I Am SHERlocked or Clever Television

  Because I'm not a resident in the magnificent United Kingdom, and I don't have BBC America, every year I patiently wait for PBS to broadcast the hits from across the pond, and I'm never disappointed. Whether it's Hamlet with David Tennant and Patrick Stewart, Downton Abbey, or Moffat's Sherlock, I always come out of each episode mentally invigorated. No American Television programs achieve this level of intellect!
  Except Breaking Bad.
and Damages.
And Weeds.
And Community.
And Dexter.
And Friday Night Lights.
And Game of Thrones.
And Louie.
And... oh nevermind.
  I guess American Television can also hit the nail on the head, but why do so many watch the Kardashians or Dancing With the Stars? Don't get me wrong, I love my guilty pleasures [insert here any CW teen drama ever aired] but at least those have substantial writing, acting, and a dash of respect for its audience. I watch the shows I watch because even the good dramas make you chuckle and even the good comedies will make you cry. They are feats of art that air weekly and they leave you wanting more. The reality tv boom changed the game, and not for the better.
  What we're stuck with now is simple Turn-Off-Your-Brain programs, and that's a mentality I can not support. Not to mention that the only intellectual shows which survive are usually those on subscription based cable channels. HBO, Showtime, AMC. Place one of those shows on Network and they DIE. Freaks and Geeks
Community
Firefly
Dollhouse
Arrested Development.
  And yes, Arrested Development is coming back and Community got renewed, but AD is returning on Netflix (subscription) and Sony fired the creator/showrunner on Community in order to replace him with a more mainstream crew.
  What is this?!
  Why are we so adverse to intellectual, imaginative television?
  Why do generic police and medical dramas soar while breakthrough concepts drown?
  This is a call to action. Start thinking. Even when watching television. Brain stimulation isn't bad, it's good.
  Two and a Half Men is bad.
  That's the enemy.
  Generic, trite entertainment that refuses to innovate.
  Word.

This Film isn't FOR You

 
     It didn't begin recently, Georges Méliès and his contemporaries definitely knew that at its core Film would always be Art over Business, but big time studio Writers and Directors are really trying their hardest to turn out films that make us CONTEMPLATE. Or maybe just convince us we're working out brain while staring at the screen? 

Anyway, there are films that aren't exactly FUN to watch (such is the case with "Irreversible" by Gasper Noe, an incredibly difficult film to finish). Instead these films ask you to sit and EXPERIENCE a story, no matter how grisly, or honest, or tedious it may seem. 


The most difficult part about these films is where their audience lies. It seems to be somewhere between High School Film Buff and Pretentious Film Critics. Although, I guess those two are basically becoming one and the same.


I genuinely enjoy these movies. The slow, simmering drama or the fast cut mind melts that David Fincher has been trying to push onto Mainstream Audiences for the past 2 decades. The thing is. Not many people DO enjoy these films. So what does that mean? Should Films stop trying to be art? Because I honestly don't see audiences getting smarter anytime soon.


On that cue: Go see The Cabin in the Woods. It's smarter than most audiences and deserves to be seen.

The Avengers (Review)

  

      Do you remember when you were younger, sitting in the middle of who knows where, enthralled only by your action figures? Or do you remember countless hours spent imagining and creating worlds that never were, just so that you could be there? Jump there, live there? That was back when your imagination was on full blast. Now I want you to sit back and enjoy The Avengers, because it has a lot of imagination. It is every one of those Action-Figure-Make-Pretend Days, packed into 2 hours. I got to see this film at an advanced screening, about two weeks ago, and let me tell you, you are going to have FUN with this movie. 

  What the Cast and Crew have created in The Avengers is a continuous barrage of breathtaking visuals, rip-roaring sounds, and to-exclude-any-fluff, and Boatload of Bad-Assery. Seriously, guys, this movie is so cool. The Cast and Crew have managed to take a handful of heroes, an army of villains, and never once rush the pacing. The film never films cramped. Unlike Transformers, where it felt like there were too many robots and too many humans and the film felt generally WAY too long, clocking in at nearly 3 hours. But The Avengers feels just right. There is no heavy handedness, as all characters get great amounts of screentime- and by the way the casting is pitch perfect in this, each line and facial expression is so much like the character that I don't even DOUBT these are Gods and Millionaires, and Giant Green Rage Monsters. The Crew, lead by the extraordinary director Joss Whedon, give us some of the coolest Superhero Images in a long time, along with a soundtrack that never once drags or interrupts the action on screen.

  The biggest thing about The Avengers, is that it isn't The Dark Knight Rises. It isn't deep, and it isn't moody. It's just FUN. Lots of it. So many characters, so many bad ass moments (one scene in particular that I can't wait to discuss with friends), and so few flaws, I can't help but love it. I also can't wait to see what this means for Superhero Films. Are people getting tired of them yet? Will this and "The Dark Knight" and "The Amazing Spider-Man" make them want even MORE? In order to play Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Mark Ruffalo signed a Six-Film contract with Marvel. SIX FILMS. That's a lot of years and a lot of effort. Will people still care? 

You won't come out of this film contemplating existence, but you will want to take out bad guys and save the world. And in the end, that's the whole point of Superhero Films, right?

Worth Your Time and Money?: Yes. If you've ever liked big action blockbusters, or Superhero Films, this movie is going to hit all the right notes.