Mr. Show - Season 1

My good friend was always telling me how much he loved the HBO skit show 'Mr. Show,' saying how it was the best thing HBO has ever done. He would quote it endlessly and always show me clips from the episodes. His recommendations have always been solid, for instance recently he has turned me on to great movies such as 'Whatever Works' and 'Irreversible' (one of the most powerful and well directed movies I have ever seen). So finally I decided to watch it.
The first season of 'Mr. Show' is only four episodes long, but they give a great indication as to how the show would be over the next three seasons of its run. The show consists of comedians David Cross and Bob Odenkirk doing a stage skit show, like 'The Chappelle Show'. However, this show is much different from your run of the mill sketch show. Probably the most appealing aspect of 'Mr. Show' is the seamless yet random change over from one skit to another. For example, one skit begins with a show called the 'Bible Machine,' which ends up with a salesman trying to pitch a product, which changes over to the story of the voice over man for the pitched product. The transitions are ridiculous and hilarious, where many random aspects of the show being pitched in commercials. It gives the atmosphere of a skit show but the continuity of a sitcom.
I have always though David Cross was funny, and he is definitely on his A game in 'Mr. Show.' He is a sharp, overbearing, and oftentimes creepy presence, and his ironic dialogue is assisted by his hilarious facial expressions. I never knew who Bob Odenkirk was, but now after watching the show I know he can be just as funny as David Cross. In fact, they are a perfect pair for the kind of biting satire 'Mr. Show' aims for. Bob is a jack of all trades on the show; he plays a pastor, a senator, a voice over man, a game show host, and many other random professions over the course of the season, and he excels at each point. They both work very well together, both on stage and through their writing.
Another great aspect of the show is that David and Bob are practically the only performers during the entire 30 minutes, with a few delightful supporting comedians to fill in the blanks as well as a few guest stars. It seems that at least parts of the show are performed live, and the ability for David and Bob to change roles on the fly during their skits is very impressive. Sometimes each of them can be playing up to five different characters in one sketch. Their performances and brand of humor make the skits.
Even in four episodes 'Mr. Show' has been hilarious, well written, and borderline ridiculous. Being on HBO, some of the jokes can also be slightly racist and there is no lack of colorful language, but none of it is over the top and this freedom actually gives the show more comedic value. I find myself quoting the more memorable lines from the episodes, such as 'I don't come down to where you work and slap the dick out of your mouth.' The first season was very raw and I hope that after being given another season David and Bob can write up even more slap stick comedy and biting satire. I look forward to watching the rest of the episodes, and 'Mr. Show' shows us that great TV relies on good writing and stage presence, not cliche humor and reality idiots.

Half-Review: The Happening

I have a folder on the desktop of my computer that's called 'Movies.' In it are a bunch of movies that I've downloaded over the years that I look to see at one point. Some of these movies I have seen bits and pieces of, whether in passing on the TV or with friends. However, I chose to keep these movies in the folder because I still have a desire to see them in their entirety. I have chosen to review 'The Happening', not a full review but half of one, because I just finished watching the second half of the movie that I came across while surfing the television and it is the first movie in my folder that I have now deleted, having no desire to see it in its entirety anymore.

I have kept 'The Happening' in my movies folder because I have always been interested in seeing the movie, even though overall its reviews have been mediocre at best. I enjoyed M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Sixth Sense' and 'Signs', however it seems that his downfall from a respected director to the butt of many a movie buffs joke happened around the release of 'The Village.' 'The Happening' was one of Shyamalan's movies during his fallout period that had some promise but many doubters. I have also enjoyed Mark Wahlberg's work so far and I love Zooey Deschanel, but not because of her acting. So I have always had the small desire to see this because of these reasons.

I began watching 'The Happening' I think around the middle of the movie, where Wahlberg and Deschanel's characters are on a train and the East Coast is full aware of the threat of the poison causing people to kill themselves, however not the reason why this is happening. In addition, John Leguizamo has some supporting role in this, but his character doesn't last long enough to mention any further. I spent a lot of the time watching the movie looking for the flaws that many of the reviews I had read mentioned. The first thing I noticed was Mark Wahlberg's performance.

Now, I really do like Mark Wahlberg. I enjoyed him in 'Invincible' and 'The Italian Job,' and I think people like to

bash on him a little too prematurely. He has had some terrible performances, but I think the script he is given is more to blame than his actual performance. If you give Wahlberg a great script with a character that he is more inclined to play well he gives a good performance. With that in mind, I return to 'The Happening,' which in my opinion has a very weak script. I think Shyamalan thinks long pauses and sections of movie without dialogue make it more terrifying or something, when this type of directing can make a movie very dull when not used correctly. This is a big problem in 'The Happening;' and if Shyamalan continues to do this there is no surprise that he had failed presently as a director.

This being said, Mark Whalberg's performance is very dull, but I think part of that is because a lot of the time he is just standing there and staring into space. For example, at one point someone is talking to him and he's just looking at her. Even the person he's staring at refers to this. Really, Shyamalan? That's not how people interact. When Wahlberg is given something to say, however, his performance goes from dull to average. I'm not saying he should be given an Oscar for it, but when given a chance he is able to salvage the weak script. Zooey Deschanel did a good job as Whalberg's love interest, even though she spent the entire movie just looking terrified.

Next I tried to see the problems many critic's had with the plot line. SPOILERS AHEAD, although I'm sure you already know Shyamalan's big twist already. The trees, really? Well, I really don't have a problem with the idea of trees sending out toxic chemicals to make people commit suicide. Yes, this does present plot holes for the movie, and they do exist. In addition to this, the twist doesn't really work when you already know the reason. This kills all re-watching value, and the entire time during the movie I'm screaming at the screen IT'S THE TREES PEOPLE! It's interesting that how the plants are being threatened by humans, and because they cannot move away from the threat they do the only thing they know how to do; rapidly evolving to eliminate the threat. This idea gives the movie a little moral, pleading to humanity that they are destroying the world and it's trying to tell us. I'm sure it's being completely ignored as we continue to destroy our life source.

The ending of the movie was actually pretty moving. The interaction between Mark's and Zooey's characters was quite touching, and their under story was basically the only reason I continued to watch this movie. Shyamalan used cheap scares throughout the movie to keep me a little on edge, but overall it was very forgettable. I wouldn't say it was as terrible as some reviews led me to believe, where the main character plot line and the overall message the movie seemed to be portraying were both enjoyable. I have no desire to watch this movie in its entirety, though if I'm flipping through the channels one night and it's the only good thing on, it wouldn't be the worse thing to watch. Now to figure out how to make that into a number rating...

Movie Review: Full Metal Jacket

For my first real post, I will begin with one of my many loves in this cruel world, watching movies. I am a huge movie buff; I love watching quality movies about symbolism and with excellent acting performances. My favorite directors range from Quentin Tarantino, The Coen Brothers, and Tim Burton. Many of my ideas about life come from the interpretation of the many movies I have seen, as they are one art form people can use to portray their beliefs and views about the world. My movie reviews are there to portray my interpretation and overall enjoyment of them. My opinions are not final; however I stand by them with an iron fist.

'Full Metal Jacket' is yet another excellent work done by a well respected director, the late great Stanley Kubrick. I have already seen many of his other works, such as 'Eyes Wide Shut' and 'Clockwork Orange.' Kubrick is a master of symbolism in his movies; in fact, many of his movies have been over symbolized because of this fact. This aside, his directing prowess is well known, and his movies are well regarded. Kubrick sadly dies in 1999, shortly after 'Eyes Wide Shut' came out, and on that day we lost one of the greatest directorial minds we ever had.

'Full Metal Jacket' is a two part look at the effect that the Vietnam War had on the US Marines. The first part shows the basic training of Marine recruits supervised by the punishing Sargent Hartman. His cruel and harassing treatment of the recruits was short of criminal, and it gave an excellent satirical view of how training camps for the army were viewed at the time. Hartman is played masterfully by R. Lee Ermey. It followed closely the exploits of Private Pyle, who was continuously punished by the Sargent for his mistakes. His treatment leaked out of my screen into my living room, and I felt the Sargent's unheeding criticism and Pyle's outcast from the other privates as if I were experiencing it myself. The final scene of this part of the movie was surprising, even though the effects of the training camp made this outcome less surprising.

The second part of 'Full Metal Jacket' follows Private Joker, who we met during the basic training part of the movie, as a reporter for the Vietnam newspaper Stars and Stripes as he travels with a US Corp throughout Vietnam during the Tet offensive. This section of the movie shows Kubrick's masterful use of scenery and pacing to portray a certain feeling to the audience. Here, the eye opening camera pans of the Vietnamese landscape is beautiful yet horrifying when you seen the destruction of the war. In addition, following the Corps throughout the hostile countryside leaves you on the edge of your seat, knowing that right around the corner could be a land mine, hidden sniper, or entire building full of fearless enemy soldiers (and in most instances, there is). In addition, the intimidating environment gives you a closer relationship with the US Marines you are experiencing it with, and while only knowing the characters for a few minutes, you feel like you have know them your entire life and are emotionally strained when something happens to them.

Overall, the combination of these two sections of 'Full Metal Jacket' portrays the horrors and futility of the Vietnam War through the strains and heartbreak of the US Marines. I really felt I was there, and it works perfectly as a satire and criticism of the useless war. I was one of the Marines in basic training and one of the soldiers scared in foreign lands when watching this movie, and that's what made it so powerful. It wasn't my favorite Kubrick movie and in my opinions was very different from his other movies in certain ways. However, and this being an excellent example to Kubrick's directorial prowess, I really enjoyed the movie. It has become one of my favorite war movies, up there with 'Apocalypse Now' and 'Platoon,' and I would recommend it to both Kubrick and war movie buffs.

A Little Bit of Everything

I am not a journalist. I am, just like the millions of other people who are given the ability to post whatever they want on a public forum through the invention and evolution of the Internet, just someone who is looking to document my opinions on life, love, and most of the other things found in between. My opinions are what they are; some will disagree, others will agree. They are not a final verdict; I am not egotistical enough to think my opinions are right. However, they are my opinions, and I feel very strongly about them. I am not a journalist, so please take anything I write about with a grain of salt.

I am an optimist. I once read somewhere that a person can complain about how many red lights they hit on their way home from work, even though they were outnumbered by the number of green lights. Shit happens, then you die. Life is short. Insert cliche here. There is absolutely no reason to dwell on the bad of life when the good greatly outnumbers it. While I may see the glass half full, it is not always filled with water. I am a cynic. People are stupid. A person is not. Learn to be who you are and there might be a chance for this world.

This blog exists because I am very opinionated about everything. You may not like me; hell, if I were you I wouldn't either. However, I stick with my optimistic, cynical, realistic view of the world. I believe the world will end in 2012, but not because the Mayans predicted it. Unless the Mayans predicted the Jersey Shore would be picked up for a second season or football might not exist in a year. We are deteriorating as a society, and at this rate will destroy ourselves in a couple years. Which is bad in my opinion because the new Batman film comes out in 2012. Hopefully the world ends after that.

I am currently studying the development and design of computer programs and video games. I am largely atheistic with a dash of agnostic on a good day. Some of my hobbies include movies, music, sports, and pop culture. I hate politics. I like to think I know a little about a lot and a lot about a little. I enjoy knowledge and like to learn all sorts of things, from the thousands of medical terms to ancient Roman history. I hope to use this blog to post everything I feel when I experience some thing new. My memory is very bad because of the large intake of drugs and alcohol I partake in. Because of this I want my thoughts to be recorded for my future reference.

I do hope you enjoy reading about my many opinions of this fucked up world we live in. I am continuously looking to improve myself, so if you agree or disagree with anything I might say, I welcome the idea. Your opinions are just as important as mine are, just not as important to me. I love and hate everything. Feel free to read about it.