Yesterday I saw an article of the top 10 Will Ferrell movies as based on their rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I love Rotten Tomatoes very dearly for many things, but properly assessing comedy movies isn't one of them. To put in perspective how insane the freshness rating scale is for comedy ANCHORMAN DIDN'T MAKE THE TOP 10 FERRELL MOVIES. I can only think a few movies more important to comedy in the past 20 years than that one. So here is my revised list. For this list I considered the 16 Will Ferrell movies I had seen. This includes one miniseries and two animated movies, but you'll have to wait and see if they made the list. So here we go!
10. The LEGO Movie: Rotten Tomatoes has this number one because it has 96% freshness. I think It's almost cheating to have it on the list at all, because it's not a Will Ferrell movie. I see that as a specific genre of comedy, and this doesn't follow that formula. It feels a lot more like Miller and Lord's other movies 21/22 Jumpstreet. But I digress. I really, REALLY love the LEGO Movie, but not as a Will Ferrell movie.
9. Semi-Pro: A lot of people don't like this movie very much, but I thought it was really funny. The story is not as clever as some of his other movies, but Ferrell and Woody Harrelson deliver winning performances. Plus it has the best last line of a movie ever: "It's like the Titanic, but with bears!"
8. Stranger than Fiction: I haven't seen this one in a while, but remember liking it quite a bit. It has been favorably compared to Truman Show in that it is a straight drama for a primarily comedic actor, but I hated Truman Show so I don't think of it that way. Ferrell does a really good making an average Joe memorable and someone you cheer for. If you haven't seen this one, check it out as good, simple drama.
7. Kicking and Screaming: Will Ferrell has made only two comedies for kids: this one and Elf. When I was growing up I watched both of these movie a LOT of times. They allowed me a taste of real comedy before I was old enough to embrace it. That said I think Kicking and Screaming can rightly rank with the big boys of Ferrell's sports-based comedies. I put it second only to...
6. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby: This movie is so side-splittingly funny. Unlike many Ferrell movies, this one has a really good supporting cast behind him led by John C Riley. It made you want them to make more movies together (which they did later on this list). This movie has so many memorable moments that it is difficult to sum up its greatness. For many comedic actors a movie like Talladega Nights would be the peak of their career.
5. The Spoils of Babylon: This is a miniseries that aired last year on IFC (a network I will talk about more in the near future), but I still count it here because it REALLY felt like a Will Ferrell movie. The runtime is 2 hours for the series, so there is no unfair advantage. In this Ferrell plays Eric Jonrosh, a washed up best-selling author presenting to us the film adaptation of his book. Other than Ron Burgundy and maybe Ricky Bobby, this is Jonrosh the best character Ferrell has played.
4. Elf: I really don't like Elf as much as the movies I placed in spots 5-7, but Elf did push the genre of Christmas movies forward a significant amount. Plus it helped launch Zooey Deschanel and for that I am thankful. Elf ranks as a top-5 Christmas movie, so I thought it should rank highly here too. Also like Kicking and Screaming it has a special place in my childhood, but please know I don't really think it's better than Talladega Nights.
3. Step Brothers: I'm really happy this movie exists because it put Ferrell and Riley back together again with an R-rated script and let them, quit literally, run and play with it. While probably not as memorable as some other Ferrell movies, it is as funny as any of them based on that undeniable chemistry between the leads. Andy Samberg is also an absolute gem in his limited role as a brother.
2. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy: I'm attending college in the 2010s, but I'm certain Anchorman's legacy has not faded since its release. A week doesn't go by without hearing MANY quotes and references to this movie. The sequel wasn't great, but at the same time it was because it pulled on Anchorman so much. In terms of a winning cast, I can't think of any comedy movies that have ever assembled a better collection of leads than Ferrel, Steve Carrell, Christina Applegate, David Koechner and Paul Rudd. And that is not even to mention others like Vince Vaughn and Chris Parnell. Decades from now Will Ferrell's legacy will be based largely on SNL and this role.
1. The Other Guys: I think Ferrell is so freaking great in this movie, because his character is really different than the bombastic personalities in his other movies. Simply he plays a good desk clerk turned high-profile cop. Here Ferrell is opposite Mark Whalberg and the chemistry is magic. This movie is just the right blend of absurd and hilarious. This is my go-to Will Ferrell movie when I really need a laugh.
And there you have it. In making that list I realized the greatness of Ferrell's movies rests heavily on his co-star. This gives me hope for Ride Along, but only time will tell. If Ride Along isn't great, Kevin Hart might want to stick to stand-up, because if that premise and Ferrell's acting opposite you can't make you great, you aren't a very good actor. This week was weird for me with Spring Break and family drama, but I'll try and post more next week. Until then, you stay classy, internet.
Friday, March 27, 2015
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Simply Sondheim
This post isn't really a rant, ranking or a review but something I'll probably do every once and a while and that is just thoughts on a topic. Today the legendary Stephen Sondheim turned 85, which in and of itself is no small feat. His career body of work is also no small feat. I thought about ranking his musicals, but I am not up for the challenge since they span so many decades and styles. I will, however, highlight three favorites of mine with which you should be familiar. For those of you don't know I'm a HUGE Broadway nerd and will have more posts on this subject in the future (whenever I'm starved for ideas or feel like it). By the end of this post, you will have tasted the nerdom. Today we're focusing on Into the Woods, Assassins, and Sweeney Todd because I don't know his others (Company, West Side Story ect.) as well as I know these three.
I'll start recent with Into the Woods. To clarify this didn't come out recently, but only recently appeared on many peoples' radars because of the very good Disney adaptation. ITW came out in 1987, but was massively over-shadowed by a little play called Phantom of the Opera. Gradually it gained more recognition because it was Sondheim. But you probably aren't that interested in all the history. ITW tells the story of many fairy tales like Cinderella, Jack and Beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty, Red Riding-Hood ect. but sets them all in the same wooded universe. Rather than pitting heroes against villains, ITW places characters in opposition to each other and to themselves. The story follows most closely the quest of a baker and his wife to locate various things so they can lift a curse, but you really just need to see it to know the story.
The reason I love it is because of Act II. Act I concludes with an overly-perfect Fairy tale ending where everything worked out totally fine, but Act II brings in harsh realities of death and adultery. The message boils down to the idea that life will not be perfect, you will face challenges and self-discovery. I am not as well versed in the old musicals of the 70s and 80s, but Sondheim was ahead of his time with these ideas. The musical landscape in the 80s was still very much romantic comedy happy endings, but ITW leaves you thinking about life and decisions. Like the best theater it causes to reflect on your life and values. This is a must see as a movie or anytime a high school preforms it.
Now on to tell the tale of Sweeney Todd. I can't summarize this one very well, but basically a baker on hard times kills people and bakes them into pies. That sounds overly simple. Most people are familiar with this play (or the pretty good movie version). The reason I love this play is that it is remarkably clever in its use of wordplay. Words like "Serve" are used masterfully to communicate the notions of serving baked in pies, serving these pies to people AND serving them by eliminating bad people. The Act I finale "A Little Priest" is quite possibly the cleverest, most well-written Broadway song in all of history. It showcases Sondheim's genius on full display weaving words in unconventional ways.
The final play is Assassins. There's a better than good chance you've never heard of this play, which is really a shame. This play is more of a revue spotlighting different failed and successful presidential assassination attempts from Lincoln to JFK. While that can be at times morbid, it is first and foremost challenging. This play takes an honest look at the concept of the American dream and how America is the kind of country where you have the power to change the world with only the pulling of trigger. The score is not particularly expansive and even features bits primarily of dialogue, but what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality. All of the "Ballad" numbers are magnificent songs of history that genuinely cause you to look boldly in the face of American ideals. I think Assassins is the most American musical (okay, other than RENT) and is a must hear and read for all students of drama. If I teach a class on American drama in my life, this will very likely be a part of it. If you need further reason as to why to check it out, Neil Patrick Harris is the Balladeer and he is marvelous.
Please realize that I could go on and on about any and all of those plays, but the point here is that you get a taste and then go search out and discover why they are so great. I can tell you why I love them, but the joy of musicals is discovering that love in your self. As a final note on Sondheim, when I think of the "Best Broadway songs ever" A Little Priest and Ballad of Booth immediately pop to mind. He is truly a legend in a league all his own.
I'll start recent with Into the Woods. To clarify this didn't come out recently, but only recently appeared on many peoples' radars because of the very good Disney adaptation. ITW came out in 1987, but was massively over-shadowed by a little play called Phantom of the Opera. Gradually it gained more recognition because it was Sondheim. But you probably aren't that interested in all the history. ITW tells the story of many fairy tales like Cinderella, Jack and Beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty, Red Riding-Hood ect. but sets them all in the same wooded universe. Rather than pitting heroes against villains, ITW places characters in opposition to each other and to themselves. The story follows most closely the quest of a baker and his wife to locate various things so they can lift a curse, but you really just need to see it to know the story.
The reason I love it is because of Act II. Act I concludes with an overly-perfect Fairy tale ending where everything worked out totally fine, but Act II brings in harsh realities of death and adultery. The message boils down to the idea that life will not be perfect, you will face challenges and self-discovery. I am not as well versed in the old musicals of the 70s and 80s, but Sondheim was ahead of his time with these ideas. The musical landscape in the 80s was still very much romantic comedy happy endings, but ITW leaves you thinking about life and decisions. Like the best theater it causes to reflect on your life and values. This is a must see as a movie or anytime a high school preforms it.
Now on to tell the tale of Sweeney Todd. I can't summarize this one very well, but basically a baker on hard times kills people and bakes them into pies. That sounds overly simple. Most people are familiar with this play (or the pretty good movie version). The reason I love this play is that it is remarkably clever in its use of wordplay. Words like "Serve" are used masterfully to communicate the notions of serving baked in pies, serving these pies to people AND serving them by eliminating bad people. The Act I finale "A Little Priest" is quite possibly the cleverest, most well-written Broadway song in all of history. It showcases Sondheim's genius on full display weaving words in unconventional ways.
The final play is Assassins. There's a better than good chance you've never heard of this play, which is really a shame. This play is more of a revue spotlighting different failed and successful presidential assassination attempts from Lincoln to JFK. While that can be at times morbid, it is first and foremost challenging. This play takes an honest look at the concept of the American dream and how America is the kind of country where you have the power to change the world with only the pulling of trigger. The score is not particularly expansive and even features bits primarily of dialogue, but what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality. All of the "Ballad" numbers are magnificent songs of history that genuinely cause you to look boldly in the face of American ideals. I think Assassins is the most American musical (okay, other than RENT) and is a must hear and read for all students of drama. If I teach a class on American drama in my life, this will very likely be a part of it. If you need further reason as to why to check it out, Neil Patrick Harris is the Balladeer and he is marvelous.
Please realize that I could go on and on about any and all of those plays, but the point here is that you get a taste and then go search out and discover why they are so great. I can tell you why I love them, but the joy of musicals is discovering that love in your self. As a final note on Sondheim, when I think of the "Best Broadway songs ever" A Little Priest and Ballad of Booth immediately pop to mind. He is truly a legend in a league all his own.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
2 Is Not Better than 1
It may sound like this post will be about sequels, but we all know sequels rarely live up to the hype. Rather than a rant on sequels, this is a rant on the stupid, pointless, really really bad trend of splitting a single book into two movies for the sole purpose of making more money. I should say at the outset that I haven't seen many of the films mentioned in this post, but I will make it clear if I have or have not seen such movies.
Tomorrow Insurgent (film two in The Divergent Series) releases into theaters. I haven't seen Divergent, but I did read the book and actually really liked it. I didn't like it enough to read the others, but this is irrelevant. My point is the NEXT year around this time they will release Allegiant Part 1 as just another in a long line of book finales split into two movies. Other recent films guilty of this are The Hunger Games with Mockingjay, Twilight with Breaking Dawn, The Hobbit with all three parts, Harry Potter and The Avengers.
Before we go on I want to deal with three of these titles that I forgive somewhat for their errors. I will first extend a pass to The Avengers. I am not aware of a super concrete story line that will be split in Infinity War. If I'm wrong about this, please correct me. The way I see The Avengers is simply making 4 movies not 3. I don't have a problem with this but DON'T call it a trilogy!
Next I'm going to overlook The Hobbit, because I genuinely believe that story needed more than one movie. That said I still hold strongly that two would have been the better choice by Peter Jackson, but I'll let that slide a little bit.
Finally I forgive Harry Potter because splitting Deathly Hallows where they did makes PERFECT sense and actually made for much better movies than if they made it all one flick. If you have read DH, you will no doubt remember that the first half of the book is Harry, Ron and Hermione going around attempting to find horocruxes and doing a lot of camping. The second half is an epic battle at Hogwarts that rages for hundreds of pages and kills everyone you hold dear. The reason it worked to split this book into two movies was because the book was a solid 700 plus pages to start with and the story lent itself to a spilt. This would not have been beneficial to any of the other HP movies, but in this case I really believe made both Part 1 and Part 2 better movies. It also should be noted that they released Part 1 and 2 only a half year a part, whereas the current standard is a full year of gap. I think this helped HP's success as a split film.
Now on to the other 3 cases where this practice is just bad. Firstly Twilight: Breaking Dawn. I haven't seen any of the Twilight movies or read any of the books, but I do know buzz around movies and it was completely and utterly dead by the time Part 2 rolled around. At that point the world had faced 5 Twilight flicks in as many years, as well as vampire bombardment on other fronts and were justifiably sick of it. Twilight had been sucked dry and no one cared any more.
On to Mockingjay. I didn't see the movie, but I read the book and it was the most boring book ever! I honestly can't remember if I finished the book, because the first half was so painfully boring I think I stopped midway. This is the fault of the source material (and the fact that Collins probably should have stuck with only the one HG books). But the fact remains, Lionsgate knew the first half of Mockingjay was even more boring than the first half of Hunger Games and STILL went ahead and made it its own movie. That was a big mistake in my opinion. HG was decent, Catching Fire was really good, and Mockingjay could have been a good ending. But I don't think anyone will care by this fall when it finally ends.
The same follows for Allegiant but I think even more so. The reviews I've heard for the last Divergent book range from unsatisfying to unbelievably awful. Whatever this means for the story, I don't know, but the charm has warn off. Hunger Games came close to having the fan base like HP, but Divergent is not even in the same league. This means fans don't care, won't see the movie and won't read the books. Insurgent can ride a little on star power and the moderate success of the first film, but this isn't everything. A huge part of all this is source material, and these series don't stand on the solid ground that served HP.
While there is more money to be made under this method of splitting books, in the end if you don't do a REALLY good job with the final chapters, you cheapen the series as a whole. Hunger Games will be forgotten in 20 years, and that is partly due to the poor treatment of the books. All in all I want this trend to stop because it is disrespecting good books and decent movies.
Tomorrow Insurgent (film two in The Divergent Series) releases into theaters. I haven't seen Divergent, but I did read the book and actually really liked it. I didn't like it enough to read the others, but this is irrelevant. My point is the NEXT year around this time they will release Allegiant Part 1 as just another in a long line of book finales split into two movies. Other recent films guilty of this are The Hunger Games with Mockingjay, Twilight with Breaking Dawn, The Hobbit with all three parts, Harry Potter and The Avengers.
Before we go on I want to deal with three of these titles that I forgive somewhat for their errors. I will first extend a pass to The Avengers. I am not aware of a super concrete story line that will be split in Infinity War. If I'm wrong about this, please correct me. The way I see The Avengers is simply making 4 movies not 3. I don't have a problem with this but DON'T call it a trilogy!
Next I'm going to overlook The Hobbit, because I genuinely believe that story needed more than one movie. That said I still hold strongly that two would have been the better choice by Peter Jackson, but I'll let that slide a little bit.
Finally I forgive Harry Potter because splitting Deathly Hallows where they did makes PERFECT sense and actually made for much better movies than if they made it all one flick. If you have read DH, you will no doubt remember that the first half of the book is Harry, Ron and Hermione going around attempting to find horocruxes and doing a lot of camping. The second half is an epic battle at Hogwarts that rages for hundreds of pages and kills everyone you hold dear. The reason it worked to split this book into two movies was because the book was a solid 700 plus pages to start with and the story lent itself to a spilt. This would not have been beneficial to any of the other HP movies, but in this case I really believe made both Part 1 and Part 2 better movies. It also should be noted that they released Part 1 and 2 only a half year a part, whereas the current standard is a full year of gap. I think this helped HP's success as a split film.
Now on to the other 3 cases where this practice is just bad. Firstly Twilight: Breaking Dawn. I haven't seen any of the Twilight movies or read any of the books, but I do know buzz around movies and it was completely and utterly dead by the time Part 2 rolled around. At that point the world had faced 5 Twilight flicks in as many years, as well as vampire bombardment on other fronts and were justifiably sick of it. Twilight had been sucked dry and no one cared any more.
On to Mockingjay. I didn't see the movie, but I read the book and it was the most boring book ever! I honestly can't remember if I finished the book, because the first half was so painfully boring I think I stopped midway. This is the fault of the source material (and the fact that Collins probably should have stuck with only the one HG books). But the fact remains, Lionsgate knew the first half of Mockingjay was even more boring than the first half of Hunger Games and STILL went ahead and made it its own movie. That was a big mistake in my opinion. HG was decent, Catching Fire was really good, and Mockingjay could have been a good ending. But I don't think anyone will care by this fall when it finally ends.
The same follows for Allegiant but I think even more so. The reviews I've heard for the last Divergent book range from unsatisfying to unbelievably awful. Whatever this means for the story, I don't know, but the charm has warn off. Hunger Games came close to having the fan base like HP, but Divergent is not even in the same league. This means fans don't care, won't see the movie and won't read the books. Insurgent can ride a little on star power and the moderate success of the first film, but this isn't everything. A huge part of all this is source material, and these series don't stand on the solid ground that served HP.
While there is more money to be made under this method of splitting books, in the end if you don't do a REALLY good job with the final chapters, you cheapen the series as a whole. Hunger Games will be forgotten in 20 years, and that is partly due to the poor treatment of the books. All in all I want this trend to stop because it is disrespecting good books and decent movies.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway (But These Things Do)
It's been about a year and a half since Frozen came into all our lives, but I think a lot of us can agree it overstayed its welcome. I will be the first to whole-heartedly praise Frozen as the best non-Pixar Disney movie in many years, but the Frozen Fever (you better believe the pun's intentional) has gone on too long. However this blog isn't really about why we need to let go of Frozen. It's much more about the little things in Frozen that just don't make sense to me so I'm going to rant about them. This rant will be centered on why we need to stop idolizing Elsa and stop forgetting Anna.
My big problem with the Frozen mania is Elsa. Elsa simply isn't the best character in this movie and should not be a role-model for young girls. I will elaborate. Elsa has the powers of bending snow. One day this gets out of hand and her sister Anna gets hurt causing trolls to wipe Anna's memory of Elsa's powers. The parents (who should definitely have some blame in this equation) keep Elsa away from Anna (not the right choice) and create two daughters who don't have any emotional support system even after their parents die. It must be noted that these are two severely damaged individuals from a psychological perspective. It thereby makes perfect sense that Anna would fall for the first guy who shows interest in her, because NO ONE has ever shown ANY interest in her! Anna is perhaps one of the most love-starved characters in all of film. But I digress.
At the coronation of Elsa as queen (no, I'm not sure why it happens at this particular moment either) things go bad and Elsa freezes everything and runs away. Clearly this is a bad thing for all parties involved, so how does the movie present it...with the great empowerment anthem Let It Go. This just doesn't make sense. Yes, for Elsa this is a good thing as she is coming into her own understanding of herself, but the basic message here is that she needs no one else in life. The song has such lines as "kingdom of isolation" and "yes I'm alone but I'm alone and free". These are simply TERRIBLE ways to live life! Let me reiterate this as bluntly as possible: this is the greatest moment of crisis in Frozen. Comedies are built on the idea of restored relationship, but before that there is a broken relationship. This song, as catchy as it is, is the absolute high point of broken relationships in this story. As an audience we need to be aware that this isolation is NOT the answer, even if Elsa thinks it is and sings this happy song. Let me be even more clear: it makes sense for Elsa to sing this song, but we CANNOT adopt it as proper life philosophy.
I'm sure some of you are not big fans of hearing this, but I really believe it's true. Now allow me to make you more uneasy. Throughout the first 2/3rds of Frozen, Elsa is the villain. This really can't be denied since she is the one who cause the central conflict and breaks relationship. In fact Let It Go may be better interpreted as a really upbeat "villain" song not unlike the forgotten songs in many other Disney movies. This is where I level my unpopular opinion: Elsa stays the villain until the very end when she takes the sword for Elsa. You may think Hans is the villain throughout, but this isn't true because he is seeking to ESTABLISH relationship! His whole goal is to marry Anna. He has terrible motives and a terrible method, but he genuinely desires relationship with a girl who really needs restoration in her life. His intent is admirable, even if he himself is not.
Only when Elsa chooses this restoration over her selfish need to be alone does she become a redeemable character. It is rightly said that this is a love story between Elsa and Anna, but Elsa is the only one who changes. Anna is relatively the same person throughout except in learning how to accept love. I see no reason to think Kristoff and Anna wont work as a couple, because they both understand self-sacrificing love that seeks restored relationship rather than selfish desire. Elsa is championed as the hero of Frozen, and to her credit she does undergo major character change, but we really shouldn't forget Anna who understood love despite a lack of actually knowing love. My main points of all this are: 1. Let It Go should not be an anthem of empowerment, because that is the darkest point of the whole movie, 2. Anna should not be forgotten just because she didn't change over the film. At the beginning and the end, Anna is the more complete person and the much better role model for young girls.
I can't really think of anything I need to say strongly about Frozen except that it needs more music especially in the last half hour. This blog post wouldn't exist if there was another verse of Let It Go reprised when Elsa restores relationship with Anna. I think that's enough ranting for one rant. Leave thoughts in the comments about what you think and what you think I should talk about next time!
My big problem with the Frozen mania is Elsa. Elsa simply isn't the best character in this movie and should not be a role-model for young girls. I will elaborate. Elsa has the powers of bending snow. One day this gets out of hand and her sister Anna gets hurt causing trolls to wipe Anna's memory of Elsa's powers. The parents (who should definitely have some blame in this equation) keep Elsa away from Anna (not the right choice) and create two daughters who don't have any emotional support system even after their parents die. It must be noted that these are two severely damaged individuals from a psychological perspective. It thereby makes perfect sense that Anna would fall for the first guy who shows interest in her, because NO ONE has ever shown ANY interest in her! Anna is perhaps one of the most love-starved characters in all of film. But I digress.
At the coronation of Elsa as queen (no, I'm not sure why it happens at this particular moment either) things go bad and Elsa freezes everything and runs away. Clearly this is a bad thing for all parties involved, so how does the movie present it...with the great empowerment anthem Let It Go. This just doesn't make sense. Yes, for Elsa this is a good thing as she is coming into her own understanding of herself, but the basic message here is that she needs no one else in life. The song has such lines as "kingdom of isolation" and "yes I'm alone but I'm alone and free". These are simply TERRIBLE ways to live life! Let me reiterate this as bluntly as possible: this is the greatest moment of crisis in Frozen. Comedies are built on the idea of restored relationship, but before that there is a broken relationship. This song, as catchy as it is, is the absolute high point of broken relationships in this story. As an audience we need to be aware that this isolation is NOT the answer, even if Elsa thinks it is and sings this happy song. Let me be even more clear: it makes sense for Elsa to sing this song, but we CANNOT adopt it as proper life philosophy.
I'm sure some of you are not big fans of hearing this, but I really believe it's true. Now allow me to make you more uneasy. Throughout the first 2/3rds of Frozen, Elsa is the villain. This really can't be denied since she is the one who cause the central conflict and breaks relationship. In fact Let It Go may be better interpreted as a really upbeat "villain" song not unlike the forgotten songs in many other Disney movies. This is where I level my unpopular opinion: Elsa stays the villain until the very end when she takes the sword for Elsa. You may think Hans is the villain throughout, but this isn't true because he is seeking to ESTABLISH relationship! His whole goal is to marry Anna. He has terrible motives and a terrible method, but he genuinely desires relationship with a girl who really needs restoration in her life. His intent is admirable, even if he himself is not.
Only when Elsa chooses this restoration over her selfish need to be alone does she become a redeemable character. It is rightly said that this is a love story between Elsa and Anna, but Elsa is the only one who changes. Anna is relatively the same person throughout except in learning how to accept love. I see no reason to think Kristoff and Anna wont work as a couple, because they both understand self-sacrificing love that seeks restored relationship rather than selfish desire. Elsa is championed as the hero of Frozen, and to her credit she does undergo major character change, but we really shouldn't forget Anna who understood love despite a lack of actually knowing love. My main points of all this are: 1. Let It Go should not be an anthem of empowerment, because that is the darkest point of the whole movie, 2. Anna should not be forgotten just because she didn't change over the film. At the beginning and the end, Anna is the more complete person and the much better role model for young girls.
I can't really think of anything I need to say strongly about Frozen except that it needs more music especially in the last half hour. This blog post wouldn't exist if there was another verse of Let It Go reprised when Elsa restores relationship with Anna. I think that's enough ranting for one rant. Leave thoughts in the comments about what you think and what you think I should talk about next time!
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Review! Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
You may recall I mentioned this show a few weeks back in my post about my love for Netflix, but I had no idea how unbelievably amazing it would be. There wasn't a lot of buzz around this show before its release, so I feel it my job to stir up that buzz now. I want to begin with a few bold, declarative statements about Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's (BKS) greatness. I would claim this show to be the Best Netflix original show and the Best TV Comedy since Community. Those are bold claims, but I stand behind them. In my life I have watched a lot of TV shows but there are only a half dozen that I wanted to rewatch immediately after finishing them. UKS has joined that extremely elite list with Arrested Development, Phineas and Ferb, Psych and perhaps a few others.
The show follows Kimmy Schmidt as she adjusts to life in the "real world" after having been kidnapped and kept in a bunker for 15 years. Seeking a fresh start she moves to New York, gets a job and does very typical sitcom stuff. There she meets various amazing characters (notably her gay, black roommate Titus) and goes to work as a nanny of sorts for a rich family. Again, this sounds like it's been done a lot of times before, but it feels fresh and new.
The show has two enormous strengths: characters and writing. In my opinion these are the absolutely most important things about a show. If you can show me good characters and good writing, odds are 98/100 I'll like the show. The only other show I can compare UKS to is Arrested Development. AD also masterfully created a story with a ton of memorable characters and the best writing on TV ever. It is that same DNA that I see in UKS. The writing is almost TOO good delivering a half dozen or more amazing lines in every episode that I hope will become common place TV quotes the world over. On the point of characters, I honestly can't think of any major or minor character that isn't great on this show. Titus might be the best, but the whole cast is incredible and absolutely hilarious.
Going through this show I laughed out loud at least 50 times in 13 episodes and on a few occasions had to PAUSE the show because I was laughing too hard. It is laced with subtleties and call-backs making rewatching it mandatory, which is good because that's what you'll want to do. I've been mourning the loss of Arrested Development for several years, but now Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has filled that AD-shaped hole in my heart.
I'm really not sure how else to review a show like this. It is just unbelievably clever and hilarious. They take common sitcom cliches and elevate them to new levels playing off everything without unnecessary cliches.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is the first show of 2015 that I would label as truly, undeniably great. I plan to have it in my life always.
The show follows Kimmy Schmidt as she adjusts to life in the "real world" after having been kidnapped and kept in a bunker for 15 years. Seeking a fresh start she moves to New York, gets a job and does very typical sitcom stuff. There she meets various amazing characters (notably her gay, black roommate Titus) and goes to work as a nanny of sorts for a rich family. Again, this sounds like it's been done a lot of times before, but it feels fresh and new.
The show has two enormous strengths: characters and writing. In my opinion these are the absolutely most important things about a show. If you can show me good characters and good writing, odds are 98/100 I'll like the show. The only other show I can compare UKS to is Arrested Development. AD also masterfully created a story with a ton of memorable characters and the best writing on TV ever. It is that same DNA that I see in UKS. The writing is almost TOO good delivering a half dozen or more amazing lines in every episode that I hope will become common place TV quotes the world over. On the point of characters, I honestly can't think of any major or minor character that isn't great on this show. Titus might be the best, but the whole cast is incredible and absolutely hilarious.
Going through this show I laughed out loud at least 50 times in 13 episodes and on a few occasions had to PAUSE the show because I was laughing too hard. It is laced with subtleties and call-backs making rewatching it mandatory, which is good because that's what you'll want to do. I've been mourning the loss of Arrested Development for several years, but now Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has filled that AD-shaped hole in my heart.
I'm really not sure how else to review a show like this. It is just unbelievably clever and hilarious. They take common sitcom cliches and elevate them to new levels playing off everything without unnecessary cliches.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is the first show of 2015 that I would label as truly, undeniably great. I plan to have it in my life always.
Monday, March 9, 2015
Why We REALLY Need to Stop Comparing Movies to Their Book Counterparts
I love books and I love movies. I am well aware that there are literally no books out there that can be read in 2 hours unlike movie counterparts. Books based on movies has been a staple of the industry for decades and I am very adamantly for the continuing practice of turning good books into good movies. My rant today is not directed at the movie industry primarily, but in only how we talk about books and movies. We as consumers have to face the facts of life that the movie will never ever, ever live up to the book, and that might not be a bad thing. To see this more clearly, this post will look at a few classic book to movie situations and where they went right and where they faltered. From this we will draw a few conclusions as to why you really need to separate books and movies. Also for this post I will speak only on the works that I have both read and seen in their entirety.
I will begin with The Princess Bride. My reasoning for starting here is to attack the poster child for "good" book to movie transitions and show that even this one should be reconsidered. Let me first say that The Princess Bride is one of the five best comedy movies ever and is in a class basically all its own in terms of fan-favorite classic status. Sadly the book does not have this reputation.
It should be noted that both the screenplay and the book The Princess Bride were written by William Goldman (even though he credits the book to the fictional S. Morgenstern). This means that the movie writer knew the source material pretty well since it initially came from his own brain. It follows then that absolutely all of the greatness of the movie can be found in the book, but sadly the converse is not true. The movie leaves out many things from the book most notably the backstory of Florin and Guilder, the amazing stories of Fezzik and Inigo and the Zoo of Death. I promise you those three attributes make the book well worth your time, not even to mention my favorite thing about the book which is simply the tongue-in-cheek style of Goldman. I promise you the book takes nothing away from the greatness of the movie but only gives you many more reasons to love it.
In all the conversations I've had with people about the differences between books and movies, The Princess Bride always comes up as a primary example usually from people who haven't read the book. So go read the book AND love the movie because they compliment each other perfectly.
The next example...not so much. Here I am speaking of Hunger Games (the first one not the others under the Hunger Games brand because the studio wanted to be "hip"). I loved Hunger Games as a book and absolutely, vehemently despised the movie. I have a lot of reasons for this loathing but the strongest reason is the movie's tone. In my years of watching and reading I have noticed that the tone of a book is one of the hardest things to communicate on the screen, yet it is also one of the absolute most important to making a movie "feel right". This was my primary problem with Hunger Games movie. In the book Collins communicated a clear, tangible sense of survival. Even though the actual games took only half the book, that half felt like a tense life and death struggle for Katniss. She didn't just "find" shelter or water super easily like in the movie, but had to struggle for everything. When I read the book, I felt Katniss was in the greatest danger of simply starving or freezing to death, but in the movie her only danger was the other tributes. Also the movie had such a total disregard for small details like the color of the bag at the feast that I have no respect for the integrity of the movie.
In summation I have the following thoughts and tips for helping us all better appreciate movies and books in the future.
1. As often as possible if you really care about a movie coming out, read the book first. 99 times out of 100 the book will be more enjoyable than the movie.
2. Pay attention to how involved the author is in the process and how much they care about the project. Good examples here are J.K Rowling and John Green (in addition to the aforementioned Goldman) who were and are very involved in the process of making their books into movies. After The Fault In Our Stars came out I saw an article listing the two dozens things they didn't get exactly right from the book and they were all too minor for mention. If the author cares to make a good movie and is involved enough to make that happen, it's usually a good movie. An example on the other side of the spectrum would be the infamous Percy Jackson movies. I speak of these movies almost like they speak of Voldemort and may refer to them from time to time as "The movies that will not be named". I'll probably rant about them some day when I'm really upset.
3. Realize that things like tone simply can't be communicated across platforms very well, but the movies might still be okay. Also don't judge non-book readers too harshly because there are a lot of books out there worth reading. However if they speak like they HAVE read the book, put them in their place.
Movies are awesome and books are awesome, but most of my favorite movies would make terrible books and my favorite books would make terrible movies. They are really REALLY different disciplines with entirely different codes that should be judged gently. That said if they pretend like they did a good job (Hunger Games) or make a total mockery of the source material (The Movies that will not be named), they need to be criticized accordingly. But when they totally nail it like The Fault in Our Stars, they need to be praised accordingly.
I will begin with The Princess Bride. My reasoning for starting here is to attack the poster child for "good" book to movie transitions and show that even this one should be reconsidered. Let me first say that The Princess Bride is one of the five best comedy movies ever and is in a class basically all its own in terms of fan-favorite classic status. Sadly the book does not have this reputation.
It should be noted that both the screenplay and the book The Princess Bride were written by William Goldman (even though he credits the book to the fictional S. Morgenstern). This means that the movie writer knew the source material pretty well since it initially came from his own brain. It follows then that absolutely all of the greatness of the movie can be found in the book, but sadly the converse is not true. The movie leaves out many things from the book most notably the backstory of Florin and Guilder, the amazing stories of Fezzik and Inigo and the Zoo of Death. I promise you those three attributes make the book well worth your time, not even to mention my favorite thing about the book which is simply the tongue-in-cheek style of Goldman. I promise you the book takes nothing away from the greatness of the movie but only gives you many more reasons to love it.
In all the conversations I've had with people about the differences between books and movies, The Princess Bride always comes up as a primary example usually from people who haven't read the book. So go read the book AND love the movie because they compliment each other perfectly.
The next example...not so much. Here I am speaking of Hunger Games (the first one not the others under the Hunger Games brand because the studio wanted to be "hip"). I loved Hunger Games as a book and absolutely, vehemently despised the movie. I have a lot of reasons for this loathing but the strongest reason is the movie's tone. In my years of watching and reading I have noticed that the tone of a book is one of the hardest things to communicate on the screen, yet it is also one of the absolute most important to making a movie "feel right". This was my primary problem with Hunger Games movie. In the book Collins communicated a clear, tangible sense of survival. Even though the actual games took only half the book, that half felt like a tense life and death struggle for Katniss. She didn't just "find" shelter or water super easily like in the movie, but had to struggle for everything. When I read the book, I felt Katniss was in the greatest danger of simply starving or freezing to death, but in the movie her only danger was the other tributes. Also the movie had such a total disregard for small details like the color of the bag at the feast that I have no respect for the integrity of the movie.
In summation I have the following thoughts and tips for helping us all better appreciate movies and books in the future.
1. As often as possible if you really care about a movie coming out, read the book first. 99 times out of 100 the book will be more enjoyable than the movie.
2. Pay attention to how involved the author is in the process and how much they care about the project. Good examples here are J.K Rowling and John Green (in addition to the aforementioned Goldman) who were and are very involved in the process of making their books into movies. After The Fault In Our Stars came out I saw an article listing the two dozens things they didn't get exactly right from the book and they were all too minor for mention. If the author cares to make a good movie and is involved enough to make that happen, it's usually a good movie. An example on the other side of the spectrum would be the infamous Percy Jackson movies. I speak of these movies almost like they speak of Voldemort and may refer to them from time to time as "The movies that will not be named". I'll probably rant about them some day when I'm really upset.
3. Realize that things like tone simply can't be communicated across platforms very well, but the movies might still be okay. Also don't judge non-book readers too harshly because there are a lot of books out there worth reading. However if they speak like they HAVE read the book, put them in their place.
Movies are awesome and books are awesome, but most of my favorite movies would make terrible books and my favorite books would make terrible movies. They are really REALLY different disciplines with entirely different codes that should be judged gently. That said if they pretend like they did a good job (Hunger Games) or make a total mockery of the source material (The Movies that will not be named), they need to be criticized accordingly. But when they totally nail it like The Fault in Our Stars, they need to be praised accordingly.
Friday, March 6, 2015
The Best Stand-Up Comics Hands Down: Part 2
I don't like rankings lists where they split them into multiple blog posts, but I have always been a big fan of hypocrisy. At least I only made you nice folks wait about 12 hours, which is long enough for you to have slept and checked out a few of the comedians I mentioned last time. So now here we are at the top 5, and let me tell you if you like comedy these folks can change your life.
5. John Mulaney- Discounting the truly abysmal failure of a Fox sitcom, John Mulaney can do no wrong. Though he's only had two specials so far, they are both pure gold. John combines many things that I like from other comics telling a blend of outrageous stories, quick jokes and absurd extensions of thought. His delivery is so dry and perfect giving fresh life to subjects that have been trod over many times. Of the two specials I probably prefer New In Town (available on Netflix) but my favorite bit is the dinner bit at the very end of The Top Part. I laugh so hard at that bit every time.
4. Bo Burnam- Some people don't like Bo claiming he's too much of a gimmick comedian, but that doesn't detract from his brilliance. My absolute favorite thing about Bo is the repeated longevity. Just the other day I was listening to one of his songs for the fiftieth time and only THEN got a joke for the first time. I have yet to reach the point where his jokes have gone stale. Like Demitri he is a master when it comes to crafting lyrics and puns. I probably envy his skills more than anyone else on this list. He is definitely on the more offensive side, but his comedy is the farthest thing from dumb I know. My favorite album is either his self titled release or Word Words Words (though you have to be a bigger lit nerd to get all of that one). His funniest bit is probably new math which delivers some of the funniest jokes I have EVER heard. Netflix only has .what at the moment, so find him on Spotify instead.
3. Jim Gaffigan- Jim was first real exposure to the current stand-up scene and I was hooked immediately. Tons of comics try to instill humor into real life experiences, but no one pulls it off like Jim. I reference him many times a day since he talks so much about all the day to day rhythms of life like food and laziness. I really have no problem with someone putting him as high as number one on this list. I think Jim is really the perfect middle America comic that nearly everyone can relate to in hilarious ways. He has a really defined style and personality that is impossible to match. Jim is probably the most quotable comic on this list and that makes him one of the greats. My favorite album is probably Beyond the Pale. My favorite bit might by Bacon but it's all so good!
2. The Sklar Brothers- This is probably my wild card on the list, but I attribute that to low exposure. I first knew about the Sklars on Cheap Seats back in the day, but they fell off my radar for many years after that. Once I rediscovered them they never slipped my mind again. Randy and Jason Sklar are twins who tell amazing stories about family, parenthood, sports, everything really and blend it with just a little absurdity. Once again I can't really say why I love them, but they think through life in a certain unconventional way that I can't explain. Their funniest album is Hendersons and Daughters but What Are We Talking About (on Netflix) is also great. My absolute favorite bits are Fairy Tales and Five Little Monkeys. Those bits capture why they are so great blending common material with an unforgettable style.
1. Aziz Ansari- Once you hit number 2, you all saw this coming (because I promised Aziz would make the list). Aziz just gets life as a 20 something better than anyone else. He understands how to blend pop culture with hypothetical stories and oddly heartfelt moments. He can be really crude at times, but he's developed in that regard too. Probably my favorite thing about Aziz is that what he says is super relatable despite it's absurdity. He also just understands how to see comedy in the patterns of life. All four of his albums are on Netflix (but pace yourself through them). My favorite is probably Buried Alive and I definitely can't pick a favorite bit. Watch them all then come back and comment your favorite!
So that is my list of my top-10 comedians. Please note that it was really hard to keep this list down to only 10, but the people on this list brighten my life in a ways no other entertainment does. I hope they can bring joy to you as well! Next week I'll probably rant about something, but for now enjoy the weekend and enjoy all this stand up comedy!
5. John Mulaney- Discounting the truly abysmal failure of a Fox sitcom, John Mulaney can do no wrong. Though he's only had two specials so far, they are both pure gold. John combines many things that I like from other comics telling a blend of outrageous stories, quick jokes and absurd extensions of thought. His delivery is so dry and perfect giving fresh life to subjects that have been trod over many times. Of the two specials I probably prefer New In Town (available on Netflix) but my favorite bit is the dinner bit at the very end of The Top Part. I laugh so hard at that bit every time.
4. Bo Burnam- Some people don't like Bo claiming he's too much of a gimmick comedian, but that doesn't detract from his brilliance. My absolute favorite thing about Bo is the repeated longevity. Just the other day I was listening to one of his songs for the fiftieth time and only THEN got a joke for the first time. I have yet to reach the point where his jokes have gone stale. Like Demitri he is a master when it comes to crafting lyrics and puns. I probably envy his skills more than anyone else on this list. He is definitely on the more offensive side, but his comedy is the farthest thing from dumb I know. My favorite album is either his self titled release or Word Words Words (though you have to be a bigger lit nerd to get all of that one). His funniest bit is probably new math which delivers some of the funniest jokes I have EVER heard. Netflix only has .what at the moment, so find him on Spotify instead.
3. Jim Gaffigan- Jim was first real exposure to the current stand-up scene and I was hooked immediately. Tons of comics try to instill humor into real life experiences, but no one pulls it off like Jim. I reference him many times a day since he talks so much about all the day to day rhythms of life like food and laziness. I really have no problem with someone putting him as high as number one on this list. I think Jim is really the perfect middle America comic that nearly everyone can relate to in hilarious ways. He has a really defined style and personality that is impossible to match. Jim is probably the most quotable comic on this list and that makes him one of the greats. My favorite album is probably Beyond the Pale. My favorite bit might by Bacon but it's all so good!
2. The Sklar Brothers- This is probably my wild card on the list, but I attribute that to low exposure. I first knew about the Sklars on Cheap Seats back in the day, but they fell off my radar for many years after that. Once I rediscovered them they never slipped my mind again. Randy and Jason Sklar are twins who tell amazing stories about family, parenthood, sports, everything really and blend it with just a little absurdity. Once again I can't really say why I love them, but they think through life in a certain unconventional way that I can't explain. Their funniest album is Hendersons and Daughters but What Are We Talking About (on Netflix) is also great. My absolute favorite bits are Fairy Tales and Five Little Monkeys. Those bits capture why they are so great blending common material with an unforgettable style.
1. Aziz Ansari- Once you hit number 2, you all saw this coming (because I promised Aziz would make the list). Aziz just gets life as a 20 something better than anyone else. He understands how to blend pop culture with hypothetical stories and oddly heartfelt moments. He can be really crude at times, but he's developed in that regard too. Probably my favorite thing about Aziz is that what he says is super relatable despite it's absurdity. He also just understands how to see comedy in the patterns of life. All four of his albums are on Netflix (but pace yourself through them). My favorite is probably Buried Alive and I definitely can't pick a favorite bit. Watch them all then come back and comment your favorite!
So that is my list of my top-10 comedians. Please note that it was really hard to keep this list down to only 10, but the people on this list brighten my life in a ways no other entertainment does. I hope they can bring joy to you as well! Next week I'll probably rant about something, but for now enjoy the weekend and enjoy all this stand up comedy!
Thursday, March 5, 2015
The Best Stand-Up Comics Hands Down
Tomorrow Netflix is releasing the fourth special from Aziz Ansari (famous for playing Tom Haverford on Parks and Rec). I love his stand-up deeply so this got me thinking about my other favorite comedians in the realm of stand-up which spawned this top-10 list. For each comedian I will address their stand-up work as well as giving my personal favorite albums and bits for you to start checking out. I'll also provide a few thoughts on why they have a place in my heart and what makes them unique speaking of them on a first name basis because I consider them my friends. With that, we're off!
10. Kevin Hart- Some of you are probably surprised that Kevin Hart isn't higher on this list, and I can see that comment. Honestly I think Kevin is a super unique comedian who I respect greatly in terms of what he brings to stand-up, but to me personally, he doesn't fit my style as well as these others. Don't get me wrong I still watch his specials on Netflix, but I find myself choosing others when I really need a laugh. Also I find it very difficult to purely LISTEN to Kevin without watching him, and I generally prefer comics I can listen to on Spotify or iTunes and still get the full effect. Kevin Hart is really a wild card that could easily go anywhere on this list, but I tend to think of him as second tier in my estimation. In terms of my favorite material of his I would say Grown Lil Man is my favorite album with anything about his kids (like his son's birthday party) being favorite bits.
9. Anthony Jeselnik- It takes a special kind of morbid, dark humored individual to enjoy Anthony but I am that person, I guess, because he makes me laugh in a unique way. His brand of comedy is much more one-liners than lengthy stories, but I think I prefer that. His Comedy Central show is called The Jeselnik Offensive I promise you he is that indeed. He is not for the faint of heart and will definitely make you uncomfortable at times, but not in a mean, biting way like Daniel Tosh (who is nowhere near this list). His best album is Caligula which is basically 60 minutes of comedic gold. My favorite bit probably relates to stories about his (not actual) girlfriends. He will make you cry and then laugh so hard you cry in a big jumble of emotion.
8. Demitri Martin- I'm torn whether Demitri or the guy up at number 4 is the most intelligent comedian on the scene today, but I'm confident it's one of those two. Like Anthony his jokes are quick-hit one liners, but Dimitri uses extensive word play and puns to communicate his jokes. He is noted for a 220 word palindrome, so the guy is seriously a linguistics master. He had a brilliant show called Important Things that I highly recommend if you get the chance to see it. I don't have a favorite album or specific bits of his but his Stand-up Comedian album is especially good containing wonderful musings on words and death.
7. Patton Oswalt- I was slow catching on to Patton only discovering him late last year, but I will never let him go again. I might place him higher on this list the more I listen to him. His style is based around story, but the stories are just insane and perfect. He lives a very normal life in a lot of regards, but thinks about it an amazing way similar to Dan Cummins (who barely missed the list). He's very down to earth without sounding fake which makes him memorable and unique. My favorite album is My Weakness is Strong (available on Netflix) and my favorite bit is about Obama and time travel.
6. Mike Birbiglia- Mike Birbiglia is not the funniest man alive. In fact he probably isn't one of the 100 funniest guys out there, but he IS one the absolute best story tellers. I have to be in a certain mood to appreciate him. He wont deliver a ton a huge laughs, but he will deliver amazing, unforgettable stories. I'm really not sure how else to describe him. Mike is a very different breed of comedian, but he doesn't feel out of place. All his albums are incredible but my favorite is probably My Secret Public Journal. Many of his best stories are on that album. It's on Netflix so go watch it.
It's at this point that I pull a fast one on my dear readers and cut the list right there...until tomorrow. I promise I will post the remaining top five comedians tomorrow (probably after I finish the new Aziz special). Please use this time while you wait for the rest of the list to seek out these comedian mentioned above. I would suggest Mike Birbiglia and Patton Oswalt if you don't know them already since they are on Netflix and somewhat obscure. Happy watching, and I'll see you all tomorrow to finish the list!
10. Kevin Hart- Some of you are probably surprised that Kevin Hart isn't higher on this list, and I can see that comment. Honestly I think Kevin is a super unique comedian who I respect greatly in terms of what he brings to stand-up, but to me personally, he doesn't fit my style as well as these others. Don't get me wrong I still watch his specials on Netflix, but I find myself choosing others when I really need a laugh. Also I find it very difficult to purely LISTEN to Kevin without watching him, and I generally prefer comics I can listen to on Spotify or iTunes and still get the full effect. Kevin Hart is really a wild card that could easily go anywhere on this list, but I tend to think of him as second tier in my estimation. In terms of my favorite material of his I would say Grown Lil Man is my favorite album with anything about his kids (like his son's birthday party) being favorite bits.
9. Anthony Jeselnik- It takes a special kind of morbid, dark humored individual to enjoy Anthony but I am that person, I guess, because he makes me laugh in a unique way. His brand of comedy is much more one-liners than lengthy stories, but I think I prefer that. His Comedy Central show is called The Jeselnik Offensive I promise you he is that indeed. He is not for the faint of heart and will definitely make you uncomfortable at times, but not in a mean, biting way like Daniel Tosh (who is nowhere near this list). His best album is Caligula which is basically 60 minutes of comedic gold. My favorite bit probably relates to stories about his (not actual) girlfriends. He will make you cry and then laugh so hard you cry in a big jumble of emotion.
8. Demitri Martin- I'm torn whether Demitri or the guy up at number 4 is the most intelligent comedian on the scene today, but I'm confident it's one of those two. Like Anthony his jokes are quick-hit one liners, but Dimitri uses extensive word play and puns to communicate his jokes. He is noted for a 220 word palindrome, so the guy is seriously a linguistics master. He had a brilliant show called Important Things that I highly recommend if you get the chance to see it. I don't have a favorite album or specific bits of his but his Stand-up Comedian album is especially good containing wonderful musings on words and death.
7. Patton Oswalt- I was slow catching on to Patton only discovering him late last year, but I will never let him go again. I might place him higher on this list the more I listen to him. His style is based around story, but the stories are just insane and perfect. He lives a very normal life in a lot of regards, but thinks about it an amazing way similar to Dan Cummins (who barely missed the list). He's very down to earth without sounding fake which makes him memorable and unique. My favorite album is My Weakness is Strong (available on Netflix) and my favorite bit is about Obama and time travel.
6. Mike Birbiglia- Mike Birbiglia is not the funniest man alive. In fact he probably isn't one of the 100 funniest guys out there, but he IS one the absolute best story tellers. I have to be in a certain mood to appreciate him. He wont deliver a ton a huge laughs, but he will deliver amazing, unforgettable stories. I'm really not sure how else to describe him. Mike is a very different breed of comedian, but he doesn't feel out of place. All his albums are incredible but my favorite is probably My Secret Public Journal. Many of his best stories are on that album. It's on Netflix so go watch it.
It's at this point that I pull a fast one on my dear readers and cut the list right there...until tomorrow. I promise I will post the remaining top five comedians tomorrow (probably after I finish the new Aziz special). Please use this time while you wait for the rest of the list to seek out these comedian mentioned above. I would suggest Mike Birbiglia and Patton Oswalt if you don't know them already since they are on Netflix and somewhat obscure. Happy watching, and I'll see you all tomorrow to finish the list!
Monday, March 2, 2015
Animation Domination: Top 5 Animated Shows of the Past 10 Years
I wanted to make this a list of the top 10 animated shows of the past ten years, but when you consider that The Simpsons, Futurama, South Park and Family Guy all came out in 1999 or earlier, there weren't a ton of options left (since those are four concrete staples of animated comedy). In fact during the process of making this list, I only thought of 7 contenders for the top 5 spots, though I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple. This is a list spanning over the whole of animated TV, except for anime (because I don't know it very well and it shouldn't be compared to this TV style anyway). The difficulty with this list is blending my "childhood" TV loves with my current more adult tastes. The 5 shows on this list are those that I can still appreciate fully at age 20. It should also be noted that the four staples I listed above are definitely four of the top 10 animated programs ever, so they should be regarded in a "league of their own" so to speak based on the impact they've had on the animated comedy genre and the longevity of the show. I'll probably look at them another day, but for now we'll leave them alone. Here are my top 5 animated shows of the past 10 years.
5. Gravity Falls- This spot is a total toss up between Gravity Falls, Mike Tyson Mysteries and BoJack the Horseman. All these shows are more hit than miss, but they all have a really small sample size to go on. When they hit it's nearly magical, but they can be forgettable sometimes too. I gave the spot to Gravity Falls because the first season filled me with a sense of hope for Disney Channel. Nearly every episode delivered a lot of funny wacky moments (not unlike another show on this list) that kept me coming back for more. I think Cartoon Network would probably handle this show better than Disney Channel, but they have it so I make due. I think I place this show at this point on the list because it almost has at least one really hilarious, weird, unforgettable moment and the characters are just amazing. It should be noted that there is a WIDE gap between the shows I considered for this five spot and the four I placed above it.
4. Bob's Burgers- This one is really close to the number three show on the list, but I think this four spot is appropriate. Bob's Burgers has to be the funniest or second funniest show on Fox's Animation Domination block and for good reason. The characters are unique individuals that still very much like a family. Paired with the remarkable voice talents of Kristen Schaal (also voices Mabel in Gravity Falls), Eugene Mirman, and H. Jon Benjamin (also voices Archer), the characters deliver winning lines many times an episode. I don't even think there's anything really holding this show back. It is truly as funny as it possibly can be given the content restrictions and premise. The Belchers are definitely one of my favorite TV families out there today.
3. Rick and Morty- I haven't found a lot of words to wrap around the greatness of this show, but it is really and truly unlike anything I've seen. On most shows if the plot is around a love potion, there will be a love potion and then some hijinks and a resolution. But Rick and Morty doesn't do that. When THEY have a love potion premise, the whole planet will change races multiple times and the resolution might be hidden if present at all. But you will be on the floor from laughing so hard at the witty dialogue and outlandish premises. The show was co-created by Dan Harmon who also made Community and it does have a Community feel to it in only the best ways. So far they haven't had many episodes, but I want them to have a lot for a long time. This show is a diamond in the rough if ever I've found one.
2. Archer- Archer is the funniest, smartest clever-ist comedy of the past the 10 years. That's a really bold statement since I'm crossing various genre lines, but I really think that's true. I think of Archer as something like an Arrested Development feel wrapped around a spy agency with a cast of characters that act like they're on Always Sunny in Philadelphia. If you are at all familiar with animated comedies, you will have no doubt already seen Archer so I won't beat a dead horse talking about why it's the best. Not to beat a different dead horse, but it comes down to characters. While the characters are super selfish jerks, they are hilarious. The writing rarely lags and the blend of sophistication and selfishness in Sterling Archer is magic. He is one of the funniest characters on TV. This show had it's rough patches in the fourth season, but rebounded mightily last year to place it back at the top of the animated world. If they can keep up this quality for another couple years, I wouldn't be surprised if Archer enters the conversation of the all time greats.
1. Phineas and Ferb- If I'm being totally honest Archer might be better, but in high school I was so unabashedly obsessed with Phineas and Ferb that I refuse to let it go just yet. Even if it is not the absolute best animated show out there, it IS the best kids show. The entire range of characters are well formed and very funny. The writing was top-notch, but is still really good. This show is winding down its run on TV, but I think it will continue to shape all ages for years to come. It is the perfect example of a show aimed at kids that is really WAY funnier if you're a little older and get all the jokes to other things. Phineas and Ferb will always be in my upper echelon of TV shows.
That's my list! Please don't flood the comments telling me how much I overlooked Adventure Time because I've watched it a bit and for some reason I can't figure out, I just don't like it. Tell other things I missed though. Until next time, keep watching and I'll keep ranting.
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