1888 - Arrested Development: season four

I wasn't one of those who felt like the world would have been robbed without more Arrested Development.  I was a big fan of the initial run of the series and I thought that, for better or worse, the show walked away at it's peak - a feat many others can't claim.  And then this came along.  I have to say, the AV Club's season long review sums up a lot of my own feelings:

It’s an occasionally hilarious, sometimes boring, always bloated boondoggle of a project, and it’s the sort of thing that’s at once staggering in its ambition and hard to approach with anything like real affection. It is, in places, masterful. It is also, in other places, at once weirdly pleased with itself and too ready to hold the audience’s hand where that hand needn’t be held. 

I watched the first half until I felt like I was watching it more out of obligation than real interest, and then I took a break.  I found when I came back the second half really started to gel.  Part of the problem with this season is the sheer design of it - because they couldn't get all of the cast back together at the same time, they decided to go with a different kind of situation, but as it gets closer to the end you start to see all the pieces of the puzzle coming together and it's quite rewarding.

There's a number of pretty amazing sight gags - the Jeremy Piven one being one of the most clever.  A huge missed opportunity was in not referencing how the cast had changed so drastically physically (mostly Lindsay and Maeby) and yet it goes without comment - especially in the scenes meant to take place directly following season three.  Alas.

I don't need to recommend this to hard-core fans, you're already in.  Newcomers... this is going to feel like it's a crack experiment - so if you really just want to start the show here, tread lightly.  Also, you're missing out on some amazing things if that's your call.  At one point I really want to revisit the initial run.  One of these days!

1882 - It's a Disaster

I have to admit that when I saw the trailer for this I wasn't at all excited - it was pretty uninteresting, despite the topic.  However, having seen some really solid reviews I gave this a shot when I saw it on Netflix and I'm happy to say that the trailer didn't do this justice at all.
This is essentially a low budget version of "This is The End" but at a couple's brunch instead - and it's a bit more of a high-brow dark comedy in deal with people's relationships with one another in what seems likely to be their final hours together on earth.
Maybe it's because my expectations were so low, but I found myself really interested in this through-out.  There was some lovely awkwardness, some lovely cattiness that happened between the characters that really gave you a sense of history.  So well done.
If you're looking for a strong character based comedy than look no further.  I really enjoyed it.

1676 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This is absolutely one of my favourite films.  I remember the first time I saw it and just having my socks blown off.  It's one of those films that makes a writer just feel absolutely ashamed that they haven't written something as clever, honest, and rich as it.  I normally revisit this film regularly anyway, but I did so tonight in preparation for a project I'm going to start up to be inspired with a metaphysical love story.  For those that have never seen this film it's about a man who learns that his ex has had him erased from their memory and decides to have the same procedure, only to change his mind half way through. 
In a lot of ways it's a really simple and basic concept - who doesn't have things they wish they'd forgotten?  Probably the reason that this film is so well loved is because it speaks so well to so many people. 
Having seen Michel Gondrey's more recent work it's clear that the man is not much of a writer, however as a director with a great script it's easy to see how well he can take his unique visual style and really evaluate a project.  There is an enormous attention to detail in this film, in particular with how the memories of each scene transition to the next, how items, or weather, etc… carries over.  I can't imagine how complicated all of that stuff was to do from a projection stand-point.  Kudos to Gondrey and his team for making it look effortless.
This film is full of talented actors and yet it has most of them delivering the performances of their careers.  Jim Carrey has never been better before nor since.  Kate Winslet is so adorable here, and fantastic as well.  Kirsten Dunst is heartbreaking and lovely.  Elijah Wood plays the role of the pathetic wanna-be to a tee (he's truly wonderful here) and Tom Wilkinson and Mark Ruffalo round out the cast in a really great way as well (not to mention small roles from the always awesome David Cross and Jane Adams). 
What I love most of this film and I hope that I carry over into my own project, is how well approached the core idea is, and how it translates to the stories of all of the characters - it's all wonderfully interrelated, and yet everyone involved has a different take and thought process on how it all works - if it's a good thing, etc…  I love the side stories as much as the main story, and that can't always be said of films.
This is an absolute gem of a film and it never gets boring no matter how many times that I've watched it.  If you like smart films and you've never seen this one you really really have to - it's on netflix as well.  Enjoy!