Delayed Reaction: Fun With Dick and Jane

The Pitch: Remember that 70's movie, Fun With Dick and Jane? I wonder if we could give it an Enron twist?

How I Came Into It: I knew the movie was one of those family movies that was strongly motivated by a political agenda, so that didn't exactly excite me. It never looked all that funny either.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) Few people can be as silly as Jim Carrey. His energy and rubberman face mechanics are unmatched. Having Judd Apatow and Nicholas Stoller as the writers is as sure a way to get my attention as any.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: I have trouble with a comedy that tries to make a political statement but also tells you not to take it seriously because it's a comedy. It doesn't help that, as protagonists, it's almost impossible to root for Dick and Jane. They are robbing places, after all. Surprisingly, given who scripted this, almost none of the jokes land and the story is lazily told. I won't pretend that anything other than how smugly political it is made me really dislike this.

Verdict (?): Strongly Don't Recommend

DVR Purge: 2/2-2/9

Ahhhh, I passed the week mark. Woe as me. What ever will I do?
Sarcasm aside, I don't like going over the week mark because that means I can't keep up with everything I'm watching. If I can't keep up, I should cut back. I don't want to cut back. You see where I'm going here. Whatever. Here you go.

Past Purges 
 

Gotham "The Fearsome Dr. Crane"
Ooooooh, now I get it. We aren't dealing with humans. That's not what we're watching on this show. We are watching characters from a comic book. No matter how much, at times, they shoot this to look real, it's a comic. Gordon's courtship of Dr. Thompkins isn't clunky talk about lipstick. It's panels from a page come to life. The medical examiner getting caught with the body parts isn't over the top. It's a perfect frame job shown a frame at a time. How else does that final scene with Fish running at the other guy work? I'm embarrassed that it took me this long to figure it out.

Parks & Recreation "Donna and Joe"
I like where things are going. Leslie has moved beyond the desire for political office. Ben gets a second chance at public office. Tom's relationship is going well. Donna's married. Garry gets to finally be called by his real name. April is the best Matron of Honor ever (or at least for Donna). Rachel Dratch shows up. All good things.

Agent Carter "The Iron Ceiling"
Peggy finally gets to prove her worth to the men in her job and she has a blast doing so. Thompson gets to be a character more than he was previously, although it still fits neatly into "roles you expect Chad Michael Murray to play". It looks like things are going to go down next week and I'm very excited for that.

New Girl "Swuit"
Nick and Schmidt trying to argue with each other but still agreeing to talk to each other and have a conversation before going to bed like always is pretty adorable. I like that the show tried to give Winston, Coach, and Cece a story (in another classic Winston and Coach messaround) although I didn't love what they chose.

The Mindy Project "No More Mr. Noishe Guy"
Big episode! I tracked the episode count. I guess this would be the first episode written after a back nine was picked up. I don't know if that's how the season was produced but it would make a lot of sense with all the narrative turns. Mindy wants to move to San Franscisco. Peter is moving to Austin. Danny bought a brownstone. Oh, and Mindy is pregnant!?!? I'm gonna need a minute.

Cougar Town "Even the Losers"
I wonder what things my mom has supported due to "mom goggles".

Arrow "Uprising"
Aaaaaaaaand, he's back. That didn't last long. It's probably for the best. The rest of the crew was pretty scattered. That was a pretty big episode for midseason, what with the battle of the Glades and all. Should I be preparing myself for super villain Brandon Routh soon?

Fresh Off the Boat "Pilot" & "Home Sweet Home School"
I am immediately on board*. This show already has a clear, strong, and distinct voice. Being only a little younger than Eddie in 1995, it's immediately hooked me with nostalgia. More importantly, these characters are all great. Constance Wu impressed me right away. I don't remember seeing her in anything before, but she jumps out of this. There's hints of Jane Kazmerik from Malcolm in the Middle in what she does that makes just about everything she says (or everyone she hits with her car) funny. I'm still waiting to love Randall Park as the dad, but I've seen him in enough things before to know it's a matter of "when" not "if". Eddie is funny so far with his hip-hop swagger, but I could easily see him falling back to being the narrator yet not the lead. I'm still working on figuring out the brothers. They just need time to distinguish themselves.
One thing that immediately impressed me in the pilot is that the parents took Eddie's side when he got in the fight. And, it wasn't that thing where the parents defend him in front of others but scold him later. They appreciate him sticking up for himself. I have a very good feeling about this show. Good job, ABC!
*Not an intended pun.

Modern Family "Rash Decisions"
I liked the stories that got time, especially Mitchell doing the dirty work for Claire to save her from being hated in the office (and because he loves that stuff) or Luke telling Phil that he wasn't entirely ready to be a rebellious teen yet. No, my issue this week is that there were too many plates spinning. Did we even get a resolution to Alex's interview? Why was Haley being so awful? Those two normally don't get along but this was worse than usual. I also didn't get how much Cam loved having Stella. I gets that's what they wanted me to think, but it felt like "telling" not "showing. It was a good episode, just a bit too busy.

The Americans "Baggage"
That was brutal seeing Phillip and Elizabeth breaking Annalise's body to fit in the suitcase, but somehow not as brutal as Stan desperately looking for a connection with a loved one (leaving the message for his son, visiting his estranged wife) after Oleg nearly dropped him. I'm glad to see Nina is still around. That we still are following her in that prison leads me to wonder what to expect from her for the rest of the season. How long before she gets out and what will her role be?

The Big Bang Theory "The Troll Manifestation"
Three episodes into the new year and we haven't had an episode that really feels like a group episode. This one is neatly divided between the genders. The girls are rotating between embarrassing activities of their's that are on record (Penny's movie, Bernadette's pageant, and Amy's fan fiction). The guys track down a troll, leading to a Stephen Hawking cameo. Surely it's just a coincidence that The Theory of Everything is in theaters now and Oscar voting is still open.

Girl Meets World "Gilr Meets Farkle's Choice"
I'm not convinced of a lot of things in this week's episode.
1. That  there's any chance Riley and Maya would fight over Farkle
2. That A top hat is a fashion choice that anyone, even Sabrina Carpenter should be making.
3. That Canada is really the US's greatest ally. They strike me more like that roommate you bring along with you to a party because he's already with you when you decide to leave the house.
4. That Lucas can conveniently disappear for an episode when Riley and Maya need to fight over Farkle.
5. That those two bullies didn't watch clips of Frank Stecchino and Joey the Rat in preparation for this episode.
6. That Ava Morgen Stern won't need massive therapy by the time she's an adult.

Mulaney "Ruby"
At this point I'm playing a game where I guess if the episode Fox is airing is from the originally produced set from last year or the batch being made when production was halted. I'm going with "original set" for this one.

Brooklyn Nine Nine "Windbreaker City"
Like the franchise itself, Brooklyn Nine Nine forces me to ask how much Die Hard is too much. And, like the Die Hard franchise (I've seen every installment), I still watching. This was a lesser "Tactical Village" but still quite entertaining. There was a surprisingly limited use of Eva Longoria as a guest star. I like it. It's just strange. Normally shows use a guest as much as possible while they have them.
Line of the week: "Rules are rules. I'm a badass, not an anarchist."

Better Call Saul "Uno"
Maybe Saul can lead a show after all. I was thoroughly engaged for this hour and it really did feel like a Saul origins story rather than Breaking Bad fan fiction. It's going to be a while before I am able to look at this as its own thing, but the writers are having fun with that, doing things like only having a single scene with Mike, knowing we want more. This is an exciting beginning.

The Walking Dead "What Happened and What's Going On"
I'm going to miss Tyrese.
It's interesting seeing who gets killed off. Tyrese, for example, was beloved but not untouchable. I liked elements of his delusions but they did become a bit much by the end.

Girls "Cubbies"
Oh good lord. Hannah's "apology" letter. I want to complain about the predictable machinations of TV, but that really is how I imagine things would turn out if Hannah enrolled in an MFA program. Now on to Gillian Jacobs. Yay!

Looking "Looking Down the Road"
I was sad to see Dom and Lynn split up, as they were a nice, calm, stabilizing couple for the show (for, like, 3 episodes). I'm curious to see how Agustin at the new job will go. It strikes me as a position he's taking to try to force betterment in himself rather than letting it happen, so I could see this blowing up in his face. Speaking of things blowing up. Oh, Patrick. I just want you to be happy. Please get your shit together and go after someone who is actually available.

Gotham "The Scarecrow"
Ok, I'm just going to embrace all the origins. Bring on Batman, as I thought was going to happen with Bruce this week when he fell down the hole. Bring on the Scarecrow. I only figured out that's the character they were creating with the guy's son based on the episode title. Bring on Robin. I don't remember if they specifically mentioned the flying Graysons, but when there's mention of a circus, I assumed there's trapeze. I'm not sure I understand how Fish was able to take over that group, but I do believe that she'd find a way to do so. I have to wonder what the end is going to be for this mob war.

Better Call Saul "Mijo"
They are certainly more concerned with making Jimmy appear sympathetic but on a smaller scale than Walter White, who needed a big setback to justify his big change. Jimmy looks to be a much different kind of slow burn. For him, it's battling his descent into Saul Goodman. He has "Slippin' Jimmy" in him and that's going to get him into trouble. He didn't have to save the twins though. He chose to. He seems determined to do a good job as a public defender. He turns down Nacho's original office. He's trying to be good. Better Call Saul looks to be a story about how you can't fight who you really are.

Movie Reaction: Jupiter Ascending

Formula: The Matrix + Star Wars

Why I Saw It: The Wachowski's are still working off a lot of Matrix goodwill and even though I didn't like it much, Cloud Atlas was interesting enough to bring me back for more.

Cast: Mila Kunis is either the best or worst lead for this movie. She doesn't feel like she belongs with anything else in it. She's a square peg in a round hole in that way. Her character though, is the outside perspective on this all, so her not fitting is arguably the point. I'm still undecided on her. Channing Tatum fills out the role of action star as well as you'd expect. I'm going to go ahead and say that those two have no chemistry though. Let's get that out of the way right now. Eddie Radmayne is getting slammed by critics for his performance. I think he makes some very specific choices and they made sense for the movie. I wouldn't put it in his highlight real, but people should stop talking about "The Norbit Effect" and assuming it'll cost him an Oscar. Sean Bean gets a more prominent role than I expected, playing that Sean Bean role with a slight twist. Douglas Booth, Tuppence Middleton (really, please, try and sound more British with that name), Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and others round out a cast that's a little too big for a single movie.

Plot: Jupiter (Kunis) is a young woman with a crappy life as a house cleaner with her family. One day, in surgery, she is attacked by aliens and saved by a soldier named Caine Wise (Tatum). From there, we learn that she is the queen/owner of Earth due to a genetic miracle. The problem is that there's a powerful family, the Abrasaxes, who want to get the Earth from her and are willing to do very bad things for it. That's where Redmayne, Middleton, and Booth come in. They're the Abrasaxes.  The majority of the movie is Jupiter trying to survive the efforts of that family. It's a very busy movie to a fault. I could've done without the whole subplot with Booth and focused on Redmayne as the central antagonist a lot more. As is, I think the biggest truths I can say about the plot is that it goes big and isn't subtle about it.

Elephant in the Room: But why are reviews so bad? Well, critics suck sometimes. They just do. At the same time, this movie is a tough sell. I'm reminded a lot of John Carter, another expensive SciFi action movie that couldn't find a way to market itself. It's very easy to look at Jupiter Ascending and only notice the glaring flaws. Redmayne's performance looks exponentially more ridiculous out of the context of the movie (and isn't great within it either). Kunis and Tatum have no chemistry. The script is not great. Most of the actors look a little silly with all the makeup and costumes. I'm here to say that there's a lot of things done well too. The Wachowskis build an original world and don't let up on it. It's a detailed world with depth to it. The characters are distinctive and the actors commit to their roles. That is so rare and refreshing to see these days. It should be lauded much more than it has been. The visual effects, no surprise, carry the movie. At times the movie is outright beautiful to look at. The Wachowskis still know how to stage a fight scene too. There's plenty to like in it if you want to find it.

To Sum Things Up:
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I respect ambition in a movie, and Jupiter Ascending has that in spades. The Wachowskis aimed to make a big, original movie, something that has becoming increasingly rare in the studio system, and succeeded in making something pretty and entertaining and technically impressive. It doesn't accomplish everything it sets out to. In fact, it is a very middle of the pack movie with problems to match all the things it does right in equal measure. Anyone who wants to go after this hard has every right to. Those problems though aren't enough to keep me from wanting to eventually see this again, which is more than I can say about a lot of the movies I see.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

Delayed Reaction: The Mirror Has Two Faces

The Pitch: Barbara Streisand and Jeff Bridges try to have a loving relationship that doesn't involve sex.

How I Came Into It: I've always heard the jokes about Barbara Streisand repeatedly playing roles in which she reveals herself to be beautiful. I always assumed it was an exaggeration...

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) Jeff Bridges, Lauren Bacall, and even at times Barbara Streisand are positively winning in this. There's more of a focus on discussion than you get in most movies and the hypothesis of the whole movie (Is sex needed for a loving relationship?) is seriously handled and interesting.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: When I realized that this was all setup for a story about Barbara realizing that she's beautiful, it killed my interest in the rest of the movie. In the end, the movie really did feel like a poorly developed idea. I'm not sure if I'm ever convinced that Bridges wouldn't actually want a physical relationship (they hint at some serious mental problems but drop that when they get inconvenient). Streisand isn't all that convincing on her side either. Mostly though, I'm just bothered by watching another feature length wish fulfillment fantasy for Streisand that was otherwise hollow.

Verdict (?): Strongly Don't Recommend

Delayed Reaction: Lean on Me

The Pitch: A disciplinarian fixes an inner-city school.*
*I wish there was more to the pitch than that. Would adding "based on a true story" help?

How I Came Into It: I know the song. I assumed it would be used in the movie...I caught that Morgan Freeman was in it before turning it on. I didn't even know it was about a school though.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) This is an archetypical story in every way (conflicting viewpoints crash into one another, grow together, and create something even better) and it works because, dammit, it's a good formula. I miss the days when Morgan Freeman still felt like he had something to prove. He was fired up for this which I haven't seen in a while.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: You know that feeling you get when you feel like you're being lied to? When all the parts of a story come together just a little too well? The story goes just a beat or two beyond credibility? I felt that watching this. That's the nature of "based on a true story" but, I don't know, it pushed things a little further than something like Remember the Titans did and lost me in the process. It also doesn't help that I mentally could not side with him chaining the doors closed. That's just ridiculously unsafe, not some rule that's arbitrarily being asked to be enforced.

Netflix Rating: 3 Stars
The Pitch: A disciplinarian fixes an inner-city school.*
*I wish there was more to the pitch than that. Would adding "based on a true story" help?

How I Came Into It: I know the song. I assumed it would be used in the movie...I caught that Morgan Freeman was in it before turning it on. I didn't even know it was about a school though.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) This is an archetypical story in every way (conflicting viewpoints crash into one another, grow together, and create something even better) and it works because, dammit, it's a good formula. I miss the days when Morgan Freeman still felt like he had something to prove. He was fired up for this which I haven't seen in a while.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: You know that feeling you get when you feel like you're being lied to? When all the parts of a story come together just a little too well? The story goes just a beat or two beyond credibility? I felt that watching this. That's the nature of "based on a true story" but, I don't know, it pushed things a little further than something like Remember the Titans did and lost me in the process. It also doesn't help that I mentally could not side with him chaining the doors closed. That's just ridiculously unsafe, not some rule that's arbitrarily being asked to be enforced.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

Delayed Reaction: The Village

The Pitch: M. Night Shaymalan tries to find another twist that we don't see coming, this time by evoking a Salem Witch Trials feel.

How I Came Into It: I knew the twist already. Shaymalan's work has been laughed off for a while now and it's really hard to go back and try to be excited by it.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) Shaymalan's work in the days of The Village was vintage campfire story-telling. There's some setup, a few spooky beats, and a nifty third act twist. When it works, it's great. Everyone has a story about the first time they saw The Sixth Sense and when they knew Bruce Willis was dead (For me, it was a couple minutes after the big reveal. I'm not a very perceptive person). The Village has a great twist in that vein and it must've been fun to see it unspoiled. And Shaymalan certain cast it as well as he could. Joaquin Phoenix (post-Gladiator), Adrien Brody (post-Pianist), William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, and Brendan Gleeson were all on board. Bryce Dallas Howard is quite good making what she can out of an almost impossible role (Correction: An absolutely impossible character). There's a lot of talent hard at work in this.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: Yes, the twists have become an albatross around Shaymalan's neck at this point. Here's the thing though, I've rewatched Unbreakable and The Sixth Sense and still liked them. A good twist can add to the initial experience but a good movie is still rewatchable. Knowing the twist killed The Village for me entirely. It doesn't help that the twist doesn't really make sense. It's hard to believe they could keep this lie up for so long or that they could live in that wildlife shelter undiscovered for that long, or that the security guard would just be cool with helping Ivy out. It's ridiculous that she can travel through the woods with such success too (SHE'S FUCKING BLIND!!!). Blaming the twist would be shortselling everything that doesn't work in the movie.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

February Movie Preview

What's  going on? February is looking pretty good this year. January was quiet but filled with movies expanding to where I could see them. That still didn't stop me from reaching a week or two for something to watch. This month, I may already double-dip for a weekend. There's comedies, action movies, anticipated book adaptations, delayed big-budget summer movies, indies looking to expand. This has the potential to be the best February in recent memory.

2015

Jan  

2014

Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2013

Mar |  Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

2/6

The Lock: Jupiter Ascending
Working For It: It's a SciFi movie from the siblings who brought us The Matrix, starring Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, and Eddie Redmayne. It's a big budget movie that looks like it will be a lot of crazy fun.
Working Against It: Ok, the last second July 2014 to February 2015 move was alarming. The previews do it no favors, looking like a lot of overacting by the likes of Redmayne in particular. Personally, I see a lot of John Carter potential in this: a fun movie that's having a rough go being marketed.
Odds I'll See It: 82%

Other Options:

Seventh Son
Working For It: It kind of looks like The Giver meets Harry Potter meets a generic medieval fantasy movie. It's hard to argue with something Jullianne Moore and Jeff Bridges signed onto for supporting roles.
Working Against It: It really sounds like derivative fantasy and I see no way for it to survive, coming out on the same weekend as Jupiter (even if that bombs). I have no idea what this movie is really about and until I do, I'm not wasting precious* ticket money on that.
Odds I'll See It: 8%
*It's not that precious. I did already see Taken 3 and Project Almanac this year.

The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
Working For It: People love Spongebob, 16 years, 215 episodes, and already one successful movie later. This is also an appropriately large departure from that first movie, putting Spongebob and co. in a live-action setting.
Working Against It: Did I just see an ungodly early preview for this or did it get pushed back? Either way, I never cared much for the show and have very low expectations for this based on those previews.
Odds I'll See It: 1%

2/13

The Lock: Kingsman: The Secret Service
Working For It: This February is really a dumping ground for movies that belong in other times of the year. The Kingsman release was delayed from it's original Fall 2014 date, but that appears to have less to do with quality than securing a less competitive release date. Director Matthew Vaughn's last three releases were Stardust, Kick-Ass, and X-Men: Fist Class. I have no reason to expect this to be anything but a lot of fun. The cast has a good mix of newcomers (to me, at least) and established folks (Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Hamill, Michael Caine). I can't think of a single thing stopping me from seeing this.
Working Against It: Did I stutter? I can't think of a single thing stopping me from seeing this.
Odds I'll See It: 91%

Other Options:

50 Shades of Grey
Working For It: I don't think I have an option not to see it. It comes in with a certain amount of cultural cache. It actually might do pretty well in theaters. This is a much easier way to stay informed than reading the book. And, honestly, I have really liked Dakota Johnson since Ben & Kate, so I'm hoping that she's good in this.
Working Against It: There's a more than good chance that this will be so bad that it's rendered unwatchable. From what I understand about the book, it sounds like even an R-rating would neuter the story.
Odds I'll See It: 61%

The Last 5 Years
Working For It: It's a musical about a five year relationship told forward by the girl (Anna Kendrick) and backwards by the guy (Jeremy Jordan). I saw a stage production of it that I really liked and even a half-competent movie adaptation has me hooked. To be blunt, it has me at "Anna Kendrick singing".
Working Against It: I wonder if it will expand enough that I even get a chance to see it. Even then, if things get busy enough, I may decide there's not enough to be gained by seeing it in theaters rather than renting it. I mean, if I rent it, I can sing along.
Odds I'll See It: 48%

2/20

The Lock: Hot Tub Time Machine 2
Working For It: I could pretend that I'm above this or that I didn't fully enjoy the first movie. What would be the point though? No one would believe me. As a core cast, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, and Rob Corddry are perfect for a movie with this title. It looks like they are swapping out John Cusack for Adam Scott, which is an upgrade in my book if you are simply going for the funny.
Working Against It: Losing the lead from the first movie and asking the supporting characters to take the reins is not a formula for success very often. I'm having a hard time seeing how it will hurt something like this though.
Odds I'll See It: 75%

Other Options:

The DUFF
Working For It: Mae Whittman gets a leading role, which is kind of awesome. The true teen comedy (Rated PG-13 and about high schoolers) isn't as common as it once was, but there's a lot of good ones out there from the past decade (Easy A or any vintage Amanda Bynes*). This looks like it could carry on that tradition. The Designated Ugly Fat Friend is a concept that has some teeth and I'm curious to see what the movie will do with that (Kind of reminds me of a female The New Guy).

Working Against It: Nothing specific in the previews I've seen really pulls me in the way "Pocket Full of Sunshine" did for Easy A. This could be a funny pitch and a poor execution for all I know. It is a February release after all.
Odds I'll See It: 40%

*Oh no! What a Girl Wants was over a decade ago? How old am I?!

McFarland, USA
Working For It: Few genres are as reliable at evoking an emotion as the inspirational sports movie. Disney's been churning these out nearly annually since Remember the Titans because it works so well. This time, it's Kevin Costner coaching a group of Latino kids of field workers in Cross Country.
Working Against It: Last year it was Cricket. This year it's Cross Country. Yeah, it sounds like Disney is running out of true stories to use.
Odds I'll See It: 5%

Wild Tales
Working For It: It's a foreign moving (from Argentina, I think) about a wedding or something. It's supposed to be very funny. I remember reading some shining reviews for it back when it was hitting the festival circuit. And hey, it has an Oscar nomination.
Working Against It: There's basically no chance it'll come to a theater near me, so I don't need to even worry about considering it.
Odds I'll See It: 3%

2/27

The Lock:Yeah, it took the fourth weekend to find no lock.

Other Options:

Focus
Working For It: I miss Will Smith. He's a god-damn movie star and I want to see him on the screen more. That he's working with Margot Robbie, who is building a pretty impressive filmography for herself, makes me all the more curious to see this. It looks like a fairly generic RomCom/big Con movie, but it doesn't take a lot to please me.
Working Against It: I don't mean to be repetitive, but a February release for what looks like a decently high profile movie gives me pause. Why not a summer release or even one a little later in the year?
Odds I'll See It: 50%

The Lazarus Effect
Working For It: This sounds a lot like Flatliners, which I saw recently. But, if you're going to tread a familiar topic, doing it with a cast that includes Donald Glover, Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, and Evan Peters is a good way to go.
Working Against It: If not for that cast, my response to this would probably be "I've already seen Flatliners". Ok, it's a little different, but there's still plenty of lifeless horror movie potential here...none of that was intended as wordplay.
Odds I'll See It: 25%

Delayed Reaction: The Lost Boys

The Pitch: Cool vampires in the 80s.

How I Came Into It: It has the Coreys who I've always found to be an amusing pop culture footnote. Haim is a great straight man and Feldman is a great character. Mixing them in with a bunch of hip actors is a formula that's fun to revisit.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) Vampires are cool. They just are. You can look to any generation and see how they handle vampires, especially contemporary ones, and that's what a society sees as cool at the time. That makes The Lost Boys an instant time capsule. It's quaint now, but informative. Otherwise, this is a pretty simple movie. It leans hard on the waking nightmare aesthetic and still manages to be accessibly fun for younger audiences.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: I wouldn't say this has aged very well. Beyond the "time capsule" aspects that I mentioned with the fashion, a lot of the creepier elements of the story are things that are familiar to audiences now. It's always hard to recapture the context of when a movie was released, especially when I wasn't old enough to experience it at the time, so it's really hard to look at this as anything other than "that cheesy 80's vampire movie with the mom from Still Standing".

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Movie Reaction: Project Almanac

Formula: Chronicle + The Butterfly Effect

Why I Saw It: I really am a sucker for found footage movies. I wish I wasn't, but I am.

Cast: If you recognized anyone in this other than Amy Landecker, good on you. I doubt this will be like Cloverfield where most of the cast (Lizzie Caplan, Odette Annable, TJ Miller, Jessica Lucas) starts showing up other places, although I wouldn't mind being wrong about that. For the movie, they were pretty good. Jonny Weston looks incredibly familiar. Sofia Black-D'Elia is good as the object of Weston's affection. Sam Lerner is fine for comedic effect. Allen Evangelista is a good sounding board and accomplice. Virginia Gardner also looks super familiar but spends too much time behind the camera.

Plot: David (Weston) is a super smart high schooler applying to MIT, which is how we know he's super smart. His sister, Christina (Gardner) likes to record everything because this is a found footage film, which requires a person like that. Quinn and Adam (Lerner and Evangelista) are David's best friends. Jessie (Black-D'Elia) is the cool girl in school who, of course, chances her way into this because we need a love interest. Well, David discovers his dead dad's old plans for what turns out to be a time machine. He gets it working and, well, you've seen a time travel movie before, so you know the rest. It's an interesting idea, but there's a lot of holes in the cause and effect with the time travel. There's also a lot of characters acting in really profoundly stupid ways that I have a hard time even believing teenagers would. You do pretty much get what you expect from this. Parties, winning the lottery, second chances. It's all there.

Elephant in the Room: Did it need to be found footage? I absolutely love found footage when it's done well. Cloverfield is perfect for that format. Paranormal Activity is really good too. It's one of my favorite things about the V/H/S movies. Quite frankly, it works best for horror movie because a lack of information can help add scares. It is a structure that you have to commit to. This isn't as bad as Project X which basically dropped the idea as soon as it got hard. This does have a bit too much perfect editing and timing and way too much sound recording that could only exist on a sound stage (Seriously, there is no way you get sound that clear in the middle of Lollapalooza). Part of me would really like to have seen the standard shot version of this, because it is an interesting enough idea on its own.

To Sum Things Up:
This movie hits some pretty significant sweet spots for me. I like how found footage style normally doesn't spoon feed all the information to you. Project Almanac kind of does though. I like movies about wish fulfillment and second chances. This does a pretty good job of that. I like seeing a lot of young, pretty people on the screen. This has a lot of that, to the degree that even I could've used some subtlety. Ultimately, the movie spends a little too much time setting up the time travel and doesn't get all that deep into the chaotic butterfly effect that I expected [from the trailer]. There's a few too many gaps in logic to forgive. I did enjoy it. The cast is solid and when the movie works, it's a lot of fun. The messiness just got in the way too much.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

DVR Purge: 1/26-2/1

Goodbye Parenthood. Hello The Americans.

Past Purges 

Gotham "Welcome Back, Jim Gordon"
One begins to wonder how violent this series would be if it was on premium (or even basic) cable. Every moment with Fish and Penguin (Oooooooh, now I get it) feels like it should end in a gunfight, which in fact, did happen this week.
-I wonder what the significance of this Nygma story is. I'm rooting for him with Ms. Kringle. The short-sighted move would be to have him shunned quickly and stew for 15-20 years with Riddler rage. The long sighted one would be for it to go well, the audience knowing something has to go wrong, but not what or when.
-Poor Bruce, being lied to by Selina Kyle. I could do without that bit of drama, but whatever.
-Gordon is a man on a mission. I feel the show slipping away from him as the de facto lead. He's more like a lead among equals now.

Park & Recreation "Gryzzlebox/Save JJs"
Ron, standing at Leslie and Ben's doorstep, Gryzzl drone in one hand, a shotgun in the other. That is the only image I need for the next week.
The two episodes each week keep pairing together well enough that I nearly don't mind the burn off treatment. These two are balanced all around in the story-telling, ending some plots (getting the Sweetums land for the park, Tom pining over Lucy), continues others (April looking for a new job, Donna's wedding prep), and begins one or two (actually building this national park). I can't wait to see what next Tuesday brings.

Agent Carter "The Blitzkrieg Button"
A lot of Howard Stark this week. Perhaps I'm still too much in an Agent of SHIELD mindset, but I keep waiting for something big to happen.

Cougar Town "Waiting for Tonight"
Who is Bonnie? Did I miss her introduction last week? I assumed the ensemble was large enough to not need to a replacement or filler person, especially in the last run of episodes.

Arrow "Midnight City"
I don't think I'm going keep it together when Quentin finally learns the truth about Sara.

The Americans "EST Men"
This season didn't start with a bang the way last season did, but there's still plenty of good stuff happening. Elizabeth and Phillip are experiencing a rift over what to do with Paige. There's Annalise gettign killed. Their old handler is back. Agent Gaad got a half look at Elizabeth. Martha is getting better with a gun. Stan tries to fake his way through the EST meeting. The only thing this was missing was Nina. I need to see more Nina. Annet Mahendru is too good to go too long without.

The Big Bang Theory "The Anxiety Optimization"
This was a fun little episode. I like when older/established sitcoms decide that it would be fun to do something for an episode. In this case, it's following Sheldon as he moves in and out of everyone's lives looking for a source of inspiration with his mental road block. It's simple and effective.

Parenthood "May God Bless and Keep You Always"
I'm not even going to attempt to cover it all. Any half-observant viewer knew Zeek was going to die, but that didn't mute the effect. It was an hour filled with touching moments and happy endings. I so glad they didn't decide to go dark with anyone's story because it wouldn't've fit the show and, dammit, I like happy endings. It was a very tidy ending and I liked the snapshots into the future at the very end. It reminded me a lot of Six Feet Under but at a much less ambitious level. I can't wait to see what Jason Katims pulls me into next.

Saturday Night Live "JK Simmons/D'Angelo"
I was hoping for more from Simmons as a host. I don't mean he did a bad job. I hoped more sketches would land with me. From the things I've read, I wasn't as big a fan of the Casablanca sketch as others were. Even teacher's snow day wasn't remarkable. Weekend Update did it the most for me with both the return of Jebediah Atkinson assaulting the Grammys and Cecily Strong as the one-note female character from a male-driven comedy.