A Week in Netflix: w/c 10/08/15

FILM

Monsters Inc.

Well I'm only 14 years late to this Pixar party; why did I not see this film upon its initial release? That I'm afraid I really can't answer, nor can I explain why it has taken me so bloody long to catch up with Monsters Inc. - I'm a big fan of animation and Pixar in particular, so the fact that I'm only just uncovering the joy that is Monsters Inc. right now on Netflix is really quite shameful. But coming in fresh after so many years some things do stand out a little more here; first being the advancement of the quality of animation work that Pixar are now producing, because at times Monsters Inc. does feel a little bit dated in the animation department, but that never really detracts from the overall experience on what for the most part is a fabulous tale of the hidden world of closet monsters; and the other thing that I noticed here was the script and the narrative development and scope of this Pixar film does seem more traditional and rather simplistic in its use of plot points and set ups, but again this in no way counts against the film, in fact I was quite a pleasant change up from the vast majority of animated films that I've watched in recent years and after recently seeing Pixar's latest Inside Out, this felt rather fresh to me and something completely different that really shows why I do appreciate the works of Pixar so much. This animation is a joy to watch from start to finish with so so many highlight comedy moments, with some truly magical interplay between the Mike, Sully and Boo. If for some reason you're like me and you have somehow managed to let Monsters Inc. slip you by for all this time, stop what you are doing right now and rectify this disastrous situation, your soul depends on it. Highly recommended.

(go to my Letterboxd page to see where Monsters Inc. ranks in my list of favourite Pixar movies.)

8/10

Pain & Gain

I always said to myself after being brutally punished at the cinema by the garbage dump that was the third Transformers movie, that I would add Michael Bay to my Blacklist of directors for which I won't even give their work the time of day anymore; but Netflix got me suckered back in to the chaotic world that is Bayism, but not alone, oh no that would just be too simple, no what we have here is my love for wrestling and the work of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - yes that's right I do smell what the Rock is cooking and I'm always eager to give the Peoples Champ a chance in the cinematic universe. And to my shock Pain & Gain isn't quite the disaster that I was expecting; the idea of criminal bodybuilders; pumping iron and kidnapping the rich seems like a whole lot of fun, and to the films credit the 3 lead 

actors of The Rock, Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Mackie, really do give it their all on the screen, and supply some truly great pieces of chemistry onscreen as well as deliver the over the top physical and back it up with the timing of their lines to get the most out of the situation and comedy highlights. But unfortunately Michael Bay ruins this all with some extremely shoddy camera work with chaotic cinematography and a direction in which the film feels cheapened by the constant voice over and jarring pacing issues that riddle the film that almost derails the whole experience, but the performances were enough to keep me on board, there's a good film in here somewhere, but Michael Bay refuses to let it out, and ultimately the film feels much like the Rock looks "Over Pumped and Bloated" - this could have been so much more fun had this been a film that Bay decided to parody himself or given to a director that could have left well enough alone all the garbage that this film gets bogged down in and let the talent on screen propel Pain & Gain into the action comedy hit it deserves to be.

4/10

TV

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 3 (Episodes 1-3)

Dumpster Babies, Football tryouts - that just a little bit reminds you much of that Thanksgiving episode of Friends; and Danny DeVito - yes this bunch of morons and their twisted moral compasses might be some of the hardest characters to connect with and begin to like, but the comedy timing and the writing of the show is very well executed that - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia does manage to do just that, I've been laughing at all the craziness that these first few episodes of season 3 has to offer and am keen to see what further madness this Irish group of assholes gets up to next. But as like a said last week, toning down the pace at which this is consumed to avoid overexposure and killing the effectiveness of the comedy.

Person of Interest Season 1 (Episodes 1-9)

A new show for me to jump on board with this week and it stars Michael Emerson (Ben from Lost) and Jim Caviezel - who I always found to be an actor that I could swear has been in far more Film/Tv than IMDB tells me; the show is kind of a mix up between a police procedural and 24; taken on the format of a crime a week with a large story that slowly unravels as the episodes pass on by; and after 9 episodes, I'm really starting to get pulled into the story here and find myself really liking the main 2 characters of the show and its always good to see Michael Emerson do something outside of Lost. Preventing crime in the manner that one would find very close to that of Minority Report, starting off with nothing more than a social security number; the direction of the narrative and the solving/preventing of murders is really compelling. My one worry is looking at the length of each season; 20 plus episodes does seem like an awful long season and hard to see that the current format of each episode will be strong enough to hold up over such a long period of time in order to maintain my initial interest levels, but we will have to wait and see if the show is able to adapt and develop into a show that is compelling enough to justify this length and have an over arching story that is entertaining and thrilling as the prospect of the work of Caviezel and Emerson. At this moment in time I would say that Person of Interest is certainly a show that is worth jumping into on Netflix and at least giving the first season a complete run through to see if this might be the crime thriller show for you.

A Week in Netflix: w/c 03/08/15

TV

Orange is the New Black Season 3 (Episodes 7-13) Complete

Piper, Piper, Piper; yes again I feel the need to go on about her, but she really is becoming a heavy hinderance on the show, the fact that the writers feel the need to push her onto us more and more with increasing detachment of her original character and pushing her further into the realm of unbelievability, and it doesn't stop there because this all bleeds into off branching sub-plots with other characters that are completely underdeveloped and lack any sense of gravitas and for the most part aren't particularly enjoyable to watch. First we have a new character Stella; who on the outside initially comes across as a character with such great potential but is wasted in this season, then we have the likes of Flaca who gets a sub-plot story that goes nowhere and is such throw away trash, but worst of all is the return of Alex Vause and her ongoing story that has a forced shock moment in the season finale that is just poor writing and something that I really couldn't give two shits about - leaving the finale with a ending that doesn't exactly entice you or keep you chomping at the bit for the next season. Season 3 however is not without it's merits; we do get some quite excellent character development between Boo and Pensatucky and then there is Taystee and her gang who have 2 key moments in the show that are some of the genuine highlights that this season has too offer. If you've been on board to this date, I can't say to you to jump ship just yet, but do be warned that Piper has the potential to be the iceberg that sinks the show. I'm looking forward to the next season all being said despite I'm negativities and concerns with the direction that the show continues to take, but I will head into season 4 with some reservations.

6/10

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 2 (Episodes 4-10) Complete

Well last week I said that Danny DeVito took the show to the next level and now that I've completed season 2 I can say that statement was legit and has been backed up by the increased quality of comedy that the show has to offer; I think now that I've got 2 full seasons in I can pretty much judge what are my highlights and favourite characters of the show and taking DeVito out of the equation - I do tend to find everything that is played out by or surrounding Charlie to be the pick of the moments that the show has to offer, there is just something about the character that is easier to attach yourself to and to care a bit more about his character than the others; for me anyways. And as good and as funny as this season has been, I do feel that I need to slow down the pace at which I am consuming the show; yes the show is very light and each episode really does breezes on by, but I feel that if you rush too fast through the show then there might be smaller moments of comedy and in the background that you might well miss out on. Much like a show like Friends; I think that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has the potential for re-watchability in no particular order once you've sat through the show from start to finish - it's not like there's much of an ongoing storyline with any real weight and meaning; but instead each show really works well to create new situations for the gang to explore their areas of expertise to create laughter for the audience and within the show find new ways to push the boundaries of their close relationships. A personal highlight episode for me this season was Charlie Goes America All Over Everybody's Ass; this episode in itself was proper the key moment where I realised Charlie was the main character for me of the show and as a collective one of the funniest episodes to date; if you were even just a little bit amused by season 1 then I really urge you to give this season a shot, as Danny DeVito demands it!

8/10

A Week in Netflix: w/c 27/07/15

TV

Orange is the New Black Season 2 (Episodes 7-13) Complete

Couldn't help but race through the second half of season 2 this week; damn this show is like crack - even though most of the episodes push the hour run time, not one episode feels like it drags in this season and while the season finale and all its key points and wrap up story lines are utterly predictable you can't help but be sucked in and cheer as your favourite assholes get their ticket punched and also how the star performances get their chance to shine for an extended runtime. Christ even Piper who during the first half of the season seemed to be completely wasted given the season 1 finale; gets a nice wrap up to her seemingly ever going on inner turmoil of relationships both inside and outside of the prison walls of Litchfield. This half of the season has really stepped up the game and produced some greater written character developments and with numerous battles going on between some key players here, it's hard not to get hooked by the show - from Vee vs. Red to Piper, Polly and Pie Fucker from American Pie; even more so in this time around in Litchfield; Orange is the New Black seems to be more about the ensemble cast of the show whilst still having Piper being the driving force of the narrative but not over stepping the boundaries of hogging all of the spotlight. As a whole the show I feel has improved as it's developed though given the ending to this seasons finale it's hard to see where the show can really go next with the exception of Joe Caputo - I'm not sure in what direction the show can go to continue it's growth and not slip back into old habits, that being said season 2 is a win and certainly a recommendation to everyone that was already invested by season 1 of the show.

8/10

Orange is the New Black Season 3 (Episodes 1-6)

Oh my lord will the some please kill off Piper! Seriously though, Piper had a nice wrap up at the end of season 2 and I'm not necessarily saying that her character should be 'killed' on the show, but they really could have found a way to write here out to be more of a bit part player in the show; her character has traveled a path that came to a reasonable end and honestly she really doesn't have much more to offer, yet in the first half of this season we've lost some of the more interesting characters that actually had so much more to offer; now they might come back at a later date, but at this moment in time their absence combined with the continuation to force more Piper bullshit down our throats has left a sour taste in my mouth - Its not to the point yet were I don't enjoy watching the show, but whenever Piper is onscreen I find myself zoning out as it's just this repetitive garbage that is poorly written and really bogs down the show both in terms of pacing and progression of narrative. That's really all I want to say for now, the introduction of newer characters and an narrative avenue is still in the early stages for this season and I can't honestly say that this is either looking good or bad for the future of the shows direction but I will say this, temper your expectations for this third season as Piper is really dragging this ship down as much as one single character can possibly do.

Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 1 Complete

This show has been on my Netflix to watch list ever since signing up to the online streaming service, but I've always been put off by the fact that their are 10 whole seasons to catch up with and therefore  have found myself prioritising other shows ahead of this comedy, but when a close friend of mine, who not only doesn't normally have the patience for TV shows in general let alone a American Sitcoms; comes out and strongly recommends it I felt the need to quickly make this show the next thing to watch and I feel like I've been breezing through the show super quickly and having a great time with some great laugh out loud memorable moments. It's weird how this show just seems to drop you in the middle of it's core group of characters and just expects you to already have some investment and connection with these characters, you'd imagine that it's angle a network would take if they were adapting an SNL sketch for a larger format on television; and it really does work here, the style is very raw and I found myself quickly beginning to understand the inner relations between the four central characters, and though there are times where I feel that the actors do come out of character, which I assume is due to the fact that these guys all know each other very well before the show began and there's a sense of familiarity and that comfort zone can at times cause lapses in concentration, but the comedy is witty and fast paced that before I knew it season 1 was already over - probably not the greatest comedy that I've ever seen, but it felt fresh to me and I already really dig all of the characters of the show. If you like sitcoms and comedy in general then this is a strong recommendation to give the show a chance to see if it strikes the right chords for you.

7/10

Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 2 (Episodes 1-3)

Only 3 episodes in, but Danny DeVito has made his entrance and already the laughs per minute have increased two fold - after only 3 episodes of this season I don't feel there's really anymore that needs to be said other than - if like me you found season 1 of the show to be very funny then certainly pick up season 2 because it's started off very strong and DeVito is absolutely hilarious.