holy Night" from the Christmas episode*.

Meanwhile, 30 Rock became one of my favorite shows, with Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy becoming two of my favorite characters of all time. Yeah, the pilot was not great, but it very quickly gathered its momentum, and was firing on all cylinders within a few episodes in the first season. The unhinged craziness of Tracey Morgan and Jane Krakowski worked wonders in contrast to the grounded craziness of Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin and the weird cheerfulness of Jack McBrayer. Beyond the big five characters, the rest of the group, including Scott Adsit and Judah Friedlander, helped flesh out the show. If those still weren't enough, the show had many great guest stars, ,such as Dean Winters, Jon Hamm, Will Arnett, and many others. Oftentimes it was the funniest show on television.

The core of the show was the relationship between Jack Donaghy and Liz Lemon. It was a special relationship, and fairly unique in that it was a friendship between a man and a woman character that didn't descend into "will they or won't they" nonsense. This seems to be a pretty rare thing, although more frequent in recent years with others like Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson, or Don Draper and Peggy Olson. I'm glad they never tried to force that situation, because it worked so much better as a platonic friendship.

And now, after seven seasons, it's time to say farewell to the show. Although I am sad to see it go, I am happy to say it is leaving strong. Unlike many shows, such as The Office, it is going out on its own terms, before it gets too stale. Although the show did get a bit weak (at times) in the middle of its run, it has rebounded to be consistently great the past couple of seasons. Of course, they have yet to stick the landing, so perhaps you'll see me on here tomorrow decrying the awfulness of Seinfeldesque proportions of the finale. Given the show's track record, I'm confident that won't happen.


*As annoying as the show could be, this was still a pretty great moment. Oh, the episode Allison Janney guest starred in was pretty good as well, if I recall.