This is a little taste of the stuff I'm writing for TV Geek Army. On the site, we're going a series of posts about what could be the best TV show of 2010, and my nomination is Community. Enjoy, and definitely check out the site. There are some writers there who are certainly much better than I am. Here it is:
My nomination for best TV show of 2010 is "Community". Community has really been coming into its own this year, and it's clearly become one of the most consistently sharp and well-written comedies on TV. It's always ambitious - trying things like bottle episodes and animated musical episodes in only its second season. And it makes a great ensemble cast work despite having Chevy Chase, one star who threatens to tower over the rest of the show.
The show began its first season looking pretty formulaic - it seemed to be heading in the direction of a standard two-lead romantic sitcom, with the early plotlines of Joel McHale's Jeff eagerly chasing Gillian Jacobs' Britta. They also made a lot of jokes about the dire plight of all of the characters in being in community college in the first place. While that's part of the inherent humor of the show, it did feel cheap. But this season is completely different. The show has found its sweet spot of character-related humor, supported by an excellent ensemble cast. This is certainly a show for which the watcher would benefit from having watched all of it, because the characters are designed so wonderfully, and so much humor is gotten from knowing them all well. When the great writing is combined with the great characters, that makes almost every line a laugh-out-loud moment.
I have great hopes for "Community". It's on a roll right now, and as the characters grow, the show can only get better. But for now, it was without a doubt the best show of 2010.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
A Nice Movie Streak I Had
Last week I went on a pretty great movie streak. I saw 7 movies in 5 days between Tuesday and Saturday. This was, I think, the second best movie streak I've ever had after 8 movies in 8 days last summer. I guess that's kind of weak, but hey, I'm still young. So I thought, since I don't have much better to write about, that I'd give some brief little reviews of all these movies that I just saw, and I will for once try to keep them brief (that means no synopses people! Look them up yourself!). Maybe you'll discover something good.
Tuesday:
Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) - This was the best movie of the streak. This documentary, a look into the international world of street art directed by its foremost figure, the notorious and mysterious Banksy, transcends its label. It's by far the best documentary I've ever seen (sorry, "Helvetica") because it has not one moment which feels teachy, and there is a compelling human story which is not only reported on by the movie, but is created by the movie. It stays captivating throughout like you would think only a scripted movie could.
Wednesday:
Melvin Goes to Dinner (2003) - Definitely a unique movie. This is basically one big long dinner conversation, with only some flashbacks (excellent cameo opportunities for David Cross and Jack Black!) interspersed in between. So it certainly does get slow, and if you have a terrible attention span this might not be the movie for you (believe me, I'm really on that spectrum too) but the conversation is interesting and witty. My credit to the writer Bob Odenkirk for keeping this movie bearable.
Thursday:
The Joneses (2010) - I enjoyed this movie a lot more than the critics did. The environment was really well set up, David Duchovny's performance was outstanding, and the themes came through really well. It dealt with both consumerism and family, and was able to go into both of these really well. And that setting of the snobby suburbs wasn't quite as well done as in, say, "Edward Scissorhands" or "Weeds", but it's definitely up there. This movie is highly recommended by me.
Up (2009) - Pretty overrated, in my opinion. Yeah it was really sad, more sad than even I expected after hearing miles about it. But I thought the story was pretty weak by Pixar standards, and parts were way melodramatic for my liking. Still a good movie, but I certainly had my reservations.
Friday:
Igby Goes Down (2002) - I found this one pretty unbearable. I had high expectations because it was compared to "Cather in the Rye", "The Graduate", and, one of my favorites, "Rushmore". It also stars Keiran Culkin, who I loved in "Scott Pilgrim". But the movie was godawful! Nothing ever happens. Really, nothing. Please don't bother.
Signs (2003) - This was my first exposure to the work of M. Night Shyamalan, but I had heard enough about him to... well I don't have time to think of a whatever-it's-called (metaphor? analogy? I can't keep this shit straight). Supposedly his work has gone downhill since this movie, but I found this one entirely pleasurable, and I particularly noticed his direction as a plus. What he did amazingly was show the small town in which the movie takes place gradually be overtaken by dread over the extraterrestrial occurences that are taking place. My biggest problem might have been Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix as brothers - they're 18 years apart in age and look nothing alike, and that annoyed me the whole time.
Saturday:
Brick (2005) - This one was also really unique and interesting. It was made as an homage to noir mysteries, but it turned out to actually be exactly like those stylistically. But when it was put against the setting, a high school with all of the social classes that it has, it made a fascinating result. The movie was also helped tremendously by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who gave a great performance in the lead detective role as he was just breaking onto the scene.
Conclusions have never been my strongest suit in writing. So that's it I guess.
Tuesday:
Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) - This was the best movie of the streak. This documentary, a look into the international world of street art directed by its foremost figure, the notorious and mysterious Banksy, transcends its label. It's by far the best documentary I've ever seen (sorry, "Helvetica") because it has not one moment which feels teachy, and there is a compelling human story which is not only reported on by the movie, but is created by the movie. It stays captivating throughout like you would think only a scripted movie could.
Wednesday:
Melvin Goes to Dinner (2003) - Definitely a unique movie. This is basically one big long dinner conversation, with only some flashbacks (excellent cameo opportunities for David Cross and Jack Black!) interspersed in between. So it certainly does get slow, and if you have a terrible attention span this might not be the movie for you (believe me, I'm really on that spectrum too) but the conversation is interesting and witty. My credit to the writer Bob Odenkirk for keeping this movie bearable.
Thursday:
The Joneses (2010) - I enjoyed this movie a lot more than the critics did. The environment was really well set up, David Duchovny's performance was outstanding, and the themes came through really well. It dealt with both consumerism and family, and was able to go into both of these really well. And that setting of the snobby suburbs wasn't quite as well done as in, say, "Edward Scissorhands" or "Weeds", but it's definitely up there. This movie is highly recommended by me.
Up (2009) - Pretty overrated, in my opinion. Yeah it was really sad, more sad than even I expected after hearing miles about it. But I thought the story was pretty weak by Pixar standards, and parts were way melodramatic for my liking. Still a good movie, but I certainly had my reservations.
Friday:
Igby Goes Down (2002) - I found this one pretty unbearable. I had high expectations because it was compared to "Cather in the Rye", "The Graduate", and, one of my favorites, "Rushmore". It also stars Keiran Culkin, who I loved in "Scott Pilgrim". But the movie was godawful! Nothing ever happens. Really, nothing. Please don't bother.
Signs (2003) - This was my first exposure to the work of M. Night Shyamalan, but I had heard enough about him to... well I don't have time to think of a whatever-it's-called (metaphor? analogy? I can't keep this shit straight). Supposedly his work has gone downhill since this movie, but I found this one entirely pleasurable, and I particularly noticed his direction as a plus. What he did amazingly was show the small town in which the movie takes place gradually be overtaken by dread over the extraterrestrial occurences that are taking place. My biggest problem might have been Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix as brothers - they're 18 years apart in age and look nothing alike, and that annoyed me the whole time.
Saturday:
Brick (2005) - This one was also really unique and interesting. It was made as an homage to noir mysteries, but it turned out to actually be exactly like those stylistically. But when it was put against the setting, a high school with all of the social classes that it has, it made a fascinating result. The movie was also helped tremendously by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who gave a great performance in the lead detective role as he was just breaking onto the scene.
Conclusions have never been my strongest suit in writing. So that's it I guess.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Solitude Is Bliss
If only you could see the conditions in which I live a lot of the time...
Especially with things related to this blog... Most of the time when I'm writing, or when I'm watching TV shows and movies and listening to music to write about, I lie on my bed with the door closed and the light off, just my computer and me savoring the darkness and loneliness. I do enjoy it, though.
Coincidentally, there are two awesome songs that have been in heavy rotation on the soundtrack of my life that talk about loneliness, and even in a bit of a positive light, the type that I was talking about.
Check them out after the jump...
Especially with things related to this blog... Most of the time when I'm writing, or when I'm watching TV shows and movies and listening to music to write about, I lie on my bed with the door closed and the light off, just my computer and me savoring the darkness and loneliness. I do enjoy it, though.
Coincidentally, there are two awesome songs that have been in heavy rotation on the soundtrack of my life that talk about loneliness, and even in a bit of a positive light, the type that I was talking about.
Check them out after the jump...
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
I Love Great Writing
This is going to be the shortest post so far in the short history of this blog. I just wanted to say that "Community" and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" are both on incredible hot streaks right now. It's really a gift to see such sharp writing on a weekly basis. Sunny's season is almost over, but hopefully Parks and Rec will come back strong and keep the trend going.
That's just what's making me happy.
So this post isn't a total waste, this is an awesome song. Enjoy.
That's just what's making me happy.
So this post isn't a total waste, this is an awesome song. Enjoy.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Scott Pilgrim
I saw the Scott Pilgrim movie in theaters back when it first came out. It was pretty fun. I saw it with my friend who was obsessed with the books, and he dressed up and all. Pretty sweet. The movie is one of the most unique I've ever seen. It's completely ADD, always jumping around and it has all these crazy visual effects. It's pretty unprofessional actually, but it works. I just saw the movie again, it was my first iTunes movie rental ever (and, for new releases, those things are damn expensive. 4 bucks to see a movie on my computer? Honestly not worth it). But I liked the movie even more on second watching. Maybe it just took some time for me to get into the world, but either way I'm thinking now that it was a great movie. It probably just moved into my top 5 of the year.
I really want to read the books now, and I think I could become a huge fan of the whole franchise. There's also this song, it actually inspired the books. "Scott Pilgrim" by Plumtree. Plumtree was this awesome Canadian all-girl indie rock band, and this song is pretty sweet. Listen to it below.
I really want to read the books now, and I think I could become a huge fan of the whole franchise. There's also this song, it actually inspired the books. "Scott Pilgrim" by Plumtree. Plumtree was this awesome Canadian all-girl indie rock band, and this song is pretty sweet. Listen to it below.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Top Movie Scenes
I still don't really have anything timely to say. Also I had a hand injury and couldn't type much. But I guess I'm reaching into the bag of things anybody could do, and I'm going to write a list of my favorite movie scenes ever.
This conversational style might be more effective if anybody was actually reading...
Anyway, here is my list. It's not ranked, because Roger Ebert hates that (and I kind of agree with him).
On a side note, I could barely read that whole article. I felt so guilty knowing that I'm taking up about as much web space as Ebert is and I'm such an inferior writer to him. I'll stop moping and start my list now.
Rushmore - The scene where Max first meets Miss Cross
The blocking of this scene is brilliant, certainly the best of any on this list, and that's what makes it so great. This is the scene where Max first speaks to his love interest, first grade teacher Miss Cross. She is smoking on the bleachers, and he on the other side of them. But as the conversation shifts in tone, he physically moves closer to her. When Max gets into a good topic, he slides towards her. And when he thinks he's offended her, he slides away again. This scene inventively puts into images what anybody on an awkward date feels like doing, and once again director Wes Anderson does a fantastic of subtly turning emotion visible.
I couldn't find a video of just this scene, but it is in this video, just around 4 minutes in. But of course, if you haven't seen Rushmore yet, then you should just see the movie because it is that good.
Inglourious Basterds - Opening scene
This is just a wonderful torture scene. Christoph Waltz is soooo good as Hans Landa, the "Jew Hunter", and when he's drinking the milk... chills run down my sping. It's fantastic. By the way you're going to be seeing a lot of Tarantino on this list. Just warning you.
Also, apparently I'm a terrible Youtube researcher, because I couldn't find a video of this scene. If you have anything, please put it in the comments and I'll add it.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Final scene
Until this scene, I was pretty indecisive about my feelings on "Eternal Sunshine". I was confused by it and didn't really feel like there was a point. But all of the point came from this scene. This one scene carried out the message of the entire movie, that it's worth it to have good times with somebody even if you know that the relationship won't end well. It's a beautiful message, and this is a beautiful scene.
I did manage to find a video for this scene, but the quality's absolutely awful (as, if you go to the video's page on Youtube itself, you could see I commented). I can't really understand what anyone's saying, but I'll post it here anyway and wish you luck.
Napoleon Dynamite - Final scene (tetherball)
I suppose this one really isn't too unique. But it's made really sweet just because of who the characters are. Two awkward kids, who had only been gradually drifting together throughout the movie. The shot is really well-done, it stays at the same wide angle the whole time, slowly zooming out. And I love that something so mundane like tetherball can be made into such a romantic experience, actually the climax of this romance as we see it in the movie.
This video is also pretty bad quality, and with this scene more than any I wouldn't think it would make too much sense without the context of the whole movie. But here it is regardless.
Pulp Fiction - Royale with Cheese/Bumping off Brett
This scene is also not that unique, it's just really, really incredibly well done. The dialogue, as it is in this whole movie, is so well-written, and John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson, as they are in this whole movie, are at the tops of their respective games. Also there's a really funny parody of this scene with Bert and Ernie.
I have videos of the two parts of this scene plus the Sesame Street one. These all seem to be in pretty good quality. Then again I didn't watch them all the way through, but they seem alright.
Wayne's World - Bohemian Rhapsody
Need I say more? This scene, which brought Queen's fantastic song back to popularity, is a classic, and it's really funny.
So that's basically the list right now. There are scenes from "Midnight Meat Train" and "Lost in Translation" which deserve honorable mention as well.
Stay tuned, don't forget about the blog because I will write stuff on here. At some point, eventually, yeah.
This conversational style might be more effective if anybody was actually reading...
Anyway, here is my list. It's not ranked, because Roger Ebert hates that (and I kind of agree with him).
On a side note, I could barely read that whole article. I felt so guilty knowing that I'm taking up about as much web space as Ebert is and I'm such an inferior writer to him. I'll stop moping and start my list now.
Rushmore - The scene where Max first meets Miss Cross
The blocking of this scene is brilliant, certainly the best of any on this list, and that's what makes it so great. This is the scene where Max first speaks to his love interest, first grade teacher Miss Cross. She is smoking on the bleachers, and he on the other side of them. But as the conversation shifts in tone, he physically moves closer to her. When Max gets into a good topic, he slides towards her. And when he thinks he's offended her, he slides away again. This scene inventively puts into images what anybody on an awkward date feels like doing, and once again director Wes Anderson does a fantastic of subtly turning emotion visible.
I couldn't find a video of just this scene, but it is in this video, just around 4 minutes in. But of course, if you haven't seen Rushmore yet, then you should just see the movie because it is that good.
Inglourious Basterds - Opening scene
This is just a wonderful torture scene. Christoph Waltz is soooo good as Hans Landa, the "Jew Hunter", and when he's drinking the milk... chills run down my sping. It's fantastic. By the way you're going to be seeing a lot of Tarantino on this list. Just warning you.
Also, apparently I'm a terrible Youtube researcher, because I couldn't find a video of this scene. If you have anything, please put it in the comments and I'll add it.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Final scene
Until this scene, I was pretty indecisive about my feelings on "Eternal Sunshine". I was confused by it and didn't really feel like there was a point. But all of the point came from this scene. This one scene carried out the message of the entire movie, that it's worth it to have good times with somebody even if you know that the relationship won't end well. It's a beautiful message, and this is a beautiful scene.
I did manage to find a video for this scene, but the quality's absolutely awful (as, if you go to the video's page on Youtube itself, you could see I commented). I can't really understand what anyone's saying, but I'll post it here anyway and wish you luck.
Napoleon Dynamite - Final scene (tetherball)
I suppose this one really isn't too unique. But it's made really sweet just because of who the characters are. Two awkward kids, who had only been gradually drifting together throughout the movie. The shot is really well-done, it stays at the same wide angle the whole time, slowly zooming out. And I love that something so mundane like tetherball can be made into such a romantic experience, actually the climax of this romance as we see it in the movie.
This video is also pretty bad quality, and with this scene more than any I wouldn't think it would make too much sense without the context of the whole movie. But here it is regardless.
Pulp Fiction - Royale with Cheese/Bumping off Brett
This scene is also not that unique, it's just really, really incredibly well done. The dialogue, as it is in this whole movie, is so well-written, and John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson, as they are in this whole movie, are at the tops of their respective games. Also there's a really funny parody of this scene with Bert and Ernie.
I have videos of the two parts of this scene plus the Sesame Street one. These all seem to be in pretty good quality. Then again I didn't watch them all the way through, but they seem alright.
Wayne's World - Bohemian Rhapsody
Need I say more? This scene, which brought Queen's fantastic song back to popularity, is a classic, and it's really funny.
So that's basically the list right now. There are scenes from "Midnight Meat Train" and "Lost in Translation" which deserve honorable mention as well.
Stay tuned, don't forget about the blog because I will write stuff on here. At some point, eventually, yeah.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Check-in, Thanksgiving stuff
Hey. So I guess I feel a little guilty that I haven't made a post in 12 days.
This blog might be slow in the next while. A lot of shows are on break, so there's not much new stuff to recap. I've been keeping busy by watching old things. "Rescue Me" is getting great, I watched all of season 2 in just two days, so I might write about that at some point, but the stuff from that I'm watching is still years old so I don't know how relevant it would be. There hasn't really been much news lately that I'm interested in either, but if there is I can write about that.
I still don't know if anyone reads this blog, but if there is, please bear with me. I'm not giving up on this thing so quickly. Remember you can also read me at TV Geek Army (tvgeekarmy.com) when new episodes of my shows are made. I'm still doing Amazing Race and Community recaps for them.
So how was your Thanksgiving? I had a nice time. Watched some football, did some baking. I made marshmallow apple crisp and peanut butter pie (that wasn't actually baking, since it's a cold pie, but it counts, right? It's still making dessert), and they were both wonderful. For black Friday all I bought was an iTunes gift card (Best Buy had $50 cards for only $40! How could that be a bad investment?) and season 1 of "Mad Men". So I guess I'll have to change my blog description if I actually do start watching it.
Alright, that's all I have to say for now I guess. I can tell you don't really care about any of this. Go off, live your life. But please don't for get about me.
This blog might be slow in the next while. A lot of shows are on break, so there's not much new stuff to recap. I've been keeping busy by watching old things. "Rescue Me" is getting great, I watched all of season 2 in just two days, so I might write about that at some point, but the stuff from that I'm watching is still years old so I don't know how relevant it would be. There hasn't really been much news lately that I'm interested in either, but if there is I can write about that.
I still don't know if anyone reads this blog, but if there is, please bear with me. I'm not giving up on this thing so quickly. Remember you can also read me at TV Geek Army (tvgeekarmy.com) when new episodes of my shows are made. I'm still doing Amazing Race and Community recaps for them.
So how was your Thanksgiving? I had a nice time. Watched some football, did some baking. I made marshmallow apple crisp and peanut butter pie (that wasn't actually baking, since it's a cold pie, but it counts, right? It's still making dessert), and they were both wonderful. For black Friday all I bought was an iTunes gift card (Best Buy had $50 cards for only $40! How could that be a bad investment?) and season 1 of "Mad Men". So I guess I'll have to change my blog description if I actually do start watching it.
Alright, that's all I have to say for now I guess. I can tell you don't really care about any of this. Go off, live your life. But please don't for get about me.
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