Fall Turnaround

Hope you all saw the Breaking Bad finale. I can't believe it is over. That series will surely go down as one of the best, if not the best television series of all time. Great ending for a great series. Just goes to show, too much Stevia is bad for you.

Very brief post today, as I am exceedingly busy. Anyway, here is a quick update about some of my favourite shows which are back this fall:

• Parks and Rec
• New Girl
• Hawaii Five-0
• Elementary
• Qi
• Castle
• How I Met Your Mother

I highly recommend all of the above. Also, don't miss the Doctor Who special, which will be simulcast on Nov 23rd.


Stay Tuned,

T

First Impression - Family Tree

I was going to write this after watching only the first episode of Family Tree, however, I just kept going and at this point I have seen 2 3 4 episodes. Why? 'Cause it's pretty damn funny.

I was draw in by 2 hilarious Chrises who are involved in this series. One, of course, is the lead Chris O'Dowd (see The IT Crowd (no, seriously, you must see The IT Crowd. It is genius)). And the other is Christopher Guest from some of my favourite musical comedies: This is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind (Also both worth seeing...immediately (seriously, stop reading and go watch)). Guess basically created/wrote/directed Family Tree. 

Comic Genius/Fantastic Musician Christopher Guest

I also am loving the rest of the cast, Nina Conti in particular is absolutely hilarious and an amazing ventriloquist. Monkey, although the only character who cannot talk for himself, has some of the funniest lines and it is easy to forget that everything he says comes out of Conti's mouth.

I don't know why this is soooo hilarious. It just is.

Tom Bennett, who plays Pete Stupples, is amazing playing the lovable idiot and kinda reminds me of Ricky Gervais' character in The Office if he were nicer. Guest has brought along one of his Spinal Tap cohorts, Michael McKean to play Tom's father who is obsessed with British sitcoms and seems to occupy his time by watching and rewatching old television programs, often quoting lines from the program just before the actor says them. (hmmm sounds like someone else I know).

So, after a few episodes I would say put this on your list. Although not constantly funny it has a cast which you can't help but fall in love with.

*edit* Ok, so by the time I'm actually posting this I have seen all 8 episodes. Curse you short British seasons!



Stay Tuned,

T

Stuck In My Craw #1

I might have to turn this into a reoccurring feature. There are a lot of things that bug me. There are a lot of general things that bug me and a bunch of small specific things which are usually examples of the larger general things.

Here is one of of those general things:

When an actor is referenced in a television show by name and then said actor shows up playing a different character. I'm not sure if that made sense, but it will after these examples!

• In Friends one of the guy's favourite movies of all time is Die Hard. In fact they watch it over and over again. So how is it that not one of them notices that Ross' young girlfriend's father looks exactly like Bruce Willis/John McClane?!? Obviously in television we have to suspend our disbelif in some cases. I'd have no problem if they had never brought up Die Hard at all and then Bruce showed up playing Elizabeth's father. I can easily say, "Well, inu the Friends Universe Bruce Willis doesn't exist so neither does Die Hard." That works in my brain. I am sure to bring this point up whenever those episodes air much to the chagrin of my family and...friends.
• Oddly, this example is also Friends related. In 30 Rock Jack watches Friends. This makes sense, Jack/Liz etc. exist in a fictionalized version of NBC. What doesn't make sense is when flipping David flipping Schwimmer shows up and plays a character other than himself (Greenzo)!

Yeah, there are more but you get my point. Anyways, that's what's stuck in my craw.



Stay tuned,

T

2 Out of 3 Ain't Bad

Watched 3 films in the past 48 hours. Guess that's what happens when you are off work due to adverse weather conditions. Or at least that is what happens to me. The films in question were: Scott Pilgram vs. The World, Bridesmaids and He's Just Not That into You. When you watch films consecutively it is hard not to rank them. The following list really doesn't mean anything since these movies don't even really fall under the same catagory, but here we go anyways.

1. Scott Pilgram vs. The World
2. Bridesmaids
3. He's Just Not That Into You

I'm going to start with #3 on the list and do the others in future posts.

It just was not very good

I was drawn into HJNTIY (I gotta do that for these longer titles :P) because of the cast, most of whom I
have really enjoyed watching in other films. It was kinda sad watching them in this movie. It wasn't dreadful, but you're time would be better spent watching each of these actors in some of their better roles. Here are some suggestions:

Aniston: Friends (TV), Along Came Polly, Horrible Bosses (which wasn't all that good, except for Aniston's scenes :P ), Office Space, The Break Up (also not fantastic except for...)
Barrymore: Whip it, Charlie's Angels, Wayne's World 2
Goodwin: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Johansson: Iron Man 2, Advengers
Long: Live Free or Die Hard, Galaxy Quest, New Girl (TV)
Philipps: Cougar Town (TV)

Great film

...and many more. The cast is so good in this movie it is a shame it wasn't better. I laughed about 2 times and although there were 1 or 2 cringe invoking moments, there was really not a lot of emotion. Not sure if I'm doing the numbers rating thing yet but what the hell, 3.7/10.


Stay tuned,

T

Mad Men - A Season in Review

*Warning: Spoilers for Season 6 of Mad Men Ahead*

Alright. What did we all think of the penultimate season of Mad Men? Not bad, but not as good as the previous season finale IMO, but how can you top a guy hanging himself in his office? Although I did enjoy the gallows humour surrounding the sinking of Pete's mother. Apart from that storyline there are still 2 main plots which were addressed in the final episode of the season. Don's continuing deterioration and the whole Teggy romance (That is Ted+Peggy=Teggy. Cute, eh?). 

I didn't like Ted, but I think he represents an alternate version of Don, where he didn't lose his family. That is why Don lets him go at the end because secretly he wishes he had taken the moral high road when he had the chance. He sees that Ted could lose his family if he continues on and Don has been down that path already with Betty and his own children.

At the same time, Don keeps getting rougher and rougher. There was a clever bit of symmetry with Don and Sally both being suspended at approximately the same time. I'm sure it was intentional. I'm not sure of the significance right now. Way back in season 1 Don was the greatest. Admit it, everyone wanted to be 'Season 1 Don', and to an extent I still want to be 'Season 6 Don'. I may be alone on this but I still admire his composure in the middle of the shit-storm that has become his reality. He still looks great in public and he puts on a good show for his kids and Megan "Freddie Mercury" Draper (Has anyone else noticed how alike they look?!?).

Speculation time: I don't think things are going to end well for dear old Mr. Draper. I feel like Joey from Friends reading Little Women . I kinda just want to shove the final season into the freezer.

Beth is really sick.

I like Don, and I think that is the intention. Don is designed to be a flawed character.  am not sure if everyone feels that way. Some of my fellow Mad Men watchers have taken great pleasure from seeing his slow tragic spiral downwards. Granted, these people are all female, and I suppose you can't blame them after you see how Don treats his many companions. I still feel for the guy and that tragic element is what has kept the past season interesting, albeit, a tad depressing. 

It is yet to be seen, but perhaps the falling man in the opening credits will literally turn out to be Dick.

Or it could be a metaphor.

Or perhaps the fall in the opening credits is just a metaphor for Don's fall from grace. Or maybe they just thought it looked cool and really hadn't thought that far ahead in 2007. Either way, the final season promises to be the most dramatic so far.

What do y'all think in internet world? Let me know in the comments.

Stay tuned,

T

Goals

In all seriousness I want to be a real blogger and have people read my stuff and what not. Seeing as I've started 3 blogs in the past, all of which have not achieved any level of followship, that is unlikely. So instead, I'll likely just just this space to talk excitedly about my favourite shows and movies and perhaps reduce the amount of that my friends have to endure.

Obvious example of a FWO

What is a fourth wall observer? Read. Why is this blog called Fourth Wall Observer? The answer is twofold.

Fold one: It sounds like a news publication  (e.g. Pembroke Daily Observer, Sacramento Observer etc.) and I thought that was clever.

Fold two: I think everyone at times could imagine that their life is taking place in a television program or a movie. Sometimes it's a sit-com (for instance when something outrageous happens), sometimes its a drama (like when something...erm...dramatic happens), and sometimes it feels like a romantic comedy. That is how I feel most of the time. There are plots and characters who evolve over time. There are episodic storylines and larger plot arcs and sometimes even appear to be seasons. There is usually a soundtrack. Sometimes core characters disappear and new characters turn up. I'm sure that this delusion is a diagnosable mental condition but it is also pretty fun. The best part is that you (or me in this case) are/am the hero.

So now we've established that I'm crazy.

What do I like to watch? Anything really. I try not to get hung up on genres. I love sitcoms in general. I hate some of them though. I am indifferent about lots of others. Same goes for rom-coms, action, drama, mystery etc. It is absurd to criticise anyone for their particular tastes in television programming or films or music for that matter. So lets not. If I'd disregarded certain movies/tv programmes based on "intended audience" I'd not be watching, New Girl, and I likely never would have seen (500) Days of Summer, both of which are pretty great.

Or maybe I just really like Zooey Deschanel

Stay tuned,

T