2031 - Fargo: season one

I write season one assuming that there will be a second season based on the quality of this and what I’ve been able to find online.  This series could have been so bad, instead it’s at least as good as the film it was inspired by - and who knows…. it could be better in some regards…. Noah Hawley has nailed the tone set by the Coens, yet he also makes it uniquely his own.  This features one of the best ensemble casts of any series ever.  From somewhat newcomer Allison Tolman to season veterans Billy Bob Thorton, Oliver Platt, Colin Hanks, Bob Odenkirk, Adam Goldberg, to some awesome Canadian stand-outs Shawn Doyle, Joshua Close, Carlos Diaz, and Rachel Blanchard… but the stand-out for me is Martin Freeman.  It’s absolutely a career highlight - the transformation he goes through is nothing short of stunning.  

The entire season stands on it’s own and is quite serialized - each episode begging you to watch the next.  I found very few faults with the series in general outside of… (SPOILER ALERT) if both Lester and Malvo died, how did were the events depicted exactly as they occurred as is stated in the opening credits?…  (END SPOILER).

So if you haven’t dug into this and you’re a fan of the Coens work, this is a must watch.  I’d say it’s almost like a marriage between Fargo and No Country For Old Men.  I loved it, and I can’t wait for season two.

1953 - The World's End

I missed this one in the cinema and got it for xmas and decided to make it my birthday movie!  I’m a fan of the filmmaking team of Wright/Pegg/Frost.  I still think I’d rank Shaun of the Dead as the height of this “trilogy” and that this and “Hot Fuzz” are more-or-less tied for second.  For those who don’t know the film is about a pub crawl that happens to coincide with a sort-of alien invasion.  

As an action-comedy director I can’t think of anyone who holds a candle to Edgar Wright.  His films skip right along, and they are filled with fantastic and fun action.  There’s an amazing sequence in here wherein the group is surrounded and fighting the “blanks” as they’re called all the while Simon Pegg continues to try and finish his pint.  It’s comedy gold.  The film is full of that.  Frost and Pegg again show why they’re such a solid team here and really play to the emotions when needed.  Simon is in fantastically fine form here.  

If I have a complaint it’s that the epilogue just feels… strange, not sure that’s the route I would have taken it - though I suppose it works and makes sense.  At any rate I’m not going to spoil it.  If you’ve seen the other films from this team then you’ll likely enjoy this one too!

1922 - The Office: Christmas Special

I haven't seen this in years and since I'm re-studying the mockumentary style there's few finer examples.  This series has inspired me to no end, and I believe it's the awkward humour and the way it tickles the heart that's absolutely seeped into my own style.  There's something so admirable about the way that the British do their series, short and sweet, and never any waste.  It's surprising to think that this is over a decade old now, or around that.  I love the honest and simple closure that this gave the world and the characters we'd grown to love.  David Brent doesn't ride off into the sunset, but we see he's grown a backbone and making choices he never would have made at the beginning of the series.  It's simple and so effective.  If you haven't watch this, the original version of The Office, I don't want to ruin anything for you.  There's much debate over Jim and Pam Vs. Tim and Dawn - and while I love them both, it's hard to beat the original.
Please, if you've never see it, get on it.  There's only 14 episode of the entire series - it's a crime not to give it that 7hrs of your life, even this many years later.  Pretty please, with sugar on top, watch this!