Horror-yo Reviews

Jalsaghar (1958)

Beware he who dreams too much

[8/10 · 27 June 2023]

I'll make this one quick. The cinematography is superb and drives the points with elegance and plainness. There's a darkness in certain scenes that pulls the audience in, and the main actor never succumbs to the temptation of over-acting the scenes.

However, his character does succumb to the temptation of the dreamworld. 'The show must go on' is one of the better known phrases out there that this movie is about. When everything around you crashes, inexplicably, the last thing you want to do is stay in bed and dwell in dream. One needs to face reality as the only means to survive. This film highlights that dimension of life very well, and very clearly.

Past glory won't bring one any glory in the future, and nostalgia is dangerous to the soul. Attempting to override our present illnesses and limits by forcing a return to the past, to the "good old days", is a mistake that may be one's last, as it is here, as the very conclusion of this piece. The music room is an allegory of the background noise the tumultuous mind needs to cover the unbearable silence of reality.

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

hard to follow the plot and a bit all over the place

[5/10 · 25 June 2023]

It felt very promising at the start with the dark gothic styling and the heavy Tim Burtonian atmosphere, and it had the usual bit of a grain of salt (comic relief) to go along with the more sinister scenery on display, which is appreciable; but after that, it's like we're given too much story, way too quickly, and are supposed to digest it all and connect the dots in a snap. It's like the film has too many things it wants to do: impressive visuals, high octane action and frights with a highly theatrical score, a bit of Depp being funny, subplots and dialogue between various characters... and the story (the intrigue) finds itself in there too. It's a bit confusing and hard to follow. Is it a detective story ? Well it seems to be, but then it isn't for a large chunk of it, and then it is again... it's hard to identify the overarching principle here, so to speak. It feels like it's got loads of potential, but comes out in reality feeling rather underwhelming despite the decor and all the efforts put into it. It comes away being a bit flat, when it could've been absolutely striking.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

The truth transcends all things

[8/10 · 21 June 2023]

Starting with the most obvious aspect of the film: it is stunning visually. Every scene is rich with detail and depth, whether with the wide shots or the closer range, and the textural synth-laden soundtrack brings that scenery to life. We're shown powerful settings, highly evocative if not outright thought-provoking, that supply a mighty platform for the scenes and dialogue. In that sense, this is total cinema: the aesthetics play right into the plot, and both these dimensions of picture and sound along with story are interlinked tightly so as to create a climactic experience with a full breadth to it. Each scene tells a part of the story, continuously pervaded by the immersive atmosphere.

The wider shots give out a distinct feeling of immensity, and clearly establish the unsettling quality of the dystopian futuristic world, without resorting to horror or overt means to communicate an apocalyptic edge. They're imposing and given enough color and variety that the film comes across as a painting gallery of sorts with these expansive frames, in a style distinctly expressive while maintaining a quasi-eerie silence and asepticized perfection. The synth tracks lend two things: a deep, smooth low end that brings the ominous energy and the size to go with the colossal futuristic landscapes on display, and definition at the top with shimmering individual synth-pad notes that depict the somewhat absurd universe we're delving deeper into with each scene. The closer shots bring the attention to the human component, the personal, where the emotion dwells; emotion that is found even on the more impassible expressions of the characters, as slight as they often are.

Of course the film isn't all pretty production, and contains a strong message at its core that reveals itself through a skillfully orchestrated series of events, carefully thought out and executed. The big philosophical questions posed are exactly the ones everybody will take away from watching: what constitutes a human being, what/who is real, what does identity mean exactly...

Ryan Gosling does a very good job. His acting is plain and he is between robot and human, as amidst the emptiness of organic lifelessness his face still manages to describe every now and then what can only be identified as intrinsically human. We're given glimpses of humanity through his eyes, and when it happens, it hits right home. It's like any viewer watching this captures a sense of deep, dark loneliness that we've probably all felt at one point or another; only it is here at its most tragic by the very standards of existence. "Do I have a soul ?". As he's told he doesn't have one by his own Lieutenant early in the film ("Madam" as he calls her), he stares long and hard at her, leaving the room with a visible sense of defeat and something akin to frustration or even dejection, instead of simply moving on immediately as a machine would.

The first scene between he and Joi, his holographic girlfriend, is pathetic, in the true sense of the term. It culminates in his touching her face sensually on the building's roof-top, under the pouring rain, and trying to feel her body's warmth, which she is bereft of being a mere fictional image, until she freezes - the way a computer program would. It is striking with solitude and an unbearable feeling of unreality; a feeling found again as Joi later synchronizes with the real girl. She's all of a sudden got four arms, a face that changes every second... it feels like one of these nightmares where the entire world is broken beyond repair, mirroring our own failure to make anything work or come into place as it needs to be, to be "good" in any significant way. He yearns for humanity, but ends up in that same old place, always. Some scenes, where his solitude is felt deepest, are heart-wrenching with sadness and yet, he is but a replicant. "Joe" (Gosling) as he later calls himself seems to be on an island with nothing but himself, and a knowledge that there's more to life than this cold hard existence. He feels a lack of meaning there, that something very important, crucial, is missing, and that he needs to go off-road to find what that thing is.

As a true human being would, he finds his purpose through... sacrifice. Naturally. He cannot be what he wanted so dearly to be: a real human being, with real parents, and that whole story to look forward to. So he decides the thing to do is to stop at nothing to help Deckard (Harrison Ford) find his daughter, which he ultimately achieves, at the expense of his own life. The meaning here is that there's such a thing as the «greater good», a quest that transcends the individual, a goal to strive towards because it is what's best in an objective sense. Protagonist K could've simply called it quits as soon as he found out he wasn't who he thought he was, and gone back to worry about his own life. But he would've returned to an existence without reason or cause, as another number in the machine, and it all would've felt as dull and unreal as it had always been. He wanted to get closer to the truth. It cost him everything, because, simply, that's what the truth costs.

The French Dispatch (2021)

Wes Anderson Wes-Andersoning way, way too hard

[3/10 · 19 June 2023]

So this director's films have a definite style that's immediately recognizable. It's easy to see how that style can be highly effective because it's so original in that it feels like a comic book coming to life in a real film with actual actors and it never stalls, keeping the action constant and the transitions to a bare minimum.

However, it's also easy to envision how that signature directing can turn awry. It's based on style so much that if ever a film was put forth that contained nothing but the style with no substance to go along with it, it would instantly feel self-indulgent, like a movie-maker who's just in love with himself doing, making a movie for himself. That's what this might feel like.

All of a sudden that style no longer works as well: it feels too precious, too self-indulgent and far-fetched. It's hard to ever get into it, if it doesn't pull you in as it starts.

These movies aren't even made to be deep or anything like that, they're complex but made to be an enjoyable, fun ride. And if they for whatever reason don't procure that sentiment, then there's nothing but pretty directing to look at, which mild potential won't take the viewer two whole hours to exhaust.

The History of Metal and Horror (2021)

They got all the big guns out

[8/10 · 23 April 2023]

The title alone is corny and cheesy and at first you'd think it might be terrible to watch. But then you give it a shot, and it's surprisingly dynamic with how they go from one speaker to the next and manage to pull out a solid two hours or so of what is just basically thoughts over the metal and horror themes, as well as their connection.

They do a good enough job revisiting the crypts of old school horror without making it feel too academic and rigid, and the commentary can be thought-provoking thus avoiding scholarly reciting of the boring old clichés. A few speakers might catch you off guard with some of their remarks.

This is more like a hangout with the experts on the genre, which is what everybody wants to see really. It's like a sit-down with all the various horror/metal genre directors, protagonists... and it's interesting to see them talk about the overlap between the two fields. If anything, one could feel they'd wish they heard more from these individuals, and at times the commentary gets particularly interesting but for the sake of pace the documentary then switches to the next speaker, which is understandable.

Good stuff.

American Psycho (2000)

Very good, possibly great in parts, but then weakish ending

[7/10 · 13 March 2023]

This starts off strong: strong dialog (and a dangerously enticing inner-monologue from the protagonist), good attention to detail and it also looks very good with plain yet poignant direction, and really gets its point across visually and aesthetically... the scenes are full with purpose and the goal seems driven with just the right emphasis and oomph. There's an interesting yet unsettling atmosphere of back and forth between sharp tension and utter smoothness. It's like buttery shaving cream but with crisp blades swinging from side to side out of nowhere, and all of a sudden, the snowy whiteness drips with organic brilliant red. It's also highly entertaining and not so busy with explaining its own concept that it makes for a boring old watch of going from point A to point B. There's a real characteristic dark humor that was obviously given legitimate time and balance to nail properly; a genuine spirit so to speak; and it doesn't come across as contrived or unnatural. It's just like the movie in its essence as described earlier: smooth, yet sharp.

This humor contributes to the overall feeling one might be watching something of a cartoon rather than a fully realistic film with fully realistic plots and characters. Which is what the entire endeavor really is here: making everything in the movie, from the individuals to the various scenes, exaggerated enough for the points to come out thrusting forward at the viewer. Like bulging, slightly cartoonish quirks and twists. It's still subtle enough that one requires more viewing and experiencing of the show unfolding to grasp the intentions of the story, as one won't simply understand everything in only an hour of viewing. It may, though, perhaps suffer from a bit of a self-indulgent progression towards a climax too blunt and so open to interpretation it seems inevitable it'll keep the viewer wanting. It simply doesn't carry out the resolution with as much clarity, precision, and impact as what the film had initially managed up to that conclusion. It's like ending a delightfully fresh and tasteful dinner on an obviously subpar dessert. Unfortunate, as that will nearly always make a movie lose a bit of its color, no matter how strong the rest of it.

Loudermilk (2017–2020)

what in the world happened after season 1 ?

[6/10 · 1 March 2023]

At first it felt fresh and had its own flavor to it. It was genuinely funny and compelling.

Good characters, lots of different subplots, and even interesting quotes bordering on, if not flat out deep. Good life lessons.

And then, what was just story base in earlier turns into full flight drama by the second season already, and it's basically a soap opera by then.

Why ? Strange, inexplicable change of pace, which ends up denaturing the whole thing and that really cool vibe from Season 1.

Cutter added an interesting tragicomedic element before, and then they just never return him. Odd choices !

L'âme du vin (2019)

Are you interested in intellectual onanism ?

[2/10 · 25 October 2022]

If so, watch this right away. We all like wine, right, us that would pick this up and watch it. Perhaps one would expect something informative on the topic, visually pleasing, possibly even emotionally appealing somehow. What we're given is a wine expert per scene, at a table, talking about wine as if it were a treasure for the soul. Something vital and beneficial to the greater Good. You'll see them smiling like they've just found out the meaning of life, and it's a glass of wine in front of them making their face glitter - and again, we all like wine here (!). They talk to the point of rendering the audience drowsy, with such an affected tone and demeanor it gradually might wear one down and feel they're losing their time. When it isn't the verbose specialists, it's the makers themselves in their wine cellars, and you get to see them gurgle and spit out top quality wine then make some arbitrary comment about what they liked. You can tell most of the speakers couldn't believe their luck that they'd get a microphone and the attention all for themselves and get to speak at length, which they do a lot of.

There's something downright bizarre in looking at someone take a whiff from a glass of fine alcohol, and then look up, from that whiff alone, and drop 10min straight of poetry about it.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022– )

It's just not very well made

[3/10 · 9 September 2022]

This is supposed to be this ripe cinematic product that took a while to get done, got reworked and then reworked some more. We're given a promising start with beautiful visuals and imagery and words that appeared like the series might be deep and allegorical. And then, these hopes fade all too quickly and the series turns into this Troy-type modern peplum series with cued Hollywood-style transitions and stereotypical dialogs. In just a couple of episodes, already it doesn't feel like the Tolkien universe. The worst thing is most of the subplots aren't interesting. One of them might convey a sense of intrigue, but most of the time the characters go on about their quests, and they're not engaging simply because they're introduced too quickly before any affinity has had the time to bloom between the audience and those fictional characters. It's like they go on these tirades, but no one really cares. The characters' plights are too sudden, or too standard and rehashed, and it's difficult to really care. As the audience we're supposed to be treated to cinematic excellence, to just have to sit back and be genuinely entertained, but instead it takes a lot of work to even come close to wanting it.

Dune (2021)

Best film I've seen in a decade

[8/10 · 3 December 2021]

Movies have an ability to mix visuals with sound and story in a way that, if they're made intelligently, can bear powerful results through stylistic and meaningful expression. Especially science-fiction, and even more so sci-fi royalty laden with symbolism.

The actors are all picked each for a very specific reason and role to fill, and they all make an impact that admittedly, doesn't go unnoticed. Even when they aren't speaking, their mere presence in the scenes brings about a particular feel, a unique flavor, that helps give the movie meaning through the actors' body language: memorable characters with vivid expressions, communication through a look on their faces or in their eyes.

Visually the movie is outstanding, the cinematography is easily worthy of the expectations, and the soundtrack mostly fits the energy of the Dune universe.

Every moment is strong with visual metaphor, with scenes that depict a sentiment; strongly negative in parts, or at times euphoric.

This being Part I, as a standalone it most probably deserves high marks. It remains to be seen how good the sequel is, and what it makes this one look like in hindsight in two or three years.

National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002)

At least you'll laugh a little in this 2000's teen flick

[8/10 · 17 November 2021]

What's the point of such a movie ? To laugh. Right. So either you immediately settle into the groove of this quirky teen flick and appreciate the onscreen presence of a very young (but still authentic) Ryan Reynolds and his cohorts, the spoofy caricature that is Taj, Tara Reid's boyfriend premed Richard and his hilarious med school obsessed shtick and elastic face - watch out for that scene at the end: an absolute Jim Carey moment...

Or. You think this has no future and give it 15min before calling it a grotesquely Hollywood-queued, brainless teen targeting piece of mainstream garbage.

Your choice really.

It should be emphasized Reynolds' charisma - like him or not - is essential for such a movie to thrive or probably even exist at all. His delivery, facial expressions, along with the silly writing, make for a fairly iconic lead character. Certainly in the sub-genre of that period's likeable anti-heroes. He symbolizes failure, and success, and is both a figure of triumph and grueling staleness in life.

The gags are gross, but funny. The secondary characters and subplots add that little extra crisp to the whole. "Is there anything I can do for you Richard, anything at all ???". Campus cop, Professor McDoogle...

This is probably a generational thing and it would be hard to get a septuagenarian to laugh all that much to this, although, you never know. Septuagenarians are unpredictable, strange creatures.

So it's dumb as crap and ultimately fairly predictable. Who cares. It's funny. All that matters is that you laugh, and this has had a whole generation of people laughing. Although probably not the septuagenarians.

Fatal (2010)

Silly as it is funny and genuinely well assembled

[7/10 · 17 November 2021]

If you're looking for a sort of tribute for contemporary French humor mixing a little bit of Les Inconnus with the Guignols de l'Info version of Stallone among other influences, channeled in a film utterly easy to go through with excellent pacing and adequate structure with no relent on the idiotic humor and few breaks if any... then look no further.

This is dumb enough to make you actually enjoy it, with that hint of cleverness ever present from scene to scene and gag to gag. In short, this is wit serving the purpose of idiocy. The viewer just needs to lower their guard and let go of their inhibitions, and level with what's going on in front of them. There's real inspiration behind the bits and the movie doesn't just settle for being a series of blatant caricatures without purpose.

Interestingly enough Michael Youn doesn't just star as the lead character, he also directed and wrote this thing. Which is quite a trick he pulled off as the end result is really a well made and quite frankly enjoyable piece of moronic entertainment which, if you have a little time...why not.

The songs are catchy and believable. The movie doesn't linger and quite likes its transition-less edge. It's dumb as hell, sure, but who isn't dumb as hell at least part of the time: give it a go.

30 Rock (2006–2013)

Funny, well written, but not a neutral show

[7/10 · 31 January 2021]

Who hasn't fallen in love with Liz Lemon ? She's clever, complex, vulnerable but generally confident, funny, and she looks like she'd look pretty fantastic in a bikini - although alas, we'll never know for sure. Actress/writer Tina Fey also managed to surround herself with an excellent cast, and as we all know by now, as devourers of comedy series, good characters make most of the show. So in short: this works. You might not be a huge Alec Baldwin fan; this reviewer surely wasn't; but the fact is the character Jack Donaghy is a funny character. His overly republican demeanor, his over-the-top American competitive edge, his aggressive views on anything innocuous... that's just good entertainment for the casual watcher looking for spoofing of any kind. Tracy Jordan is one-dimensional, but that one dimension of his is unique enough that they managed to stretch a whole 7 seasons out of him without breaking him. Credit to the writing, but also the actor who so easily could've turned into a caricature of himself, which he only half-does, which still works. Jenna Maroney, Kenneth... or more secondary characters like Dr. Spaceman, Tracy's entourage, or Jack's assistant Jonathan, all contribute to the fun.

Of course this is a monster budget production, and the show couldn't just focus on the quality of its comedy only. It had to cater more to wider audiences, it had to introduce a bit of socio-political commentary and bias, it had to extend to longer than the show may've really needed to, and the story element had to be emphasized when just pure comedy sufficed early on when the show was riding its first wave enthusiasm and energy. For example, certain episodes feel like we're right in the middle of a romantic comedy, which may not at all be what the viewer is seeking initially. They might just want to laugh, and might feel like they've been lured into something they haven't signed up for. But, being good sports, we're given entertainment wherein lots of work has been poured into, and therefor will look for the good in it first, and for seven whole seasons, this holds up alright. It never turns awful, which many other shows have done after promising starts.

Operation Corned Beef (1991)

Too complicated for its own good

[5/10 · 31 January 2021]

As a cinephile from the 21st century, one probably discovers the existence of this film as a fan of the cult classic "Les Visiteurs", made by Jean-Marie Poiré, with Clavier and Reno and Lemercier as the main core. The prospect of learning about a comedy with that exact cast just two years prior is quite exciting news, even with only average expectations. What happens in this one is that despite being overall fairly impressive looking and well directed, there's a bit too much going on with the intricacies of the story; which aren't even that interesting; with too little reward for the viewer at the end. The consumer may be fed a bit of a convoluted story, and accept paying close attention to it, if only it is worth it in the end. But demanding too much focus from the viewer, just to sustain its complicated plight for existence as a crime/comedy doesn't cut it. There's a couple of funny scenes, all in typical Poiré fashion and his signature is unmistakable, and there's a certain personality to the film with its comical characters, but many scenes will come across as long-winded or simply a bit on the hollow side.

The difference between this and the following 'Les Visiteurs' is quite night and day in terms of pace, fullness and relevance in the story, impact in the comedy and overall movie making craft. This is a bit of fun, a few quirky lines in the dialogue as always, and it's always a bit of a treat to watch these actors during their primes in the early 90's, but it probably can't fully justify its 1h45min length.

Spin City (1996–2002)

Another fine 90's Comedy show

[7/10 · 22 August 2020]

To be honest, this one takes a moment or two to get started. To the point I wondered how it managed to stay on the air long enough to finally get going. The first season with Carla Gugino was anecdotal. And even in the following episodes, the writing feels like it's totally uninspired and just running on empty a lot of the time. The show survives with its superb setting and an excellent cast of actors who'll lift any scene with their performance. Eventually, it picks up, and when it does, it's really a fun ride, and consistently so. Every great show needs an iconic setting, a place that feels like home for the viewer's eyes. Friends had the twin apartments and cafe, Seinfeld had Jerry's studio... and Spin City had that busy hall, Mike's office and the meeting room. Over little time, it felt familiar and pleasant to watch these characters roam New York's city hall.

As mentioned the cast was top notch and a highlight in this series. There was a charm about Michael J. Fox and his unique small man gymnastics, and his Canadian simplicity. It felt like he could deliver any line, no matter how long and stretched or silly, he could make it sound good enough for TV, while always avoiding appearing like an over-acting diva. He handled the lead role just right. The rest of the crew managed to play their role differently enough and with enough unique personality that they wouldn't feel like hollow programmed characters. Paul wasn't just a B version of George Costanza, Nicky wasn't just the hottie with a pretty face on the show, Carter was more than the token black guy, the Mayor was legitimately excellent and much more than just the absent-minded senile idiot in office, Stuart was a good addition and James was downright hilarious most of the time with his over-the-top dramatic reactions.

As far as the seething criticism towards Heather Locklear, I don't see it. She was actually good and fully convincing in her role and as far as ruining the show as many are suggesting, I understand she veered the show some and gave it a slightly different flavor, because now the love/hate relationship between herself and Mike was quite central, but it's not like it transformed the show in its essence or turned it into a soap opera. It was still very much Spin City.

I watched the first episode with Charlie Sheen, thought it was better than I'd expected, but felt like just another comedy series at that point and I felt like leaving it at that and keeping the memories of Seasons 1-4 with me.

The Life & Times of Tim (2008–2012)

This is just funny

[8/10 · 10 August 2020]

It doesn't take itself seriously at all, and never comes across as self-indulgent or forcing humor onto the viewer. It's easy comedy, not in the sense that no effort was put into it, but rather that even on your worst day, coming home after exhausting work, you'd still find enthusiasm for a quick episode. It's smooth viewing, funny and intelligible, and the story makes sense and is consistently straightforward yet fresh. The plots are funny and offer enough variety, but it's the specific situations in each episode that are at times hilarious. Tim is just doing his best not to be singled out, not to be noticed, and he somehow finds himself in the spotlight in the worst possible way every time.

One of the funniest moments I can remember is the very first scene and Dildarian (creator and voice of Tim) really did an excellent job capturing what the show was about in that opening scene to get the audience hooked. Other moments include any time some super exaggerated story is made up of Tim that makes him look like a miserable little creature, any scene involving Tim and his girlfriend Amy's family (the best by far being his phone call with the mom about the cook book), usually any moment involving the Boss and just the mere fact he's simply known as "the Boss", when he pretends he's got 'tell the truth' syndrome and verbally assaults everyone in the office under orders from the boss, most of the scenes with the priest...

The ridiculous, crummy animation is absolutely perfect given the type of humor in question, and you can tell Dildarian had fun with just the animation alone in certain scenes, for eg when Tim's on the bus and the old man challenges him to a boxing match and repeatedly slaps him in the face, and the scene lasts about 5 or 6 slaps too long on purpose. It's so underwhelming and flat it's hilarious to watch.

The animation is arguably symbolic of how exactly underwhelming and ordinary life is. How unimpressive, and flat (literally as flat as a child's 2D drawings) life is.

Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000–2024)

All in all remarkable

[8/10 · 15 June 2020]

If you've been around comedy series long enough, you'll know it takes a certain kind of indulgence to get into the rhythm of the thing, to the point where the plot often becomes too convoluted or too particular (if the series takes place in a specific field for example). The thing about Larry David and his humor is that anybody, from any culture or background, could understand at least what the main point of the episode is, and understand what the humor is conveying. It doesn't necessarily cater to the American, upper middle class, L.A./N.Y. crowd, which is what we see of most onscreen. It's just so easy to watch, and so intuitive it requires little effort to fully immerse into an episode. The character Larry lives the fancy life of a successful wealthy old guy, but he doesn't behave like one, which shatters the boundaries of social class and even culture. He sees everything from his own personal point of view, and will contest anything and everything he deems unfair, whether christian or jewish, black or white, rich or poor, handicapped or able-bodied, male or female.

Now, that premise alone of the ever-critical New York Jew with little regard for sensitivities is indeed funny, but wouldn't fill out 10 full seasons in any substantial enough way. Larry David merely sets the tone of the show, but doesn't flesh it out. The magic in the series happens with the writing, and particularly the interconnected structure of each episode. We'll be shown something at the start of each story, we'll then be shown a couple more seemingly innocuous and independent events, but our attention is focused so much on the present disasters we're shown we'll forget about those earlier occurrences, which somehow come back to connect with the other subplots, with each episode being a climactic converging of all those brewing catastrophes. And it's not just each individual episode that works that way, but the full season. And there's always a subtle yet unconventional moral at the end, some kind of ironic twist of fate.

Never at any point does the series look like it's out of breath, as Larry David continues with his perfect 100% record from Seinfeld to this latest CYE season 10. As everything it could be criticized, loathed even, but it is at least consistent with what it does. Times change, but Larry David's character and humor, and virtuosity at his craft, remain.

Friends (1994–2004)

Give credit where credit is due

[7/10 · 10 April 2020]

I'm not a big fan of happy innocent humor, nor a fan of rom-com/chick flick types...but Friends is on another level from the standard for any of these simply because of two things: the depth and consistency of the characters, and the writing.

Friends spanned over 10 full seasons, and 236 episodes over 10 years, and sure the earlier seasons were best but that's a heck of a lot of hours to fill with punchlines, jokes and consistent character development.

As we look back, the cast for the main characters was probably as close to perfect as possible. It had gesture comedy (Ross), dry sarcasm (Chandler), it had surrealistic comedy (Phoebe and her absurd shenanigans), it had the dumb likable guy (Joey), it had the pretty but tyrannical female lead (Monica) and it had the hot but bratty girl next door (Rachel). With those actors and that level of writing, shot in pleasant settings that would become legendary (the apartment and the cafe) Friends were surely on their way to little screen immortality. Not to mention a serious, serious cult following that almost immediately sparked and is still going as strong today. Who today has never heard the Janice laugh or her "OMG" line, who has never heard the theme song, who doesn't know Jennifer Aniston ?

Interestingly, Friends followed the stories of 30 somethings so the target audience wasn't so much teenagers or necessarily the younger audience (as is often the case with trendy series) and catered more to the Generation X members who were struggling with the 90s fast paced city life. That same generation that progressively pulled away from old century society and into the new millennium, with all of its novelties: the internet and rapid technological changes. Friends represents that transition in time. A bit like Seinfeld, it highlighted the growing individualism of the standard big city dweller. Series were slowly moving from a family-centric scope in past decades to this: the tumultuous adventures of young single men and women in New York City. Ironically enough, SPOILER: Chandler and Monica transfer from the urban to a suburban setting at the end of the story to bring up their child.

All in all, Friends has a very strong nostalgic grip on countless numbers of viewers, perhaps because it reminds people of a time they considered the golden age in their lives, easier times, times when shows had a certain substance to them. It will always be one of the easiest shows to watch because it ticked all the right boxes: funny, original, a more or less compelling story, lovable characters, and that little extra something that made it not so much addictive but rather just very enjoyable. It didn't rely on crass humor, vulgarity, sexuality or violence, or on being political. It was just a fun ride, nothing more nothing less.

7.5/10.

Les anges gardiens (1995)

Starts off well then descends into comedy nothingness

[3/10 · 29 January 2020]

It starts off as an action-packed comedy with overly exaggerated scenes and a typically Jean-Marie Poiré styled humor.

By the time the plot and characters are established, the movie takes a strange turn. It's such a drop it can only be explained by the image of a cliff. As soon as the supernatural entities (the guardian angels) are introduced all Hell breaks loose but it's not even a little bit of fun.

This is bad enough to leave half way through. It just drags on, completely out of puff.

Poiré must've gotten rich after Les Visiteurs and must've wanted to have a bit of fun with the money, but the result is shockingly bad. Imagine this film without movie superstars Depardieu and Clavier.

Fawlty Towers (1975–1979)

Very well constructed English 70's comedy starring John Cleese

[7/10 · 14 October 2019]

On the positive side: John Cleese does rather impressively well considering the amount of concentration and energy his role required as a bare minimum, and that he nails it with an apparent ease. The episodes are relatively long for a comedy series and yet they never get dull, none of the episodes. The premise is typically that some pretty ordinary event has happened and Basil Fawlty (Cleese) somehow manages to make the most enormous mess out of it, but still gets out of the disaster okay in the end. The supporting cast is good. What really stands out is how hectic and full the dialog is, episode after episode and all episode long, and yet the delivery and pace make it so the viewer isn't overflown. Watching this one won't feel overly busy, and certainly won't have time to get bored either.

On the negative side: although the structure is definitely there, this series is more fun than it is funny. It's more of a fun ride. It may not be the most laugh-out-loud type series out there with the actual gags being more of the witty/sarcastic variety, or flat out grotesque, which is fun to watch but not quite outright hilarious.

7.5/10.

Surviving Christmas (2004)

Ignore the critics - this is SURPRISINGLY good

[8/10 · 1 September 2019]

To each their own opinion, but for goodness sake let's take a movie for what it is. What insane standards are being applied when this fun ride of a surprisingly well executed and well written, lighthearted yet wholesome American mainstream comedy deserves something like a 1/10 or worse ? Surely those people have no clue what context is and would consider only the darkest pseudo-intellectual humor as any decent comedy.

Ben Affleck to me was just the poster pretty boy for 13-20 year old teenage girls who only played in soap opera/Hollywood drama types, and yet I discovered him here at ease, in the vein of a Chris Evans in Not Another Teen Movie or Ryan Reynolds in Just Friends, in a role he absolutely nailed all things considered, that is that many scenes depend entirely on his delivery with very little happening around him, the lead and his completely crazy behavior which he manages to actually turn into something half-realistic despite the premise being far-fetched and distinctly fictitious in tone.

The story and scenes are very well written for a flick that runs about an hour and a half, with all the various subplot tensions crammed into this one short comedy with excellent efficiency, and it should be said that in spite of the haste in having to establish those subplots they still don't come across as blatantly fake or forced like they often do in these cheap wacky comedies, they're obviously improbable but rather cleverly injected into a natural current that drives the film from start to finish.

It's actually funny. It delivers a moral, and even a bit of emotion at the end with a few genuinely touching scenes, it's entertaining all the way through but more importantly it's wholesome. It resonates with the viewer because of its underlying truth. And what it points at, is beautiful.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005– )

All for Laughs, Strongly Character-Development Based, Ripe Dark Comedy

[8/10 · 27 July 2019]

What starts out as being just a very pleasant, funny current show with a nice original vibe to it eventually turns into one of the strongest comedy shows in modern American TV.

A gang of worthless, completely broken, nihilistic individuals; each one more messed up than the next in his own way; wreak havoc on everything they touch and everyone unfortunate enough to cross their paths.

The show is strong on many levels. The combined and distinct humors of Charlie, Mac and Dennis as writers, coupled with a very strong and coherent character development aspect, and the ability for the show to come up with new ideas and story lines and (somehow) not feel blatantly stupid and redundant despite the VERY minimalistic main plot... all makes for a very steady foundation that allows for plenty of seasons to be binged through seamlessly.

There's a difference between what the first couple of seasons feel like, and what seasons 7 and 8 feel like, and then what the last few seasons feel like... but there's a consistent quality to each episode, and they manage not to repeat themselves or go crazy just to remain relevant at all.

The supporting cast is great too: the mothers, Danny Devito, "sweet" Dee, and the character "Cricket" in particular is brilliant - with the funniest scenes usually involving any of the McPoyle family members (and milk).

On a slightly deeper note: the show may come across as too dark at times with its humor, but it seems as one gets up in age to where they're closer to the guys in the show's age, it's just comedy for the sake of comedy so there's definitely a certain cynicism about it all and the moralities drawn from the episodes are quite brutal: people are hopeless and hopelessly unchangeable, bad habits never break and life is tough and unfair so you might as well waste yourself away... but it's all for the laughs in the end.

A solid 8/10.

I Heart Huckabees (2004)

Almost makes itself IMPOSSIBLE to watch

[3/10 · 10 July 2019]

So we know by running through the credits at the start this is a comedy that stars an impressive amount of talented and peculiar actors, Hoffman, Schwartzman, Naomi Watts, Jude Law, Lily Tomlin ... all on the rather eccentric side of Hollywood. We know from the premise this is going to be rather offbeat and possibly even deliver some wisdom.

As for any movie, as the viewer we wish to be entertained and therefor are willing to dive right into the plot and indulge ourselves in the spirit and universe of the actors, director and writers of the movie in front of us. Here, it doesn't take long to realize this is edgy, but then, it takes just an extra minute to realize it's only intellectual masturbation.

The dialogue is very dense, the sort of script that is difficult to follow, for VERY little reward.

The movie just goes on and on, and never picks up. It's just pointless, nihilistic time wasting, with a couple of original but hollow ideas being juggled around for practically no effect very fast.

3 stars for the actors, the trouble of writing up something that attempts originality. But a plain headache.

Father of the Bride (1991)

Does well at being the wholesome, traditional American family comedy (that wouldn't be possible today). Good film

[7/10 · 29 June 2019]

First of all it should be said the cast was very well put together. Such a comedy that relies on feeling familiar to the audience owes a lot to the faces onscreen. Steve Martin as the cynical sceptic, Diane Keaton as the pragmatic mom , the cute daughter, her strapping young lad husband...perfect fits.

Martin Short as Frunk, that was pretty funny. A few good gags along the way and fine dialogue make this hold up. It doesn't try too hard to be emotional, and it does achieve a certain real melancholy fairly well.

It's no grand classic but it's a film that definitely stays with you. It's got a little bit of that Home Alone early 90's family comedy charm, a great period for Hollywood films.

Yes the premise was obvious from the start, yes you could see the emotional scenes coming from a mile away, yes there's a certain obviousness to the film as a whole but in the end it doesn't come across as totally manufactured and inhumane. If anything it's rather moving with what it represents and the wholesome underlying meaning of it: a stable, constantly regenerating society with minor changes from generation to generation and an intact healthy core at the center of it. It projects the wealth of steady American culture as it was during the early 90's. A film in today's social climate would have to make some sort of political statement and this sort of endearing production would not be possible.

The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

Better than the second - Nowhere near the first - Altogether disappointing conclusion to the trilogy

[7/10 · 27 May 2019]

There's no questioning the first one is by far the better film in the trilogy. However, opinions about the second and third volumes differ very often. Despite this one having just as much action as the second one, there's an epic tone to the action scenes and context with philosophical undertones to the central theme (man vs machine, and the implications behind that narrative) whereas the Matrix Reloaded was just sheer Hollywood blockbuster action for the sake of action: senseless, lengthy action with no meaning or purpose besides being spectacular big production spectacle. This film is close to the second one though in how it delivers plenty of utterly clichéd manufactured one-liners and obvious stereotypes that always come up in war/action movies.

All in all, this film delivers a lot more answers and story content and wisdom than the previous volume, but fails at being emotionally potent like the first one was. The scenes set up to be the most poignant and powerful fall short in terms of punch and efficiency, for e.g. Trinity's death or even Neo's for that matter and the ending as a whole.

It feels globally like parts II and III were just manufactured Hollywood productions that fed off the Matrix universe, with a few good elements: the Architect and Merovingian in 2, here some of the imagery (Zion battle or the machine city) and some good scenes (most of the ones involving Mr.Smith). After being subjected to the utterly mind-altering experience that was The Matrix (original) it certainly feels disappointing ultimately to be fed such a bland ending with almost no power or moving quality to it. Better than the second for sure, more back on track in the Matrix universe, but not anywhere near the first in any regard.

7/10 for epicness, relentless and intense action that manages not to feel boring, and a good effort to at least attempt to conclude probably the greatest sci-fi of all-time that blew everyone away at the end of the 90's.