Community: Troy and Abed in the Mooorning!

Oh yeah, there's a fake Morning TV show in this televisual spectacular.

Firstly, to anybody who reads this blog (hi James!) who hasn't seen Community, why not?? Okay so in the UK we have had it on VIVA, the music/comedy/American teen drama channel, which I guess doesn't get a lot of hits for the fans of shows such as Community, I myself only watch VIVA for the music channels and immediately dismissed Community as being akin to Two and a Half Men because it was being broadcast on the same channel. Two and a Half Men it ain't.

If you enjoy comedy shows such as 30 Rock, Arrested Development or more particularly Party Down (genius show cancelled too soon) you will fall in love with Community.

So it all starts with the character who begins us on our journey through Greendale community college. Much in the way Henry in Party Down has to slum it back with his former catering company after 'failing' as a legitimate actor, Jeff Winger has had to come to community college after his law firm discovers he faked his credits and cannot legitimately practice law. He begins his four years in typical selfish egotistical fashion, by hitting on the hottest girl in the playground. Unfortunately for Jeff (or fortunately as it turns out) he hits on the girl with a brain, who out-manoeuvres Jeff's attempts to seduce her through Spanish 'tutoring' by advertising his offer to other students, and so the study group is born. We have Jeff, the cool guy breezing his way through life but actually needs a lot of help when it comes to school and connecting with people; Britta the tough but beautiful girl who is actually a bit rubbish at fighting for causes; Abed who is undefinable and brilliant, like an autistic person on acid; Troy the former high school football champion brought down to earth with a bump by injury who with Abed becomes part of the best duo on television since...was going to say Joey and Chandler but they beat the socks off those two; Annie the high school drop out with the sweetest nature of the group; Shirley the former stay at home mum who is returning to college after her husband left her for a stripper, deeply Christian and pretty prejudiced for a black woman on television (very smart move by the creator Dan Harmon); and finally Pierce, played by the legend that is Chevy Chase, he is a 65 year old racist homophobic who is put up with rather than embraced, much like an elderly relative who is embarrassing  to be seen with in audible situations.

There is also the rather brilliant Spanish teacher Señor Chang played by the simply incredible Ken Jeong of Hangover fame, he is also a fully qualified M.D...yeah not sure I'd trust him so much as my doctor if I'm honest. He is crazy and clinically insane in equal measure, and possibly the worst Spanish teacher in the world.

Now the key to the success, and long may it continue, of this show is how the characters with their opposing personalities gel and improve each other, also the actors playing the roles are just fantastic. Joel McHale from E!'s The Soup is gorgeous and sarcastic in equal measure as Jeff the former lawyer, Danny Pudi is one of the best actors I have seen of recent years as Abed, and Alison Brie as cute Annie has surprised me greatly in her abilities having only known her previously from being innocent Trudy Campbell in Mad Men as she displays sass and wit, and a healthy dose of crazy too.

The writing for this show is superb, I miss Party Down greatly but Community has the edge on it for having a more accessible setting and better scripting, but perhaps the greatest gift this television show brings is it's diversity. Now I don't mean there is a black guy, Asian guy, black woman, Jewish girl and an old guy, true diversity is showing the religious black woman assuming everybody is Christian and celebrates Christmas and attempts to convert them through the holiday, the white girl with all the big talk but none of the follow through, the Jewish girl whose parents have disowned her for fighting her addiction and being out about her mental breakdown, and finally a truly racist old guy. Not many shows get away with such genuine racist comments as they fall out of Pierce's mouth, but you laugh so hard when they do, often because when directed at Abed he takes no offence whatsoever at what is being said, instead he will counter with a movie reference.

Finally I'd like to talk about the surreal element to this show, an entire episode of season two is stop motion animated and concerns Abed's search for the true meaning of Christmas, another episode Troy and Abed create a blanket fort that takes over the dormitories and has protest marches and even a Turkish quarter. Dan Harmon has done a great job at creating characters you start to truly care about, so that even when things are crazy one episode then relatively normal the next you don't lose interest, because you want to know more about these misfits. This is most likely due to the show being based on Harmon's real life experiences at a community college he attended, this was to rescue a relationship by going to Spanish class together as a bonding experience. However he ended up in a study group of such diverse characters he never thought he would care about any of them, and yet he says they formed a bond like we see on screen.

I have not seen a comedy show that has made such an impact on me since I was introduced to Party Down a couple of years ago. I have been in fits of giggles beyond the end of the joke, rooted for relationships that should never happen, and fallen in love with the friendship of Troy and Abed. And hey, any show that advocates a persons death to be used as a catalyst for bringing back Firefly to our screens was never going to be anything less than brilliant to me.

A definite recommend to all those with a sense of humour.

Harry Potter: the final conclusion

Finally I have seen all the Harry Potter films, read all the books, watched all the T4 Movie Specials. Being a huge fan of the books I approached each film with apprehension, so here I will give you all my own reviews of each film, the first 6 will be quite short so don't worry, but the 2 part finale I will give a more in depth appraisal.

The Philosophers Stone: Cast wise you watch this film for the adults, such theatrical giants as Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman provided weight to the exceptionally young cast. It was directed by Home Alone's Chris Columbus (as is the 2nd film) and it was the right choice for the younger Harry, the books themselves are more juvenile in tone and though it gets dark toward the end it needed a lighter touch to the classroom scenes and first Quidditch match. The story line follows through well, the kids do their best in their new acting roles, and the special effects don't let you down. Although not quite living up to the book it didn't annoy me, the only real disappointment came in the lack of ghosts, more specifically the presence of Peeves the poltergeist, one of the best characters of early Potter novels, and its a shame the non readers have missed out.

The Chamber of Secrets: I think this is one of the best films in the series, it gets darker, the kids are more comfortable in their roles, and we are introduced to Dobby the house elf - definitely a favourite of mine from the books. On the human and staff side we also have the wonderful Kenneth Branagh playing Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, the charismatic monster hunter who turns out to be a complete fraud, failing in teaching the students even the very basic defensive spells. He is a marvelous interpretation of Jo Rowling's creation, as is Alan Rickman in the form of Snape, Harry's foe on the teaching staff. Again the plot flows well, the direction is secure, and they stay reasonably true to the literature.

The Prisoner of Azkaban: Many peoples favourite book and movie it definitely marks a turn in the tone of the series, becoming much darker with the return of the dark lords loyal servant. The trio are definitely more settled as actors, and the helm is taken this time by Alfonso Cuaron (director of Children of Men and A Little Princess) who provides a more grown up direction, as Emma Watson said herself the hormones are beginning to bubble in this book and this is reflected on screen with the increasingly tense relationship between Hermione and Ron. There are changes to the story from book to film but you understand the reasons behind them, although as a fan of the books the differences still grate a little. Gary Oldman, David Thewlis and Timothy Spall are strong additions to the cast, something about Harry Potter is that, with the exception of the students, the adults are all without exception Gold Class.

The Goblet of Fire: One of the worst films I have seen, and definitely the worst of the series and not only from the book lovers perspective. The editing is shocking, there is no fluidity to the plot and the direction is poor. I know that the cast, the young ones at least, loved working with Mike Newell but I have to say I don't like the product of his hard work. The changes to the plot are incredibly irritating, there was a reason you did not find out Barty Crouch Jnr was still alive until the very end, it would have been so great to have the non readers try and work out whats going on, how will Harry survive etc etc. I was also sad that S.P.E.W (society for the promotion of elvish welfare) was not mentioned, it tells you so much about Hermione and how much she can care. Basically I found this film to be jumpy, untrue to the novel in both content and tone. The saving grace is the graveyard scene, genuinely scary seeing Voldemort rise from the proverbial ashes, and Ralph Fiennes makes a truly sinister Dark Lord that I find scary even after so many years.

The Order of the Phoenix: My thoughts after seeing this film? FINALLY! Finally a Harry Potter film that matches the mood, the story, and the acting ability is up to scratch. Personally this is my favourite book, many hate it because it is a loose ends tying book, it progresses the plot without too much occurring, and Harry is an ungrateful annoying boy in it. They conveyed this very well through the movie, and it is not surprisingly the director, David Yates, was kept on throughout the rest of the series. He provides a steady serious hand at the helm, because from film five onward the tone is darker and the content not suitable for the under 12s (actually I believe the books themselves cannot be truly understood unless you are the same age or older than Harry, I was lucky enough to match his age through each books release). The fractured relationships of Harry and Ron are suitably sad, the loneliness of Harry captured by the landscapes, and the evilness of Umbridge makes you want to punch her - wonderfully played by Imelda Staunton. My qualm with this movie is that there is not much focus on the hospital, part of what I really enjoy about the Harry Potter series is seeing the other parts of the wizarding world, and the difference in the hospital to our own is fascinating.

The Half-Blood Prince: Like the Order this film is true to the books pace and purpose, it may not be entirely right, and the emphasis on the half-blood prince peters out until the sudden revelation at the end, but it continues to improve on accuracy. An example of a scenario that was changed for the purposes of a more flowing film is in the final part where Harry and Dumbledore go out to find one of the elusive Horcruxes, the key to Voldemorts downfall, and Dumbledore apparates out of the castle. This is something crucial to Hogwarts defenses that Hermione has re-iterated time and again through the books and films, but to save on time and having to follow Harry and Dumbledore through to the village they change the rules for the headmaster. I was only really disappointed by the end, by not having Dumbledore's funeral as a viewer you were denied your chance to say goodbye, and a chance to see the magical community gather. Harry is given his opportunity to be funny in this film, Ron his chance to be a stud, and Hermione to be hurt and show her true feelings for the ignorant Ronald. They have definitely improved in their acting abilities, and attempted to move on Ron from the funny man who gets to swear.

And Finally....

The Deathly Hallows Part One: A truly fantastic film. It lived up to the book, taking some parts with artistic license of course but not to the detriment to the plot. I was so happy to find out they were going to take their time with the final adaptation, if they had tried to cram everything into 2 and a half hours it would have been all action no heart, and the heart is why the Harry Potter novels were successful in the first place because you cared about this boy and his world.

This film takes us most the way through the book, because most of the action happens in final third there is the opportunity to use the first part to build the tension, there are some especially scary scenes in Godrics Hollow.

But what I feel is most important that this film achieves is the final test of the friendship between Harry Ron and Hermione. Since the age of eleven these three have been fighting Voldemort together, Harry of course gets the final say in each battle, but the trio have suffered together through loss and hardship, and it is true to say they are better for knowing each other.

It is Ron who crumbles in this relationship, leaving behind his best friend and the girl he loves when it becomes too much, the stress of being apart from his close family and not knowing how they are. This abandonment and the subsequent scenes with only Harry and Hermione allow for a wonderful moment between them as Harry tries to cheer his friend up by dancing. This is kind of artistic license I love from filmmakers, it serves only to bolster the plot, not a whimsy of the director or writer to show off. Harry and Hermione have always shared their muggle upbringing, and perhaps a more logical grasp of the world than Ron possesses, and this added dancing scene reflects the close bond and their shared grief in the absence of their ginger friend.

It all ends on the discovery of what the Deathly Hallows actually are, with the help of Luna's equally whimsical father, and a beautifully animated retelling of the story of these powerful objects. There is some action at the Lovegood household that carries on to a frightening and deeply sad ending, which I won't reveal here in case of spoilers.

This film is powerful, tragic, wonderfully dramatic and a showcase for the talents of the cast and art department. Very well done indeed, and a fine part one to the explosive and thrilling final book adaptation.

The Deathly Hallows Part Two: Simply Magical. The conclusion to the Harry Potter series is a fantastic two hours of action and drama, it is terrifying and heartwarming, will break your warmed heart then try to repair it again. It begins as the first part ended, with Voldemort grasping the weapon he has longed for since he was a teenager and began his literally soul destroying quest for immortality and power. Harry and the others are still at Shell Cottage dealing with their grief, and planning the next part of their own quest to destroy the horcruxes. Helena Bonham-Carter gets the opportunity here to play at being 'good' as she is playing Hermione playing Bellatrix, and definitely has a lot of fun with it, testament to Helena's acting ability that you actually start to think it is Hermione...maybe that was just me.

The truly powerful moments of this film come in the latter half (not discounting the amazing dragon scenes early on, they are brilliant) but again I don't want to give anything away, lets just say for those who have read the books Snape's scenes and memories are truly as horrifying and as heartbreaking as the novel, Neville is given a larger but deserving role and is incredibly heroic, and the casualties of the final battle will make even the hardest of nuts well up.

Apart from the main three and the adult cast there is one other actor I have been very impressed with over the course of these films, and that is Tom Felton who plays Draco Malfoy. Malfoy has from the Half Blood Prince begun to regret his families involvement with Voldemort and the dark aspects of magic, and Felton has matured himself into a fine actor, he displays the cowardice of the arrogant dissolving into pain and true fear. And he and his family remain cowards until the end.

Its very hard to review this film without giving away the plot, suffice to say the action is intense, the deaths are powerful, the acting superb, and the ending as surreal as the book. Truly, its like Harry Potter ends up on acid and trips out, but totally accurate.

The Deathly Hallows have been the best in the series, David Yates continues to keep a firm handle on the direction, and the cast have every right to be proud of these films. As a fan of the books, and as a fan of film in general, this two part finale lives up to the height I placed it on.

The King's Speech: a surprisingly eloquent film

I know, its taken me a very long time to see this film, so unfortunately have had the hype built up for this whole time too. So, I really did enjoy the movie BUT it wasn't the experience I was expecting. A friend of mine said it was the best film she had seen in years...I would actually say Colin Firth's last serious piece A Single Man is better. Controversial I know.

That being said The King's Speech did live up to the acting talent and fully deserved all the Oscars and Baftas it received. I think of all the films in the Best Film category at the Oscars The Kings Speech was the rightful winner, it has the best direction, story, acting, and general feel compared to its rivals.

Of course everybody, especially the Academy, loves a Royal based movie, especially one with such controversy as the abdication of a King for his American lover. This is an underdog story, one that we Brits excel at, the unassuming hero, especially one with a speech impediment, is somebody everyone can get behind and support. Colin Firth does a simply brilliant job as Prince Albert, later King George VI, a man with an imposing family and an equally imposing future, struggling to be a good husband and father all the while coping with his stutter. He is also rather short tempered, something I did not expect, especially how angry he gets toward his family. However Colin also displays admirable fatherly connection to the young Elizabeth and Margaret (played magnificently by Freya Wilson and Ramona Marquez), pretending to be a penguin and working through his stutter as his utterly patient and grown up girls listen.

Support for Colin comes in several forms, two being his children, then his wife played by Helena Bonham-Carter and his speech therapist in the form of Geoffrey Rush - both remarkable and BAFTA worthy performances. Helena provides a sincere portrait of the Queen Mother, whom we all in Britain I feel safe to say adored during her lifetime. She is a sweet and loving wife, stoic as all Royal women are, and a wonderful support for the future king. She is the one who finds Rush, a charismatic Australian speech therapist who takes on the load of having a Royal on his books deftly and without much change in his demeanor. I do not know much about Lionel Logue and his influence on King George, but by all accounts - his own diaries included - he and the sovereign were friends of sorts, and he was relied upon for his expertise for many years. Rush takes on the task of teaching Firth to speak publicly with relish, enjoying the familial relationships, even displaying typical husbandly cowardice when faced with a wife completely surprised by the Queen sitting in her parlour as he hides in the back room with the King.

I feel after watching this film I know the Royal family a little more, which makes me sincerely hope that the facts presented in these two hours were not skewed, I loved seeing the young Queen Elizabeth, and the normal family time they managed to create in the circumstance of war and upheaval of position.

I did really enjoy this film, but I would warn people not to listen to all the hype, take it for what it is and don't push your hopes sky high, because no matter how good a film is you will always feel just a little let down if it has been put upon a pedestal, as this film had been to me.

Paul: the foul mouthed Alien you gotta be a geek to get

Now the title is not disparaging at all to geeks, in fact am quite sad I wasn't geeky enough to get all the references and jokes in this film. I feel I probably would have enjoyed it more had I seen any Alien films or Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

What I have seen in regards to sci-fi helped an awful lot, there are many Star Wars references, especially enjoyable is hearing the Mos Eisley Cantina music played by a country band in a hick bar. Of course even without seeing Alien I recognise the importance of having Sigourney Weaver as a main role, albeit an evil one, and the turning of the tables as Blythe Danner protects Paul screaming "get away from him you bitch!" These moments made me smile and laugh out loud, but the film I wouldn't say is a laugh riot from start to finish, in fact it is really quite sweet.

Paul was written by Pegg and Frost, but for the first time no Edgar Wright in the picture, and they have called it a love letter to Steven Spielberg, King of the aliens come to Earth movies. It definitely shows, but this is not a bad thing as this is an Alien film with heart, something Spielberg is quite adept at, who has not welled up at E.T finally going home? If you haven't clearly you have no heart. I say this film has heart, but Paul is actually one of the filthiest (in terms of language) films I have seen in quite a while, and also unafraid to poke fun at religion, it is incredibly forthright in saying there is no God, evolution exists, you're all dumbasses who believe in Creationism. I liked this very much.

So Clive and Graeme (Frost and Pegg) are two geeks who are also writer/illustrators, much like a Kevin Smith movie, following Comic-Con around the USA but end up picking up Paul and taking him to where his people will collect him over 60 years after he crash landed on a young Blythe Danners dog, also called Paul. Because Paul is so very human in his behaviour, he speaks English, makes coffee, swears profusely, and smokes it is very easy to accept him as another character in this film. Kristen Wiig's character Ruth is actually more strange because she is a creationist Christian, I can understand and accept geeks and people who believe in life in outer space more than I can creationists. Of course her beliefs are soon put right (in my opinion) by Paul, who gives her his memories of time and space and other worlds through a touch of his hand. Other talents Paul possesses are the ability to bring birds back to life (and later bigger things, but I won't spoil it) and to heal disabilities (again I won't spoil it, but its very cool and really sweet).

Clive and Graeme are your stereotypical geeks, nervous, need a good wash, kind hearted, and a bit rubbish with the opposite sex. They take on Paul with mostly good grace, helping him where many would have shopped him to the authorities, and protecting him from the three FBI Agents after him in the forms of Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Bill Hader (Superbad), and Jo Lo Truglio (Role Models). These FBI agents provide many of the laughs, Bateman is the hardass who knows what is going on, Hader and Truglio his inept 'helpers' he has had to call in who spend most of their time in comic book stores and playing hide and seek.

Finally of course we have Paul himself, voiced by Seth Rogen. Seth was the ideal choice to voice this bad mouthed stoner alien, he has a gruff quality to his vocal chords that stop him sounding like an idiot, but he also has a relaxed way of speaking so that nothing is too much of a problem, just go with the flow and everything will be okay. I love Seth, I think he is a great comedic actor and could listen to his voice all day, sounds odd I know with it not being a smooth charming George Clooney type of voice, but thats what stops me falling asleep.

The cast and characters of this film are well played and well scripted, Pegg and Frost have done a fine job of not forgetting about themselves whilst writing, but also have given enough importance to the side characters for you to be interested in the whole cast and not just the nerds and the alien. The director, Greg Mottola, was a great choice as he brings the characters together in a cohesive blend of laughter and emotion, much as he did in Superbad.

Paul is a great film, I wish truly that I was more intune with the world of sci-fi before I watched it, but that did not stop me liking the story or the characters. Paul is the definitive alien, he also creates his own family in his short time trying to escape Earth, bringing Clive and Graeme closer to their dreams than they ever though possible. This is probably why many more hard core sci-fi people did not appreciate Paul, who needs heart when you have a laser gun? Well, I do. I enjoy a good bit of emotion, and I definitely enjoyed watching Paul.

Bridesmaids: a how not to guide to being a maid of honour

Firstly let me say that this film has a small amount of significance to me as one of my very best friends is getting hitched in 2 weeks, so as I missed her hen party I took her to see this film.
We both were almost in tears with how funny it is.

Written by star Kristen Wiig and cameo appearance Annie Mumolo (as an extremely nervous fellow airline passenger, priceless moments), this film follows the life of almost at rock bottom Annie (played by Wiig) and how she copes with becoming her best and childhood friend's maid of honour. I'd like to say here how happy I am to see Kristen Wiig in a starring role, she is likeable and engaging on screen and capable of playing many different personas.

So the storyline is fairly basic, many people have called this the womans Hangover but I don't think thats fair to the writing or the story, because its very different. For one thing the personal focus on Annie makes this film more intimate, you get to know the lead and you have somebody to root for, whereas The Hangover is a case of 'what the hell is gonna happen next?!'
Suffice to say there are no tigers in Bridesmaids, but there is toilet humour, foul language (appropriately directed I thought) and some lesbian action to suit the more debase funny bones. Normally toilet humour is not what I find remotely funny, but its actually really well done here and you laugh so hard at the embarrassment of the situation rather than the poo. Unlike the first Sex and the City film and its attempt to create a laugh by having Charlotte poo herself being unnecessary to the plot, the food poisoning episode in Bridesmaids is integral to Annie's attempts to be Maid of Honour falling apart from the start.

All Annie's plans go awry, and she is not helped by the competition in the form of Rose Byrne for being the best friend. Rose is a revelation in annoying, she has become a fine comedy actress in this film and when you don't want to punch her for upsetting Annie's plans you almost feel bad for her own personal troubles (step-children who hate her).
Maya Rudolph plays the bride to be with suitable nervousness, excitement, and ruthlessness as she cuts out Annie from her bridal party because of a disastrous plane journey to Vegas (the funniest series of scenes in a film I have seen for a very long time).
The rest of the bridal party are mostly just filler, with the clear exception of Melissa McCarthy who is the reason for the majority of laughter in this movie, with what she says, how she says it, and how plain and greasy looking they made her. Melissa is a very pretty, if slightly large, actress who has always been able to pull off comedy, but not been given such free reign before. There is a particular conversation on the plane with a fellow passenger where she is so very dead pan and the guy (actually played by her real life husband) is struggling without much success to not laugh.

This film does not suffer from bad casting, poor writing, tedious direction or any other annoying facet that you find in many supposed laugh out loud comedies. There is a Judd Apatow feel to the storyline, its funny but there is romance in there and an underdog coming good. Its predictable but you don't get bored, the support are suprising and funny, and most importantly Annie is a wonderful heroine to be indentified with and rooted for.

Big praise to Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumalo, I think I prefer Bridesmaids to The Hangover because I simply laughed more.