2040 - Wish I Was Here

I was a Kickstarter backer on this project.  I was a fan of Garden State, and as a crowd-funder myself I wanted to follow the campaign.  One of my perks was to get an advanced screening of the film, so that’s how you’re hearing from me early.

I have to be honest.  I didn’t love it.  Some other reviews have said “it was good enough to make you wish that it was better” and I think that’s fair.  Another review that said it’s “Phony, shallow, and completely disconnected from reality. To make matters worse, it thinks it’s sincere, deep, and realistic.” and while that’s pretty harsh - I can’t disagree.  There’s so many lines in this that feel like it’s really clever, but no one would ever talk like that let alone consistently always have the perfect thing to say at the exact perfect moment.  At times it feels like we’re watching a marathon of clever ideas that Zach Braff had and how he wedged them all together.  And wedging isn’t far off - there’s so many things going on here that look like they’re there for the sake of the visuals than anything else.  

I read somewhere that Braff spent years trying to get this film made within the system and couldn’t get it done - which seeing the end product, it doesn’t surprise me.  The last thing I wanted to do was crap on this film, but I can’t honestly endorse it. I like what he’s trying to accomplish - it’s a film about the difficulty of being a parent, so there’s things here that I dig, but as a whole - it’s messy.  And it’s hard to care about a hero who puts himself ahead of his family and tries to use his dream as a defense.  A lot of us find a way to do both.  

The highlights are Mandy Patinkin and the soundtrack - which is worth buying for sure - though it feels clumsy with how it’s used in the film, especially compared to how well the music was used in Garden State.

So if you were obsessed with Garden State than you’re going to see this anyway.  If you don’t dig Zach Braff to begin with, this likely won’t help.  Please do check it out for yourself though - I’d be happy to be in the minority when it comes to disliking something.

1841 - The Big Bang Theory: season six

How did this series get to six seasons?  There was an article posted the other day talking about how this series keeps getting better and a writer friend who had bowed out early asked me if that were true - and it absolutely is.  What the show has done extremely well is turn into, essentially, the new Friends.  By bumping up the female parts they've struck some kind of universal chord.  The writing team finds freshness in running gags that few shows can.  It keeps finding ways to stretch and pull the characters in new directions without changing who they've always been.  This isn't my favourite kind of show by any means, but it's always enjoyable.  There's a reason why it's the most watched show in Canada.

1835 - Garden State

I haven't revisited this film in a long time and I did, I'm sure like many this week, on the cusp of Zach Braff's crowd funding campaign for his new film WISH I WAS HERE.  This film has a cult following and there's no surprise why - it's charming, full, sweet, and full of heart.  If I could make one change in this film it would simply be not to make Zach's character a struggling actor.  Outside a running-gag it just feels to me like a story that in infinitely more relatable if he's more of an everyman.  But there's not much to be done about that at this point.
This is likely one of the films that helped coin the term Manic Pixie Dreamgirl, but I could care less since Natalie Portman is so damn adorable here.  If you watch this and don't fall for her, you're dead inside.  That's right.  I said it.  The film has a killer soundtrack, and Big Bang Theory fans keep an eye out for Jim Parsons - if you remember the film but haven't seen it for a while, he's the knight.  (RIGHT?!)

Zach Braff has been taking some shit for raising money to make his film on Kickstarter, but I really don't understand why.  I can see the complaint that places are like that are for people who can't raise money traditionally - but I'd argue that we have no idea what Zach's situation is - sure he made a cult film - but that was almost ten years ago. (I know… sep).  Also, celebrities like he and the Vermonica Mars people attract new people to websites like that, those of whom might not had went there in they first place.  Indie filmmaking is the wild west, and if you can tap into a fan base to raise your money, then right there you've got proof that yours is a film people want to see.

If you haven't seen Garden State, it's absolutely worth checking out.  I don't praise it to the mountains like some do, but I do love it.   

1568 - The Big Bang Theory: season four

First off, I'm so happy that this show has become the mega-hit that it is.  The casting is perfect, and the writing is damned inspired.  Let's be honest, it's not Shakespeare - it's not trying to be.  What it's aiming to be is a very funny and entertaining show and it continues to deliver episode after episode.  And what this season does particularly well is turn this show into the new Friends.  Seriously.  By bulking up the female side of the cast and giving them some weight Chuck Lorre has given this show even more legs than it had before.  It could go on a very long time and I don't think anyone is complaining about that idea.  The entire cast continues to expand in ways that are ever-so-delightful.  Although I think they've finally run out of gags based around Sheldon knocking on (mostly Penny's) door as there were some "normal" knocks near the end.  If you haven't caught onto this show yet - do it.  Is it about geniuses?  Sure, but I don't think I've spoken to a single person who doesn't like this show.  If you exist I would love to know why!!!  And now, for those who DO follow the series, some SPOILERS BELOW...
Expanding on my comment above about this being the new Friends that means that clearly Leonard and Penny are the new Ross and Rachel, which also means that we're going to see them do this will-they/won't-they dance for the forseeable future.  What this show did very smartly was turn the tables and have Penny be the one to start to want to get Leonard back.  There is no shortage of stories about nerds trying to get the hot girl, but I'll be damned if I'm not interested in watching a hot girl try to land a nerd who has moved on.  As much as I complained about my fear over the direction of where The Office is headed I have to say that the series finale bit excited and worried me.  I love the idea of changing up the roommate configuration and having to see Sheldon and Raj as roommates - I really hope this continues on for a little bit at least - it's delightful.  But I do have to say that while I saw it coming, I'm worried about the choice that the writers have made in having Penny and Raj hook up (even if it's a drunken regretful hook up on the heels of Penny admitting that she fucked up by letting Leonard go).  I realize that it puts a great barrier between Leonard and Penny just as it looked like he was going to be single again - but I just can't imagine how Raj & Leonard are going to get past this... I can only hope that Lorre has some wonderfully funny things in store for us surrounding it.  Oh, and Howard is totally going to work towards becoming a doctor next season. 
So that's all I'll say on that.  A delightful show that just continues to get better as it moves along.  Can't wait till September!
The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Fourth Season  The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Fourth Season [Blu-ray]