Community: Season 1 (2009)

I've never actually seen a show from it's first episode to it's last and I; for the most part, avoid TV overall. I tried watching some shows but most of them are just really...crappy. Although, I have enjoyed some animated shows such as:Family Guy,Simpsons,Futurama and Spongebob. Now I came across this show after hearing tons of people going on and on about it's greatness. Did I find it to be as great as everyone else says it to be? No. Did I really enjoy it? Yes.

The show contains: a brown guy who loves film, psychoanalyzing, and is THOUGHT to have asspergers, a white girl who is pretty much a major hipster, another white girl who has a major holier then thou attitude, a black divorced mother, an old white racist man whose been divorced several times due to his stubbornness and lack of common sense, a black male whose a major "jock" and didn't do so well in school and a white ex-lawyer whose also a major playboy. These 7 unique individuals all meet and go through various adventures due to becoming friends and creating their own study group at their community college.

The show starts off rather mediocre and struggles quite a bit due to the fact that it tries to get all the characters; who most wouldn't find very interesting and rather unlikable, to become more fleshed out and "likable". It's also incredibly ridiculous. Like the amount of shenanigans these individuals go through made me go "WTF?" a couple times. Thus, do not expect realism, if you are going to watch this show. The characters are also dumb at times and psychologically incorrect but the show is also very energetic and thus you don't care too much. The reason I described the characters nationality in the paragraph above is because, the theme of racism is very relevant through this series. It is actually a flaw at first, as it becomes like a major stamp on your face but it slowly get's mixed in with the humor and story properly. Fortunately, after the first half of the show, it starts to flow a lot more nicely, the subtle humour is a lot more smarter, the characters are a hell lot more likable, and the creativity is just bouncing everywhere! One thing I cannot deny about the show is the fact that it's very heartfelt and "epic" at times. It's pretty darn creative and features some nice homages for: "The Dark Knight, "Goodfellas", "Predator", "Call of Duty", etc. My favorite episode would have to be the "Modern Warfare" episode or "Introduction to Statistics". From what I've been told, the first season is actually the worst, as the next 2 are actually FAR better and manage everything quite perfectly. I personally found a bit of myself in every character and the stuff these individuals go through, was very relatable and even rather thought provoking. The show touches upon various topics of life, and THAT is a major plus for this series.There is never really a dull moment in this overly energetic and creative series. I am very much anticipating the next season, as I DESPITE being not as impressed as everyone else I know, enjoyed it. I liked it's creativity, it's subtle humor, the fact that it features tons of type cast characters and plot lines but makes them fresh and entertaining, it's ability to enlighten me on the smallest topics of life to the largest, and thus, you just end up going through a bit of a nostalgia rush at the finale episode, even if it was a bit anticlimatic. It's a good show and I totally recommend it. Sorry for this crappy review though.

7/10

I'd recommend watching this trailer as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4W4L9TLJa8

One Direction

Music Review

Basking in their success ever since Simon Cowell signed their record label, One Direction have taken over the world with their undeniable charm. I listened to mostly all of their songs and I can come to a conclusion that: Their alright. I don’t know if they will last long with their success but so far, their doing a decent job. The problem with them is that, their just like any other pop artists. Their lyrics are as bland as bland can be. It’s just them screaming out to teenage girls “We love you and we want you to love us!” Literally. Like in one of their videos, they are standing in a bus, smiling, wearing almost exactly the same clothing as each other, waving to all of their ecstatic fans singing “Get out, get out,get out of my head, and fall into my arms instead”. It’s like they all sat down together and told each other, “Hey mate, we’re gonna use lyrics from other artists,and sometimes just say whatever comes into our minds at the moment. After all, we’re really good looking, we got an Irish guy who actually has a decent voice, we got SWAG, and well…GIRLS LOVE US!”. Ugh. Unfunny as this may be for fans, it most probably is true. You can see their having the time of their lives and for the most part, they might even be considered to be purposely corny but as I listened to one of their other songs that was meant to be serious, “More than this” and “Gotta be you”, I realized…these guys suck lyrically. It’s very cringe worthy. I would also like to say I do adore their fashion but even that get’s a bit too much. All the teenage girls listening to their music now, will most likely laugh in embarrassment 10 years from now so I’ll let it go. Their fans have obviously fallen for the trap that media has set up…since the beginning of media. Their “music” is fine but get’s annoying after listening to it on the radio a ton of times and I noticed some of the instruments used sound rather cheap.

Overall, One Direction has the looks but that’s pretty much it. I see about 5 years before they split and end up doing their own thing…maybe even going after a real job and living a normal life like the average person. I do feel sickened at times as these guys set up the standards for some girls…they may deny it but subconsciously…it’s true. 

Rating: 4/10




For all you "One Direction" haters, a parody: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=t7CHfqg0wd8 

Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2011)

Film #375


Tucker & Dale vs Evil (2011)




I'd like to say that director Eli Craig is going far in his career after this film. I mean dammit this movie was freaking hilarious, full out ridiculous, very entertaining, heartfelt and even politically correct! It's definitely being added to my favourite comedies of all time. The film tackles horror film cliches in a way that is just so damn entertaining and it was hard to really point out any of the flaws as it was purposely ridiculous. The fact that it tries to send out the message that "people are individuals, not just easy regional stereotypes." made me love it even more. This is a damn good movie that deserves to be known by more people. It's kinda genius in a way to be honest. (You have to really think about many of the various aspects such as the significance of the title, the characters and their motives,etc). Then again, this is no perfect film. It's got it's share of flaws, such as a weak last quarter, the technical aspects could have been stronger, and for a film like this, more shock factor would have made it better. STILL, it's a damn good movie.

8/10

-Alexson Philipiah

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest (2006)

Film #369


Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest (2006)


If there's one thing I stand by it's that Gore Verbinski really knows how to handle visuals. I mean WOW. The costumes,CGI and cinematography are just fantastic in this film. It's a real treat to watch in glorious HD quality. ANYWAYS, the film overall...is OK. Rather disappointing as the first film was actually really good. This one goes for surface over substance. It does get darker with the appearance of Davy Jones but the story is just really thin. It's also WAY too long for it's own good. 2 hours and 20 min is a LONG running time. None of the actors really brought anything special other then Johnny Depps character "Jack Sparrow" due to certain "reasons". If the film had a stronger story with better character development this could've been an amazing film. Oh well I had fun with it for sure but here's hoping the third ends this series satisfyingly...oh wait for some odd reason there's a 4th...-_-

6/10

-Alexson Philipiah

War Horse (2011)

Film #352


War Horse (2011)


It's a very "nice" film. Yeah it drags a bit in the middle,some of it felt like something I've seen already in other films and is longer then it should be, and it's rather cheesy with a lot of sap, but I guess I enjoy this type of "sap". Spielbergian sap is the good type of sap. I also really liked the fact that it gives the viewers different perspectives of World War 1 along with the horse being the main character. All the characters were nicely developed with the story of the two German boys and the farm boy having the most emotional impact towards me. I also found it interesting that the Germans "invaded" their own peoples homes...I never knew that....Very nice cinematography and visuals,they were a bit literal of it's meanings like the whole orange shadings in the end of the film, but still. I also liked the nice classic score that was done by John Williams, it definitely brought the overall feel of the early 1900's and the first war. Overall,it's not as amazing as Nick Lyonssays it out to be, but it's good stuff. 

7/10


-Alexson Philipiah

Submarine (2010)

Film #350

Submarine (2010)


Just another coming of age romantic comedy with a British twinge. The plot is nothing new but debut director Richard Ayoade manages to make the film thrum with quality. I'm definitely looking forward to more of his films. The cinematography was quite nice. All the actors are great with the two main leads, Craig Roberts and Yasmin Paige, driving the film with their quirky and realistic yet at the same time slightly over dramatic relationship. The film does begin to falter a bit near the middle due to the film focusing more on the falling relationship of the main leads parents then their own. Still, it was entertaining from the start to the end with plenty of references that may excite some of you film lovers, and managed to once again confirm to me that love is just so damn messy. 


7/10



-Alexson Philipiah

Another Earth (2011)

Film #346


Another Earth (2011)

When I first saw the words "Another Earth" on my Youtube suggestions, my interest was automatically sparked, as I am quite fascinated by any sort of news that is what you could say.."out of this world". So I click the video, with the idea that I am about to either watch a spam video or something truly amazing. The video ended up being a trailer for a film. So despite my heart sinking, I was still intrigued to see what this film was about. After viewing the trailer, I was truly amazed at what I had seen. The film seemed to have so much potential of being a masterpiece. Most didn't agree but I stood tall with my opinion...Anyways, I finally got to watching one of my most anticipated films of 2011...and I was disappointed.

The film is about a girl and an accident she has that ruins her life and the victims life fully...oh yeah and then there's the whole preposterous "Second Earth" gimmick. I didn't HATE it...but I didn't LOVE it as much as I was hoping to. The mere sight of Another Earth just above our dear Planet was just...truly mesmerizing...but that's all that I did find that was actually better then average...which this film is. The reasons I say that are because a lot of the film felt very amateurish in almost everything. The characters weren't much explored properly ,the screenplay went to a stupid twist in the middle and the technical aspects were weak to the point of annoyance. Those 3 aspects are one of the main aspects that carry a film to greatness. I actually liked all the characters at first, and I was able to sympathize with the main characters troubles but for a girl who says she doesn't want to make mistakes, she sure made some stupid mistakes. ***Spoiler Alert*** (I really hated the fact that she went along and slept with the man whose life she ruined...like it just got really ridiculous...I didn't feel that the characters had enough development to even make such a decision.) Anyways, the ridiculous twist in the middle made me get annoyed towards most of the film afterwards. Then there's the ending. What the fuck? I mean it wasn't bad but it was rather cheesy and lazy...in fact the screenplay overall was lazy and dull. There were many moments where I was just waiting to see something that I haven't seen in so many other films...but it never came...

You notice how that whole paragraph above is constantly referring to the weak characters instead of what this film should be about? Yeah that was a problem as well. The film seemed to have lost it's overall focus towards the "Another Earth" after the middle of the film. I mean it tried to show that it was being a philosophical film by using metaphors, some good thought provoking messages, abstract images that I don't fully understand, which was fine in my opinion but those moments weren't enough. If it wasn't for the whole setting of the EARTH 2 to give the characters a chance at redemption in their lives; which is quite an interesting thought, the film would be pretty bad. Yeah it was a gimmick. I have a feeling we can expect more of these ANOTHER EARTH gimmicks. Once again I seem to sound like I truly hate this film. Which is not true. There were some redeeming aspects but I thought it was disappointing. I don't feel like talking much about the positives...what ever I mentioned earlier was pretty much it. Overall, Another Earth wastes an intriguing premise by trying to make the audience sympathize with weak characters while throwing in a couple unique and thought provoking messages about redemption and humanity, for which I ended up not even caring about anymore.

6/10


- Alexson Philipiah