![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of Teen Titans Go!, DC Nation Shorts, the finales Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Once Upon A Time, the latest episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy, American Dad, The Boondocks, Fargo, and Louie, the finale of Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge, and the latest episode of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.
Upcoming reviews include Son Of Batman, The Wolverine: Extended Edition, Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher, The Spectacular Spider-Man: The Complete Series, Frozen, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Extended Edition, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (Blu-Ray), The Veronica Mars Movie, Power Rangers: Zeo: Volume 1, Power Rangers: Zeo: Volume 2, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, Power Rangers Turbo: Volume 1, Power Rangers Samurai: The Complete Season, Samurai Jack: Season Three, Earthworm Jim: The Complete Series, Kingdom Hospital: The Entire Series, and Game Of Thrones: Season 1.
DC Nation
Teen Titans Go! "Real Magic"
So much goodness this episode.
First off, the idea that Raven was the one who offended the Magic Gods for being a heckler? Genius. Aside from being unpredictable, it actually makes sense, and makes you realize that her behavior was WAY worse than you realized.
And yay! Munbo!
Cyborg fanboying Webster was fun, but I have no idea how the writers can have me take him seriously after him being a fan of Small Wonder. It is literally the worst scripted series ever made. There have been worse talk shows and reality shows, but for a show where some idiot actually wrote down a script? It is the worst. It makes Saved By The Bell look like The Wire. I'm not joking. And it lasted four seasons. 80's TV hated me.
Funniest bit was the "Yes You Do" caption over the live-action picture of the baby in the Raven costume.
Any faults? I thought the joke of Beast Boy lying on Raven's bed in his underwear was unbelievably icky. It made me sick to my stomach. And it was unfortunately seconds after the best joke of the episode.
By still, the episode was funny. ****.
DC Super-Pets #2: Have Your Cake And B'Dg Too
I hate the Super Pets shorts. They have none of Farm League's style. Boring. *1/2.
Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. "The Beginning Of The End"
I cheered when Nick Fury appeared. Also when Coulson blew Garrett's head off. I love it whenever a show stops a "I am not dead yet!" villain rebirth cold. Joss has done this more than once, and this was a funny take.
I thought Coulson asking who he could talk to about a haircut was hilarious.
I really hope Fitz will be all right. I now ship him and Simmons pretty badly.
Ward being in custody will be interesting next season. I loved May kicking every square inch of his butt.
Quinn calling Garrett "Part time" was funny too.
I'm glad Deathlok is free too. I'd like to see him return next season.
Coulson and Fury's buddy cop routine making fun of Garrett's craziness was awesome. I just realized how much this show needs Fury.
Coulson being the new director at SHIELD would be awesome to me if that didn't mean that I fear they are retiring Fury. I want him to not only stick around, but to be as important as he has always been.
Great finale. Can't wait for next season and Agent Carter. *****.
Once Upon A Time "Snow Drifts / There's No Place Like Home"
All throughout the episode I was like "Don't be Marian. Don't be Marian." But when it turns out Emma took her to the future, I really liked the twist a lot. I think Emma did Regina a HUGE favor and neither of them realized it tonight. Can you imagine if Robin had ever learned Regina was the one who killed Marian? He would NEVER forgive her and she would lose him forever. Now, when everything is revealed next season, Robin WILL be ticked Regina was GOING to execute her, but their relationship will still probably be able to be repaired. Regina is still in the running for Robin's affections. It won't be easy (and I'm betting like Neal, Marian will have to die to make Robin's choice easier) but it's still possible. It wouldn't have been with the idea of Regina killing Marian hanging over them.
Speaking of things hanging over them, I'm betting Rumple killing Zelena won't be a huge deal next season. But giving Belle a fake dagger? That is a screw-up on the level of giving someone a glass diamond ring. You can't say something is the tool to profess your love to someone and have it be a fake. It is just not cool. Belle is the forgiving type, but she will be ticked.
Funniest line goes to Rumple "What the h*ll am I doing in here?"
I see why Neal had to die now. I would never be okay with Emma and Killian if Bae was still alive. I found it interesting that the Rumple of the past still let Emma go when he learned Bae's fate. Even when he was the darkest of dark ones, Rumple STILL had a soul. That's kind of cool.
I need to hurry up and watch my Frozen DVD before next season. It looks like Disney is starting to have almost as good synergy as Marvel. ****1/2.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "Newtralized!"
I can buy Slash being gradually reformed. It makes a certain amount of sense too. He's a little bit mentally unstable, but he's never struck me as evil. I could totally buy him being interested in protecting innocent people.
Still, the episode followed a formula that is getting tiring, with the Turtle of the week learning a Very Important Lesson on how to get along. The Raph episodes are usually the most egregious of these, so I wasn't too happy.
But the episode could have been worse. And more Ice Cream Kitty is always a good thing. ***.
The Simpsons "Pay Pal"
Great episode. The Simpsons has been having an unusually good season this year, but usually even in the good seasons, they tend to peter out in quality near the end. The season has not. This ep had a lot of cool and funny observations which shows that the show is even more insightful in certain respects than it was in the Golden Years.
What do I mean? Well, Bart telling Marge the absolute worst thing Lisa could have actually said to her was really smart and an insightful, (if alarming) character moment for Bart. It's obvious the little stinker had REALLY put some thought into it beforehand.
I also like that the episode took the refreshing tack of Marge not being mad at Homer for his social blunder, and Lisa and not mad at Bart for upsetting her. And neither of them should have been, so I was glad about that.
How shall I put this delicately? Homer is mentally disabled. It was a bit unrealistic for Marge to put Homer in that particular social situation and not expect something to go south. Notice the difference between Homer and Peter Griffin: Homer's mistake is genuine and not done through malice. Whenever Peter ruins occasions, he ALWAYS does it on purpose, or to get attention for himself. Homer is just not a very bright person, and even though it was sad, I think it was kind of cool of Marge not to give him a hard time over it.
Lisa not being mad at Bart was great too. Why? Because he was actually doing her a favor. He can't actually NOT be a little turd about it, and not demand $5, but he was concerned enough about the situation, to do a little digging all on his own. I like his observation that nobody likes jazz that much, and even the musicians had to do drugs to be good at it. Its not true, of course, but its the kind of smart-alecky thing a kid like Bart would think.
I loved the end of Lisa being both delighted and horrified that she made Marge cry. She ALMOST did it. She almost used the situation to manipulate Marge into doing whatever she wanted. But Lisa is NOT Bart, and the only thing she wanted at that moment was for Marge to stop crying. I loved her mother telling her that she should forget that lesson. You better hope she does, Marge.
The stuff about Grandpa paying Lenny and Carl to be Homer's friends for all of these decades was hilarious, especially because it turned out it wasn't true. It may have seemed cruel at the time, but I like that Grandpa likes Marge enough that he'll spin a crazy story to make her feel less horrible as a parent. I was especially amused that Homer wasn't entirely too fussed about the situation. They could have portrayed him as upset as Lisa, but that would totally have been the wrong tack to take. Homer being impressed Barney was his friend for free was WAAAYYY funnier, and also didn't wind up making the situation about Homer rather than Marge. Good writing.
Were you as tickled at that rushed faked birthday party as I was? Homer and Marge went above and beyond there. I especially liked that they got away with it. Homer is NOT completely useless.
I absolutely adored this episode. *****.
Bob's Burgers "Wharf Horse"
That was pretty much awesome. It is a rarity that every single subplot on this show works, but they all kind of did. I laughed at the clips of Tina falling off of the horse as a baby. I also thought it was hysterical that if Gene died his one regret would be never having seen Hall and Oates in concert.
And the cliffhanger was hilarious. Kevin Kline has really grown into his role as Fischoeder (you could tell he was a little uncomfortable with it in season one) and he was hilarious all throughout the episode. I loved him not being the slightest bit angry he was kidnapped and his exchange between Bob during the cliffhanger.
That was an episode where everything clicked. *****.
Family Guy "He's Bla-ack!"
I'm sorry, this sucked. I thought the jokes at Cleveland's expense were WAY too harsh, which is kind of weird because it's basically one Sethverse show taking a shot at another. I think it was TOO mean, which is definitely not a feeling I should be having.
About the only thing I liked was the joke with the Morse Code flashlights. It ending in "Who else but Quagmire?" was hilarious.
Lois is in no position to call Donna a bad mother. Donna is closer to her children that Lois ever has been, and looks out for them in a way she does not. I'm a little bit alarmed that the fact that Chris smashed a vase over the head of Donna's five-year-old child wasn't brought up. In real life, Chris would be in jail for that, and yet Lois pretends her family is the wounded party.
Seriously, as bad as Brian is, at least the series lets you KNOW he's bad. They often try to have me sympathize with Lois, but I can't. Because she has a smoking baby on the roof.
Everything left a sour taste in my mouth this episode. *.
American Dad "News Glances With Genevieve Vavance"
Roger is NOT a character like Stan Smith or Peter Griffin that has to be a CERTAIN amount of likable for the show to work. Seth MacFarlane oftentime fails with Peter and Stan, but Roger is a different animal and we LOVE to see him behaving badly. He's a more successful and lovable version of the annoying Bender on Futurama. All that said, there ARE limits. And I think he crossed them this episode.
Sethverse shows always ask me to forgive a LOT, especially if a character supposedly learns a lesson at the end. But I think Seth MacFarlane and I have very different ideas of what behavior is something you can forgive with a pretty speech. I repeat: I think Seth is probably a terrible person in real life. I will give the episode credit for not teaching Roger a lesson. If Roger didn't already know what he was doing was wrong then he is beyond hopeless. He is a sociopath and the episode didn't insult us by pretending he wasn't.
But I kind of like how this episode REALLY went after Fox News' Nancy Grace like that. Seriously. She is a horrible "journalist" and fits right in at Fox News. I'm surprise Fox let Fuzzy Door get away with it. They didn't much care for it when The Simpsons went after Fox News a few seasons ago.
But I didn't like the episode much. **1/2.
The Boondocks "Early Bird Special"
I think Aaron MacGruder and Seth MacFarlane show about an equal amount of misogyny on their cartoons, but there IS a difference. Even if Seth MacFarlane is a sexist, you can tell he's only joking. That's his excuse, and it can totally be read that way. Not sure it covers it with me, but I can get why it for does Family Guy fans who are rabid than I am.
MacGruder though? I think he means it. I think this is genuinely the way he thinks. Even Family Guy will occasionally do an empowering thing for Lois or Meg, and American Dad for Francine or Hayley. This NEVER happens on The Boondocks. Women are things to be used, and are the butts of jokes exclusively. I'd almost be inclined to forgive if The Boondocks were a worse show. Then I could just dismiss it. But somebody as obviously talented as MacGruder thinking this way disturbs me greatly.
I'm glad this is the last season. This series has definitely worn out its welcome. *.
Fargo "The Six Ungraspables"
Dark and surprisingly unfunny episode. That doesn't mean it was bad, just that it didn't amuse me the way the series usually does.
The parable was very interesting to me. I wonder what the series was trying to say with it.
I think I'll probably like next week more. ***.
Louie "So Did The Fat Lady"
That was beautiful. Louie C.K. nailed it when he wrote this episode. I think the genius of the episode was that they somehow seemed to get the sexiest and most appealing fat woman of all time (Sarah Baker) to be Louie's pursuit. You just sit there with your mouth open, wondering why the heck Louie isn't making a move on this hot, funny girl until she calls him on it that it is only because she is fat. And I love that she doesn't let him get away with "You're not fat." I had never even considered how devastating that must be for a woman to hear but she was totally right. That wasn't cool. It implies there is something WRONG with being fat and that fat people are inherently bad people. That's not right.
As a fat person I never stopped to think about how much worse it must be for a woman in our image obsessed society. It's pretty tough for me, but since women seem to be judged on their looks MUCH more than men, it's gotta really suck. This episode was really special. *****.
Louie "Elevator, Part 1"
I'm curious how they plan to stretch this to six parts but that's neither here nor there
The scene on the subway disturbed me almost as much as it did Louie. There is something SERIOUSLY wrong with his daughter. Him shaking her was a sign of desperation on his part. And his ex-wife can barely even look at him after that. She hates him for it, but can't say that because she knows very well it isn't actually his fault. I predict we are going to see that Louie's youngest daughter needs to see therapists and is psychologically damaged.
The Elevator stuff was okay, but it was the stuff on the Subway that really shook me to my core. That strange man talking to her? I got chills. Louie REALLY knows how to make the audience uncomfortable in situations that aren't actually funny. Because of stuff like that I don't necessarily think of it as a comedy in the strictest sense, although it is almost always very funny. Great episode. ****.
Jin Henson's Creature Shop Challenge "Tavern At The Crossroads"
Honestly? I think Robert was the weakest designer out of the final three. Ben was definitely the better innovator, and Melissa learns faster than anybody else, but I still understand by Robert walked away with the contract: his final puppet was the best of the three. I get that the judges seem to take more things into consideration than just the puppet of the week, but I don't think it would have been right to do that for the final show. Way too many people watching. Robert's puppet was best, so he deserved to win.
Unlike last week though, I didn't think all of the entries were excellent. Not even Robert's impressed me that much. Still, I'm glad it was fair and that he won. ****1/2.
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odessy "The Electric Boy"
All right. Not as great as some of the past weeks (more of a history lesson than a science one) but like all episodes, it held my interest. **1/2.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
I have to say it. I don't care what the fans of the books think. The films are WAAAAYYYY better. I thought the first film and the first book each had their own merits, and I liked them about equally for different reasons. But while I was VERY indifferent to Catching Fire, the book, I think this film is fantastic. And that REALLY gives me better hopes for Mockingjay, Part 2. I thought the end of the third book sucked big time, but if they take the tack they have been taking with the movies, it might not. That's not a sure thing, but they could conceivably make it work.
Why do I think the films are superior? Because Suzanne Collins made the VERY unfortunate choice to make the books a first-person narrative. That could have conceivably worked for a different character, but Katniss Everdeen, despite being cunning and an expert survivalist, is also a bit dull-witted. I love her to death for it, but that also means that the reader is experiencing things through her filter, and since she has lousy perceptions of other people and her surroundings, we never get the full story. The rebellion against the Capital seems a bit random, and Katniss herself is only vaguely aware of it. Here, in the movie, we see exactly how and why the revolution is fermenting and for once, I totally believe a handful of berries could topple a fascist dictatorship. The book, as seen through Katniss' eyes, never made me feel that. And that is the genius thing about the films.
Take Finnick. In the book Katniss is unimpressed with him, and thinks he a preening idiot so you kind of do too. But the actor who plays makes him seem incredibly smart and perceptive, and says a lot by saying little. And because we aren't seeing him through Katniss' eyes, we see what she doesn't. Johanna is another example. In the book Johanna is presented to us as unnecessarily angry and a bit mentally unstable. She makes Katniss a bit uncomfortable, because she wears her heart on her sleeve. But in the movie? Her fury is righteous. She has EVERY right to be as infuriated by the Quarter Quell as she is, and we get to see a LOT more of her open defiance against the Capital, much of it when Katniss wasn't either around, or was paying attention to Peeta in the book. The interviews with Caesar in the movie are way better too. We got the sense in the book that it was Peeta's showstopping lie about "the baby" that got the crowd up in arms, but every single Tribute in the movie openly showed contempt for the proceedings, and Caesar seems to be losing more control of the situation than he was in the book. "The Baby" was the last straw. Caesar lost the crowd long before that in the movie.
I also loved learning that Snow's granddaughter was fangirling Katniss. Honestly, that is AWESOME, and even if it actually happened in the world of the book, we'd have no way of knowing about it. Another point in the movie's favor.
I also think if I had never read the book, Plutarch Heavensbee being a white hat would have been a MUCH bigger shock. His suggestion to Snow to intercut footage of the Districts being tortured with fluff about Katniss and Peeta's wedding was brilliant, and could have potentially dealt the resistance a fatal blow if it weren't for the fact that Katniss has never been good at playing along. Did Plutarch know this and expect the plan to fail? Because the plan was a DANG good one, and would have been more likely to succeed than not. It was SO good, you realize exactly how deep undercover he was. He not only did nothing to rouse Snow's suspicions, but he completely fooled him (and I'm betting a good chunk of the audience) into thinking he was on his side. It was brilliantly handled.
Speaking of Snow, I was unsure of how I felt about Donald Sutherland in the first film. True, he didn't have much to do, but I thought he was much too old for the part, and that Snow should be clean-shaven, while Sutherland sports a quite magnificent gray beard. But honestly? Even if he isn't completely like the Snow in the book, Sutherland does so many interesting and subtle things with his performance, that I'm glad he was cast. He's different than the book, but I think he might be even more INTERESTING than in the book. The scene of him in Katniss' house was a complete horrorshow in the book (it seriously rattled the nearly unflappable Katniss) but Sutherland plays it so cool and understated here, that his actions are more open to interpretation. He's still a scumbag, but you aren't completely sure exactly how big of one he is yet.
Philip Seymour Hoffman was a revelation as Plutarch Heavensbee. Heavensbee never made much of an impression with me in the book, but Hoffman is SOOO great and likeable in the role that even when he is conspiring horrific things with Snow, you are impressed with the genius of his deviousness. If more villains were as smart as him, fiction would be MUCH better. The fact that he turns out to be a good guy? That's icing on the cake.
Sam Claflin was also great as Finnick. He does a better job in that role than either Josh Hutchersom or Liam Hemsworth ever did in theirs. I think he may even be better than Jennifer Lawrence. I'm not kidding.
I love Katniss Everdeen, the character, and disagree strongly with people who think she should for some reason, WANT to lead the rebellion, or be a better role model. Or that she should be nicer to Peeta or Gale (whichever one you ship). Those criticisms are inane. BUT... I also think the books would probably have been better if they weren't told entirely from her perspective. First person narratives are tough, and usually ONLY work if the main character is clever enough to recognize what is happening in their surroundings. Katniss is a bit too Asperger's for that, God bless her. As a narrator she is simply unreliable. I always got that sense from her in the books and the movies confirmed it.
So this is one of those rare movies that is better than the book. The only other examples I can think of this being true are the original Lord of the Rings films and the classic Wizard of Oz. I cannot think of another single movie where this is true (not even The Hobbit). Every time I saw a Harry Potter movie, I would groan around every five minutes when I realized they were going to leave out a crucial or awesome scene from the book. In the Hunger Games movies, I don't feel like anything is missing. In fact, I think we get a BETTER picture of what is happening than the book is capable of telling us. And I love it for that. *****.
Deleted Scenes:
I'm glad they cut the scene of Plutarch and the envelope because it is never explained and we are never given any context for it. What good is hinting that Plutarch might have ulterior motives if we never learn exactly what his suspicious behavior was actually about? The rest of the scenes were good. I liked getting the full history of Jabberjays and Mockingjays from President Snow, and we also got another excellent scene between Katniss and Finnick. ****.
Surviving The Game: Making The Hunger Games: Catching Fire:
Multi-part featurette about making the movie. Overall: ****.
A New Kind Of Hunger: Continuing The Saga:
I knew they would comment about how flagrantly they broke the first person narrative in the movie, but they kind of had to, and the movie is better for it. ****.
Visual Vocabulary: Building A World:
All of the work they did with constructing the circular pond and Cornucopia was amazing. I would have thought they'd do something like that with CG.,****1/2.
Stirring Things Up: The Cast:
I was very saddened by these interviews with Philip Seymour Hoffman. He seemed like a very sweet and gentle man which makes his death all the more tragic. ****.
Fashion Forward: Costume, Make-Up & Hair:
Seeing all of these fashions makes me realize two things: Effie is not as bad of a character as she initially appeared in the first book and film. She has a conscience to her that is wearing on her more and more as the second film goes on. The second observation is that Caesar Flickerman is MUCH worse of a person than he was portrayed in the first film. He's quite insidious actually. He pretends he is the Tributes' friend, but seconds after mourning the tragedy of what is about to happen, he goes straight into how excited he is, and that these will be the best games ever. Caesar is a VERY dark character, and I think my initial impression of him from the books and the first movie (that he was as harmless as Effie and Katniss' stylists) is totally wrong. He is a psychopath. But yes, the fashions were amazing. The Avoxes were particularly horrifying. ****.
Let It Fly: Production In Atlanta:
That story of Sam Claflin accidently dropping Lynne Cohen into the freezing water was hilarious. The dude sounded so horrified by the entire experience. I loved that Cohen immediately started to laugh uncontrollably once she resurfaced. Old people are cool. ****1/2.
Moves And Countermoves: Stunts & Weapons:
People who say that actors are overpaid and lazy, and don't have any idea of how hard a real job is, don't know what they're talking about. The amount of intense training these people had to go through, (400 sit-ups a day!) as well as the fact that they had to spend days in near freezing dirty water battling ear infections, makes you realize they work as hard as anybody. John Hutcherson was very insightful in saying that when you are doing CGI fight scenes, you should never think of how you must look objectively. Because you are doing some pretty silly things that ONLY look good on camera. In real life you kind of look like a nut, and realizing that will take you out of the reality of the situation. *****.
Tick Tock: Production In Hawaii:
Jena Malone is awesome. Her telling the story about her spending an entire day covered in blood and looking at herself in the mirror while she was using the bathroom was golden. She is SO Johanna. ****.
Threading The Needle: Post-Production:
About the technical aspects of the film. Unsurprisingly, the most boring of the featurettes. **.
The Revolution Lives: Reflections & Looking Forward:
Teasing The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One. Considering how much Elizabeth Banks is in these interviews, it is clear Effie will have a much bigger role in the movie than she did in the book (she only cameoed at the end of the novel). If you are looking for a gag reel on the Blu-Ray it is played during the end credits of this featurette. ****1/2.
Blu-Ray Menu: Excellent. Even the trailers have a connection to the Capitol. *****.
DVD Menu: They actually gave us an entirely different animated menu for both the Blu-Ray and the DVD. *****.
Upcoming reviews include Son Of Batman, The Wolverine: Extended Edition, Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher, The Spectacular Spider-Man: The Complete Series, Frozen, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Extended Edition, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (Blu-Ray), The Veronica Mars Movie, Power Rangers: Zeo: Volume 1, Power Rangers: Zeo: Volume 2, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, Power Rangers Turbo: Volume 1, Power Rangers Samurai: The Complete Season, Samurai Jack: Season Three, Earthworm Jim: The Complete Series, Kingdom Hospital: The Entire Series, and Game Of Thrones: Season 1.
DC Nation
Teen Titans Go! "Real Magic"
So much goodness this episode.
First off, the idea that Raven was the one who offended the Magic Gods for being a heckler? Genius. Aside from being unpredictable, it actually makes sense, and makes you realize that her behavior was WAY worse than you realized.
And yay! Munbo!
Cyborg fanboying Webster was fun, but I have no idea how the writers can have me take him seriously after him being a fan of Small Wonder. It is literally the worst scripted series ever made. There have been worse talk shows and reality shows, but for a show where some idiot actually wrote down a script? It is the worst. It makes Saved By The Bell look like The Wire. I'm not joking. And it lasted four seasons. 80's TV hated me.
Funniest bit was the "Yes You Do" caption over the live-action picture of the baby in the Raven costume.
Any faults? I thought the joke of Beast Boy lying on Raven's bed in his underwear was unbelievably icky. It made me sick to my stomach. And it was unfortunately seconds after the best joke of the episode.
By still, the episode was funny. ****.
DC Super-Pets #2: Have Your Cake And B'Dg Too
I hate the Super Pets shorts. They have none of Farm League's style. Boring. *1/2.
Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. "The Beginning Of The End"
I cheered when Nick Fury appeared. Also when Coulson blew Garrett's head off. I love it whenever a show stops a "I am not dead yet!" villain rebirth cold. Joss has done this more than once, and this was a funny take.
I thought Coulson asking who he could talk to about a haircut was hilarious.
I really hope Fitz will be all right. I now ship him and Simmons pretty badly.
Ward being in custody will be interesting next season. I loved May kicking every square inch of his butt.
Quinn calling Garrett "Part time" was funny too.
I'm glad Deathlok is free too. I'd like to see him return next season.
Coulson and Fury's buddy cop routine making fun of Garrett's craziness was awesome. I just realized how much this show needs Fury.
Coulson being the new director at SHIELD would be awesome to me if that didn't mean that I fear they are retiring Fury. I want him to not only stick around, but to be as important as he has always been.
Great finale. Can't wait for next season and Agent Carter. *****.
Once Upon A Time "Snow Drifts / There's No Place Like Home"
All throughout the episode I was like "Don't be Marian. Don't be Marian." But when it turns out Emma took her to the future, I really liked the twist a lot. I think Emma did Regina a HUGE favor and neither of them realized it tonight. Can you imagine if Robin had ever learned Regina was the one who killed Marian? He would NEVER forgive her and she would lose him forever. Now, when everything is revealed next season, Robin WILL be ticked Regina was GOING to execute her, but their relationship will still probably be able to be repaired. Regina is still in the running for Robin's affections. It won't be easy (and I'm betting like Neal, Marian will have to die to make Robin's choice easier) but it's still possible. It wouldn't have been with the idea of Regina killing Marian hanging over them.
Speaking of things hanging over them, I'm betting Rumple killing Zelena won't be a huge deal next season. But giving Belle a fake dagger? That is a screw-up on the level of giving someone a glass diamond ring. You can't say something is the tool to profess your love to someone and have it be a fake. It is just not cool. Belle is the forgiving type, but she will be ticked.
Funniest line goes to Rumple "What the h*ll am I doing in here?"
I see why Neal had to die now. I would never be okay with Emma and Killian if Bae was still alive. I found it interesting that the Rumple of the past still let Emma go when he learned Bae's fate. Even when he was the darkest of dark ones, Rumple STILL had a soul. That's kind of cool.
I need to hurry up and watch my Frozen DVD before next season. It looks like Disney is starting to have almost as good synergy as Marvel. ****1/2.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "Newtralized!"
I can buy Slash being gradually reformed. It makes a certain amount of sense too. He's a little bit mentally unstable, but he's never struck me as evil. I could totally buy him being interested in protecting innocent people.
Still, the episode followed a formula that is getting tiring, with the Turtle of the week learning a Very Important Lesson on how to get along. The Raph episodes are usually the most egregious of these, so I wasn't too happy.
But the episode could have been worse. And more Ice Cream Kitty is always a good thing. ***.
The Simpsons "Pay Pal"
Great episode. The Simpsons has been having an unusually good season this year, but usually even in the good seasons, they tend to peter out in quality near the end. The season has not. This ep had a lot of cool and funny observations which shows that the show is even more insightful in certain respects than it was in the Golden Years.
What do I mean? Well, Bart telling Marge the absolute worst thing Lisa could have actually said to her was really smart and an insightful, (if alarming) character moment for Bart. It's obvious the little stinker had REALLY put some thought into it beforehand.
I also like that the episode took the refreshing tack of Marge not being mad at Homer for his social blunder, and Lisa and not mad at Bart for upsetting her. And neither of them should have been, so I was glad about that.
How shall I put this delicately? Homer is mentally disabled. It was a bit unrealistic for Marge to put Homer in that particular social situation and not expect something to go south. Notice the difference between Homer and Peter Griffin: Homer's mistake is genuine and not done through malice. Whenever Peter ruins occasions, he ALWAYS does it on purpose, or to get attention for himself. Homer is just not a very bright person, and even though it was sad, I think it was kind of cool of Marge not to give him a hard time over it.
Lisa not being mad at Bart was great too. Why? Because he was actually doing her a favor. He can't actually NOT be a little turd about it, and not demand $5, but he was concerned enough about the situation, to do a little digging all on his own. I like his observation that nobody likes jazz that much, and even the musicians had to do drugs to be good at it. Its not true, of course, but its the kind of smart-alecky thing a kid like Bart would think.
I loved the end of Lisa being both delighted and horrified that she made Marge cry. She ALMOST did it. She almost used the situation to manipulate Marge into doing whatever she wanted. But Lisa is NOT Bart, and the only thing she wanted at that moment was for Marge to stop crying. I loved her mother telling her that she should forget that lesson. You better hope she does, Marge.
The stuff about Grandpa paying Lenny and Carl to be Homer's friends for all of these decades was hilarious, especially because it turned out it wasn't true. It may have seemed cruel at the time, but I like that Grandpa likes Marge enough that he'll spin a crazy story to make her feel less horrible as a parent. I was especially amused that Homer wasn't entirely too fussed about the situation. They could have portrayed him as upset as Lisa, but that would totally have been the wrong tack to take. Homer being impressed Barney was his friend for free was WAAAYYY funnier, and also didn't wind up making the situation about Homer rather than Marge. Good writing.
Were you as tickled at that rushed faked birthday party as I was? Homer and Marge went above and beyond there. I especially liked that they got away with it. Homer is NOT completely useless.
I absolutely adored this episode. *****.
Bob's Burgers "Wharf Horse"
That was pretty much awesome. It is a rarity that every single subplot on this show works, but they all kind of did. I laughed at the clips of Tina falling off of the horse as a baby. I also thought it was hysterical that if Gene died his one regret would be never having seen Hall and Oates in concert.
And the cliffhanger was hilarious. Kevin Kline has really grown into his role as Fischoeder (you could tell he was a little uncomfortable with it in season one) and he was hilarious all throughout the episode. I loved him not being the slightest bit angry he was kidnapped and his exchange between Bob during the cliffhanger.
That was an episode where everything clicked. *****.
Family Guy "He's Bla-ack!"
I'm sorry, this sucked. I thought the jokes at Cleveland's expense were WAY too harsh, which is kind of weird because it's basically one Sethverse show taking a shot at another. I think it was TOO mean, which is definitely not a feeling I should be having.
About the only thing I liked was the joke with the Morse Code flashlights. It ending in "Who else but Quagmire?" was hilarious.
Lois is in no position to call Donna a bad mother. Donna is closer to her children that Lois ever has been, and looks out for them in a way she does not. I'm a little bit alarmed that the fact that Chris smashed a vase over the head of Donna's five-year-old child wasn't brought up. In real life, Chris would be in jail for that, and yet Lois pretends her family is the wounded party.
Seriously, as bad as Brian is, at least the series lets you KNOW he's bad. They often try to have me sympathize with Lois, but I can't. Because she has a smoking baby on the roof.
Everything left a sour taste in my mouth this episode. *.
American Dad "News Glances With Genevieve Vavance"
Roger is NOT a character like Stan Smith or Peter Griffin that has to be a CERTAIN amount of likable for the show to work. Seth MacFarlane oftentime fails with Peter and Stan, but Roger is a different animal and we LOVE to see him behaving badly. He's a more successful and lovable version of the annoying Bender on Futurama. All that said, there ARE limits. And I think he crossed them this episode.
Sethverse shows always ask me to forgive a LOT, especially if a character supposedly learns a lesson at the end. But I think Seth MacFarlane and I have very different ideas of what behavior is something you can forgive with a pretty speech. I repeat: I think Seth is probably a terrible person in real life. I will give the episode credit for not teaching Roger a lesson. If Roger didn't already know what he was doing was wrong then he is beyond hopeless. He is a sociopath and the episode didn't insult us by pretending he wasn't.
But I kind of like how this episode REALLY went after Fox News' Nancy Grace like that. Seriously. She is a horrible "journalist" and fits right in at Fox News. I'm surprise Fox let Fuzzy Door get away with it. They didn't much care for it when The Simpsons went after Fox News a few seasons ago.
But I didn't like the episode much. **1/2.
The Boondocks "Early Bird Special"
I think Aaron MacGruder and Seth MacFarlane show about an equal amount of misogyny on their cartoons, but there IS a difference. Even if Seth MacFarlane is a sexist, you can tell he's only joking. That's his excuse, and it can totally be read that way. Not sure it covers it with me, but I can get why it for does Family Guy fans who are rabid than I am.
MacGruder though? I think he means it. I think this is genuinely the way he thinks. Even Family Guy will occasionally do an empowering thing for Lois or Meg, and American Dad for Francine or Hayley. This NEVER happens on The Boondocks. Women are things to be used, and are the butts of jokes exclusively. I'd almost be inclined to forgive if The Boondocks were a worse show. Then I could just dismiss it. But somebody as obviously talented as MacGruder thinking this way disturbs me greatly.
I'm glad this is the last season. This series has definitely worn out its welcome. *.
Fargo "The Six Ungraspables"
Dark and surprisingly unfunny episode. That doesn't mean it was bad, just that it didn't amuse me the way the series usually does.
The parable was very interesting to me. I wonder what the series was trying to say with it.
I think I'll probably like next week more. ***.
Louie "So Did The Fat Lady"
That was beautiful. Louie C.K. nailed it when he wrote this episode. I think the genius of the episode was that they somehow seemed to get the sexiest and most appealing fat woman of all time (Sarah Baker) to be Louie's pursuit. You just sit there with your mouth open, wondering why the heck Louie isn't making a move on this hot, funny girl until she calls him on it that it is only because she is fat. And I love that she doesn't let him get away with "You're not fat." I had never even considered how devastating that must be for a woman to hear but she was totally right. That wasn't cool. It implies there is something WRONG with being fat and that fat people are inherently bad people. That's not right.
As a fat person I never stopped to think about how much worse it must be for a woman in our image obsessed society. It's pretty tough for me, but since women seem to be judged on their looks MUCH more than men, it's gotta really suck. This episode was really special. *****.
Louie "Elevator, Part 1"
I'm curious how they plan to stretch this to six parts but that's neither here nor there
The scene on the subway disturbed me almost as much as it did Louie. There is something SERIOUSLY wrong with his daughter. Him shaking her was a sign of desperation on his part. And his ex-wife can barely even look at him after that. She hates him for it, but can't say that because she knows very well it isn't actually his fault. I predict we are going to see that Louie's youngest daughter needs to see therapists and is psychologically damaged.
The Elevator stuff was okay, but it was the stuff on the Subway that really shook me to my core. That strange man talking to her? I got chills. Louie REALLY knows how to make the audience uncomfortable in situations that aren't actually funny. Because of stuff like that I don't necessarily think of it as a comedy in the strictest sense, although it is almost always very funny. Great episode. ****.
Jin Henson's Creature Shop Challenge "Tavern At The Crossroads"
Honestly? I think Robert was the weakest designer out of the final three. Ben was definitely the better innovator, and Melissa learns faster than anybody else, but I still understand by Robert walked away with the contract: his final puppet was the best of the three. I get that the judges seem to take more things into consideration than just the puppet of the week, but I don't think it would have been right to do that for the final show. Way too many people watching. Robert's puppet was best, so he deserved to win.
Unlike last week though, I didn't think all of the entries were excellent. Not even Robert's impressed me that much. Still, I'm glad it was fair and that he won. ****1/2.
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odessy "The Electric Boy"
All right. Not as great as some of the past weeks (more of a history lesson than a science one) but like all episodes, it held my interest. **1/2.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
I have to say it. I don't care what the fans of the books think. The films are WAAAAYYYY better. I thought the first film and the first book each had their own merits, and I liked them about equally for different reasons. But while I was VERY indifferent to Catching Fire, the book, I think this film is fantastic. And that REALLY gives me better hopes for Mockingjay, Part 2. I thought the end of the third book sucked big time, but if they take the tack they have been taking with the movies, it might not. That's not a sure thing, but they could conceivably make it work.
Why do I think the films are superior? Because Suzanne Collins made the VERY unfortunate choice to make the books a first-person narrative. That could have conceivably worked for a different character, but Katniss Everdeen, despite being cunning and an expert survivalist, is also a bit dull-witted. I love her to death for it, but that also means that the reader is experiencing things through her filter, and since she has lousy perceptions of other people and her surroundings, we never get the full story. The rebellion against the Capital seems a bit random, and Katniss herself is only vaguely aware of it. Here, in the movie, we see exactly how and why the revolution is fermenting and for once, I totally believe a handful of berries could topple a fascist dictatorship. The book, as seen through Katniss' eyes, never made me feel that. And that is the genius thing about the films.
Take Finnick. In the book Katniss is unimpressed with him, and thinks he a preening idiot so you kind of do too. But the actor who plays makes him seem incredibly smart and perceptive, and says a lot by saying little. And because we aren't seeing him through Katniss' eyes, we see what she doesn't. Johanna is another example. In the book Johanna is presented to us as unnecessarily angry and a bit mentally unstable. She makes Katniss a bit uncomfortable, because she wears her heart on her sleeve. But in the movie? Her fury is righteous. She has EVERY right to be as infuriated by the Quarter Quell as she is, and we get to see a LOT more of her open defiance against the Capital, much of it when Katniss wasn't either around, or was paying attention to Peeta in the book. The interviews with Caesar in the movie are way better too. We got the sense in the book that it was Peeta's showstopping lie about "the baby" that got the crowd up in arms, but every single Tribute in the movie openly showed contempt for the proceedings, and Caesar seems to be losing more control of the situation than he was in the book. "The Baby" was the last straw. Caesar lost the crowd long before that in the movie.
I also loved learning that Snow's granddaughter was fangirling Katniss. Honestly, that is AWESOME, and even if it actually happened in the world of the book, we'd have no way of knowing about it. Another point in the movie's favor.
I also think if I had never read the book, Plutarch Heavensbee being a white hat would have been a MUCH bigger shock. His suggestion to Snow to intercut footage of the Districts being tortured with fluff about Katniss and Peeta's wedding was brilliant, and could have potentially dealt the resistance a fatal blow if it weren't for the fact that Katniss has never been good at playing along. Did Plutarch know this and expect the plan to fail? Because the plan was a DANG good one, and would have been more likely to succeed than not. It was SO good, you realize exactly how deep undercover he was. He not only did nothing to rouse Snow's suspicions, but he completely fooled him (and I'm betting a good chunk of the audience) into thinking he was on his side. It was brilliantly handled.
Speaking of Snow, I was unsure of how I felt about Donald Sutherland in the first film. True, he didn't have much to do, but I thought he was much too old for the part, and that Snow should be clean-shaven, while Sutherland sports a quite magnificent gray beard. But honestly? Even if he isn't completely like the Snow in the book, Sutherland does so many interesting and subtle things with his performance, that I'm glad he was cast. He's different than the book, but I think he might be even more INTERESTING than in the book. The scene of him in Katniss' house was a complete horrorshow in the book (it seriously rattled the nearly unflappable Katniss) but Sutherland plays it so cool and understated here, that his actions are more open to interpretation. He's still a scumbag, but you aren't completely sure exactly how big of one he is yet.
Philip Seymour Hoffman was a revelation as Plutarch Heavensbee. Heavensbee never made much of an impression with me in the book, but Hoffman is SOOO great and likeable in the role that even when he is conspiring horrific things with Snow, you are impressed with the genius of his deviousness. If more villains were as smart as him, fiction would be MUCH better. The fact that he turns out to be a good guy? That's icing on the cake.
Sam Claflin was also great as Finnick. He does a better job in that role than either Josh Hutchersom or Liam Hemsworth ever did in theirs. I think he may even be better than Jennifer Lawrence. I'm not kidding.
I love Katniss Everdeen, the character, and disagree strongly with people who think she should for some reason, WANT to lead the rebellion, or be a better role model. Or that she should be nicer to Peeta or Gale (whichever one you ship). Those criticisms are inane. BUT... I also think the books would probably have been better if they weren't told entirely from her perspective. First person narratives are tough, and usually ONLY work if the main character is clever enough to recognize what is happening in their surroundings. Katniss is a bit too Asperger's for that, God bless her. As a narrator she is simply unreliable. I always got that sense from her in the books and the movies confirmed it.
So this is one of those rare movies that is better than the book. The only other examples I can think of this being true are the original Lord of the Rings films and the classic Wizard of Oz. I cannot think of another single movie where this is true (not even The Hobbit). Every time I saw a Harry Potter movie, I would groan around every five minutes when I realized they were going to leave out a crucial or awesome scene from the book. In the Hunger Games movies, I don't feel like anything is missing. In fact, I think we get a BETTER picture of what is happening than the book is capable of telling us. And I love it for that. *****.
Deleted Scenes:
I'm glad they cut the scene of Plutarch and the envelope because it is never explained and we are never given any context for it. What good is hinting that Plutarch might have ulterior motives if we never learn exactly what his suspicious behavior was actually about? The rest of the scenes were good. I liked getting the full history of Jabberjays and Mockingjays from President Snow, and we also got another excellent scene between Katniss and Finnick. ****.
Surviving The Game: Making The Hunger Games: Catching Fire:
Multi-part featurette about making the movie. Overall: ****.
A New Kind Of Hunger: Continuing The Saga:
I knew they would comment about how flagrantly they broke the first person narrative in the movie, but they kind of had to, and the movie is better for it. ****.
Visual Vocabulary: Building A World:
All of the work they did with constructing the circular pond and Cornucopia was amazing. I would have thought they'd do something like that with CG.,****1/2.
Stirring Things Up: The Cast:
I was very saddened by these interviews with Philip Seymour Hoffman. He seemed like a very sweet and gentle man which makes his death all the more tragic. ****.
Fashion Forward: Costume, Make-Up & Hair:
Seeing all of these fashions makes me realize two things: Effie is not as bad of a character as she initially appeared in the first book and film. She has a conscience to her that is wearing on her more and more as the second film goes on. The second observation is that Caesar Flickerman is MUCH worse of a person than he was portrayed in the first film. He's quite insidious actually. He pretends he is the Tributes' friend, but seconds after mourning the tragedy of what is about to happen, he goes straight into how excited he is, and that these will be the best games ever. Caesar is a VERY dark character, and I think my initial impression of him from the books and the first movie (that he was as harmless as Effie and Katniss' stylists) is totally wrong. He is a psychopath. But yes, the fashions were amazing. The Avoxes were particularly horrifying. ****.
Let It Fly: Production In Atlanta:
That story of Sam Claflin accidently dropping Lynne Cohen into the freezing water was hilarious. The dude sounded so horrified by the entire experience. I loved that Cohen immediately started to laugh uncontrollably once she resurfaced. Old people are cool. ****1/2.
Moves And Countermoves: Stunts & Weapons:
People who say that actors are overpaid and lazy, and don't have any idea of how hard a real job is, don't know what they're talking about. The amount of intense training these people had to go through, (400 sit-ups a day!) as well as the fact that they had to spend days in near freezing dirty water battling ear infections, makes you realize they work as hard as anybody. John Hutcherson was very insightful in saying that when you are doing CGI fight scenes, you should never think of how you must look objectively. Because you are doing some pretty silly things that ONLY look good on camera. In real life you kind of look like a nut, and realizing that will take you out of the reality of the situation. *****.
Tick Tock: Production In Hawaii:
Jena Malone is awesome. Her telling the story about her spending an entire day covered in blood and looking at herself in the mirror while she was using the bathroom was golden. She is SO Johanna. ****.
Threading The Needle: Post-Production:
About the technical aspects of the film. Unsurprisingly, the most boring of the featurettes. **.
The Revolution Lives: Reflections & Looking Forward:
Teasing The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One. Considering how much Elizabeth Banks is in these interviews, it is clear Effie will have a much bigger role in the movie than she did in the book (she only cameoed at the end of the novel). If you are looking for a gag reel on the Blu-Ray it is played during the end credits of this featurette. ****1/2.
Blu-Ray Menu: Excellent. Even the trailers have a connection to the Capitol. *****.
DVD Menu: They actually gave us an entirely different animated menu for both the Blu-Ray and the DVD. *****.
Tags:
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2014-05-27 05:17 am (UTC)DC Super-Pets #2: Have Your Cake And B'Dg Too - Why didn't they do the Justa Lotta Animals?! Argh.
Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. "The Beginning Of The End" - The previews for this were genius since they showed NONE of what Fury actually did, so everything he did was a real treat, and his interaction with Coulson was gold. Fitz is great, I hope he'll be okay, but I don't want a complete recovery. May was kickass! Garrett had to go, but it's good Ward and Deathlok are still on the table. I'm guessing Fury is more going to be used in the movies, and now Coulson has a LOT to deal with on the show. I'm hoping Fury appears periodically, but I really want Hill to be a regular next season (along with Triplett).
Once Upon A Time "Snow Drifts / There's No Place Like Home" - I didn't even consider Marian as the mysterious woman, I thought she had been on the show before, and I'm kind of confused as to how Roland is still a kid. If Regina is going to have true love, she has to suffer and work for it. I did like this episode, though. Emma got to see a lot of things she only heard about. It broke my heart to see Rumple lie to Belle like that because of the absolute faith she put in him. Maybe Zelena did need to be killed, but Rumple shouldn't have done that. I'm now onboard the Jolly Roger (or whatever you call the Emma/Hook ship). Sad to see Neal go, but Hook is very dedicated to Emma. I love Disney synergy! I wonder if they intentionally referenced Idina Menzel by having the Wicked Witch and then Elsa considering she played both roles. Let me know when you see Frozen, there is a discussion we need to revisit.
The Simpsons "Pay Pal" - Homer is just dumb. Remember, Luann made the same mistake on King of the Hill. Bart helping Lisa but still being devious about it reminded me of him sabotaging Alison back in the day. I'm glad Grandpa paying Lenny and Carl was a joke, otherwise, it wouldn't hold up. The rushed birthday thing was hilarious.
Family Guy "He's Bla-ack!" - I don't remember the jokes, but if they were honest complaints, they were honest complaints, right? Although the reason about MacFarlane not voicing the bear wasn't true, right? And it's not like anyone expected to STOP watching Family Guy because Cleveland left, that was a weak insult. Lois has no reason to be on a high horse. I mean, the way she treats Meg is disgusting. Did The Cleveland Show get a series finale that explained why they moved to Quahog and how much of Cleveland's family do you think we'll see?
American Dad "News Glances With Genevieve Vavance" - To me, I think Roger is on the same level as Bender (although I will say it helps that Roger is around terrible people while Bender typically isn't), and he's hilarious for it.
The Boondocks "Early Bird Special" - Are the comic strips that sexist? It's funny, I think you're right, but the only reason I watch this show from time to time is because I love Jazmine so much.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - I think the movies have done a great job adapting the books, and I don't have any huge complaints like Harry Potter, and the cast is quite strong (wait, that's Alan Ritchson...ick!). Agreed about perspective, though, I've never been a fan of first person narrators because a lot of the time, you cut out potential good scenes, and in this case, as you said, Katniss doesn't fully grasp the whole thing. My friends who hadn't read the book were pleasantly surprised by Plutarch. Sutherland's Snow is different, but I don't know if I'd say better because I like them both. I'd say Roger Rabbit and Big Fish are better movies than books, but I saw the movies first. And Princess Bride I haven't read the book but it's hard to picture something as amazing as that movie.
Fashion Forward: Costume, Make-Up & Hair: Caeser is basically Mojo, only all his disgusting is on the inside.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-27 06:38 pm (UTC)Agents Of SHIELD: Agree that they should make Maria Hill a regular next year. Does Cobie Smulders have anything else lined up?
Once Upon A Time: People pointed out it was the same actress who played Marian. I understand why Rumple lied but I believe he would be willing to risk losing Belle forever if it meant that Bae had been avenged. It would work vice-versa too. I'll probably watch Frozen within a month.
The Simpsons: About Homer: Exactly. There is no malice to Homer's stupidity. Good point about Alison.
Family Guy: I think a LOT of the complaints were a bit unfair. No clue why Seth stopped voicing Tim. The Cleveland Show did NOT have a series finale. I think we will see Donna about as much as we see Bonnie and the kids about as much as we see Kevin and Susie (although possibly a little bit more).
American Dad: I disagree. Bender is MUCH worse. Roger, for all his faults, KNOWS he's a sociopath and never tries to REALLY pretend with the family he is anything but what he is. Bender genuinely thinks he is awesome and it always telling people how great he is. There is a self-awareness about Roger that makes me forgive him. Bender is so dirt stupid that I just find him obnoxious. I feel the same way about Cartman only multiply that by a thousand.
The Boondocks: The comic strips had some troubling sexist jokes (Ann Coulter is a man, Condi Rice needs a husband) but it was nowhere NEAR as bad as the series. It helps that the comic strip is strictly PG and a LIGHT PG at that.
Hunger Games: Catching Fire: Never read the Roger Rabbit book but I can totally believe the movie is better based on the plot outlines I've read. The Princess Bride book is NOT as great as the movie but if it hadn't have been written first (by the same person who wrote the screenplay) we might not have gotten the same movie, so I forgive it.
Fashion Forward: Great analogy with Caesar and Mojo. In his own way Caesar is just as complicit.
no subject
Date: 2014-06-11 05:21 am (UTC)Once Upon A Time: Yeah, that's just the way Rumple rolls.
Family Guy: Then why are the Browns in Quahog? I feel like I'm missing something.
American Dad: Roger's self-awareness is refreshing...but to be fair to Bender, Roger is directly responsible for more deaths.
Hunger Games: Catching Fire: Good point about Princess Bride having the same writer, I was just thinking off the top of my head movies that were better than the books they were based on.
no subject
Date: 2014-06-11 05:39 am (UTC)Family Guy: Unless you count the many alternate futures in which Bender is responsible for destroying the human race (the last one shown in Decision 3012 has yet to be rectified) and an entire micro civilization in Godfellas. Bender's hands are MUCH dirtier than Roger's. MUCH. And even if they weren't, Roger's better than Bender just because he doesn't always sing "Roger is great" off-key and try to beg the audience to love him. Roger just doesn't care. He's unapologetic about what a b****** he is. That's gangsta.
Hunger Games: There have definitely been a couple but with very few exception "as good as" is the best we could hope for. Catching Fire is one of those movies like Roger Rabbit that is actually better.
no subject
Date: 2014-06-16 02:47 am (UTC)Family Guy: I wasn't counting it, which is why I said directly responsible. Roger has killed people in cold blood. Still, Roger does have a great gimmick that works for the character.
no subject
Date: 2014-06-16 10:38 pm (UTC)