“I’m gay. And you’re brother. And a ghost.”

"Andy Richter Controls the Universe," 2002–2003. Two and a Half Stars.

I didn’t watch this when it was on the air, so a friend let Tim and I borrow the three-disc DVD. The first few episodes were pretty painful; by Disc Two, though, things started rolling.

Though they didn’t roll very far. I love Andy Richter, ever since I almost touched him when I snuck off to a Conan O’Brien taping back in high school (he used to co-host the show; and look, he’s back on the show again!). But this show didn’t live up to his potential. Also, it felt very dated.

So, Andy Richter plays a character with the same name, who is a writer of technical manuals, but wants to be a creative writer so he has lots of fantasies. Most of these fantasies are “look at me, I’m soooooo wacky,” which is a turn off. And the plots are pretty corny and boring. There are some truly funny gems in each episode (some of the funniest parts are when the dead owner of the company Andy works at keeps popping up in his imagination), but over all, this show didn’t really grab me.

The characters… well I think it’s funny that there’s a really handsome dude (who isn’t that handsome, and wish it were Ted from "Better Off Ted"!). And I like that Phil from "Better Off Ted" (I really like that show!) plays Byron (with long hair. Yuck.). Don’t really care about the insensitive boss-lady friend, but I think it might be because of her boring 90’s make-up and hair-dos. Wendy is pretty interesting; she comes off as a flat character, but she has these weird quirky nuances…

But really, there's not much about these characters that makes me really care about them. I ended up liking them all right, but I didn't fall in love with them and I'm not devastated that the show's not on the air anymore.

One of my favorite episodes is the Sensitivity Training one. Also, there's another episode with Jones from "Reno 911!" in it!

And I really liked Conan’s crazy appearance on the show!

Ever notice in shows starring fat guys (THE DREW CAREY SHOW), the fat guys get way more play than fat guys in real life traditionally get? …I like that! If it’s your show, your allowed to do whatever you want. (I'm not picking on fat guys, I'm picking on Drew Carey. He's kind of a jerk.)

Anyways, this show had some great lines, and here are a few of my faves:
“This is the wettest I’ve ever been.” “You know, I’ve always wanted to hear that. But not from you.”
“I found a gay one-armed Native American little person.”
“It doesn’t involve sex, does it?” “No, it involves taking drugs.”

“Don’t you watch the news?” “I hate that fuckin’ show.” -OR- “I was gonna get some.” “I kind of doubt it.”

Idle Hands. Two and a Half Stars.

HA HA HA! Brilliantly horrible. ...Or, horribly brilliant?

I recommend it!

"No, don't tug on that, you don't know what it's attached to."

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, 1984. Three Stars.

How has this movie not been in my life until now? Buckaroo Banzai is a scientist and doctor who also races cars and is in a rock band, and he and his friends battle sinister beings from another dimension. I love this.

Amazing people are in this movie too.

Like, ROBOCOP!!

"Oh my God, what's wrong with your hands!"

Star Trek, 2009. Four Stars.

That T4 review really threw off the timeliness of my reviews. I need to play a bit of catch-up.

I saw Star Trek when it came out in the theatre. Saw it opening night, and we liked it so much that Tim and I took his mom to see it a few days later for Mother’s Day! And after all the hype the movie generated, I want to see it again STAT to see how I still feel about it. When does it come out on DVD??

Just checked: November 17th! Rad!

So, as stated in earlier reviews (par example, Star Trek: Insurrection), I like Star Trek. And I like this movie. I thought I would hate this new “My daddy’s dead” brat-faced Kirk, but, he was still cute and a bad-ass! Just had even more edge.

Zachary Quinto is a perfect Spock, but it’s too bad that his “Sylar” face looks like his “Spock” face, because even though he’s totally being Spock, all I can think about is Sylar.

Uhura and Spock are a thing? I’m totally okay with that.

Actually, I loved everyone in this, and they all did a great job breathing new life into these already-established characters. I got a kick out of Karl Urban’s Bones. (In fact, it's the only time I've ever gotten a kick out of Karl Urban.) A friend told me that was one of the only parts of the movie she didn’t like since he mimicked the original Bones’s character, while everyone else’s character is a unique adaptation. I can understand it, but really Urban did such a phenomenal job that I think it works fine in this reboot, plus it's really enjoyable! And like I mentioned in the T4 review, I really didn't mind that Anton Yelchin was in not one but TWO summer blockbusters, and as pretty important characters. His Chekov is commendable comedic relief, and I like that he's a kid. And he does it all with integrity. Also, SCOTTY!!!

I liked that Leonard Nimoy is in this, because I like him.

Since I mentioned so many actors, I feel badly if I don't mention all of them now. Eric Bana. Bruce Greenwood. John Cho. Those are the only ones I was familiar with before seeing this, and they were all great. Except, Winona Ryder. I don't know how I feel about her being in this.

This movie is really fun and enjoyable, and it looks cool. If you're not a big sci-fi fan, you still might like this. If you're a die-hard "Original" Star Trek fan, you still might like this.

"I'm sorry, are you from the past?" -OR- "Hello Computer."

"The IT Crowd", Season 1, 2006. Three Stars.

I had heard about this show a few years ago and was eager to watch it. Between then and now, though, boy was it over-hyped! So I didn't really know what to expect.

What I definitely didn't expect, though, was the laugh track. Laugh tracks nearly ruin most anything. And, there were a lot of "Hey, this is a funny part!" moments in the show that just really got on my nerves. It took away from the actual funny, bizarre, and original moments.

Which existed! The characters are stereotypes (I especially can't stand stereotypes of women and nerds!) and a lot of the big jokes are lifeless, so when I first started watching the show, I was practically insulted. But, some of the character's actions and what they were saying were genuinely funny... was it a fluke? Or are these stereotypes just a canvas for actual hilariousness? I had to keep watching.

No one told me that Noel Fielding plays the goth IT guy that stays locked in the back room! His appearance was so refreshing, and after his first appearance, the series really picked up for me. If they can have Vince Noir playing an ex-Executive whose obsession with Cradle of Filth has turned him into a nocturnal goth that's hidden away in the IT office... then maybe those little glitters of bizarre humor are on purpose!

The show ended up growing on me, and even though I don't really like the characters, I like what they say and how they react to stuff. I still get irritated sometimes, like with Moss's annoying "He's so stupid, isn't he funny"-ness, but his actual funny moments make up for it. Plus he's Saboo, so he can do anything he wants really. Also, the boss is amazing!

Is that a Jimmy Corrigan doll behind Roy's desk??????

By the way, I really like the DVD warning and menu, and the opening theme (both music- and graphics-wise). And I'm such an 8-bit weirdo that I spent lots of time with the DVD options to see what would happen. I really like how it was done.

I'll probably check out the other seasons of this show!

OH, I watched the "Behind the Scenes" too; it's pronounced "The It Crowd" and NOT the "I.T. Crowd"? Or is that a joke? Because I think the ironic reference to the phrase "The It Crowd" still works if you pronounce it "I.T.", plus it makes more sense with the show. I think about these things.

SUGAH SLAM!

"Parks and Recreation", 2008–Present. Three Stars (currently, and so far!).

The first season was okay. It reminded me of the British "Office" in that it definitely makes you cringe like crazy (though it's not nearly as cringeworthy); in the British "Office," however, no one's a very good person, so it's easier to come to terms with all of the horrible, embarrassing-to-watch antics that happen. "Parks" is actually harder to watch because Leslie Knope is such a nice and good person, and her naiveté is from genuine niceness, not jackass-iness. So you really feel for the poor girl.

All of the other characters in the show, however, are just terrible, selfish people, and they're not very nice to Leslie, which is difficult for me to watch. Because no one cared about anyone else, I didn't care about them, and how do you watch a show when you don't care about what you're watching? But I cared about Leslie, and I wanted to see something good finally happen to her... Well, in general, I felt that this show had potential, so I stuck with it.

There's a welcome shift in Season 2, which makes it way more enjoyable so far: the characters seem to start noticing Leslie's genuine and plucky attitude, and it's making everyone not as mean. And it's nice to see people start to come around to Leslie's side and actually support her. So now the episodes aren't just a total shitfest on the main character! And, the show is funny! Episode 2 ("The Stakeout") is pretty great, but really, I think the episodes keep getting better and better.

Amy Poehler is amazing as the show's clueless but confident lead. I like her work in general, but it's so so good to see her in a lead role! Rashida Jones is a great "straight man," and she's just so super cute. And Aziz Ansari is hilarious, I love that guy!

I don't know if this show's for everybody, but if you want to, give it a shot. I went from kind of dreading watching it, to looking forward to watching it. It gets a thumbs up from me!

“FUCK PICASSO!” a.k.a. “Is Picasso more important than your family?”

Pollock, 2000. Three and a half stars.

Bud Cort’s in this??

Also, so is Greg from Flight of the Conchords???

And Val Kilmer plays De Kooning????

…Awesome!

Everyone was really good in this. I was pleasantly surprised by all the well-known actors in this, especially the ones playing well-known artists.

I like Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings, and the idea behind and execution of his paintings and what they meant for the art world. But I didn’t know much about this personal life, so I couldn’t tell ya if Ed Harris got it right or not. This was an interesting movie though, and I liked it!

The choppy storytelling/timeline is pretty effective: It was like if Pollock was thinking back on his life, and only the most important, powerful parts to him popped up, and since it’s memory, it doesn’t flow perfectly together. It does, however, require more work for the viewer to become involved in the act of watching the movie, and there’s always the possibility of being confused and annoyed. I like it (I like being completely immersed in a movie), but I’m sure that if I were in a different mood, I could have lost patience with it.

There are quite a few “conversations” in this flick. I had a difficult time following the “blue painting” conversation, but I loooooooved the “Let’s Have a Baby” scene/speech.

It was sad to see Lee so fervently focusing on promoting Pollock's work rather than working on her own paintings (though to his defense, in the movie Pollock always made it a point that she has a space to do her own work in). Well, near the beginning of the movie, when he said “You’re a good woman painter,” I guess it set the tone for their whole professional relationship (and I wanted to hit him).

One thing I got sick of was the “stuff’s happening” music. UGH.

I’m pretty jealous that Ed Harris got to recreate Pollock’s paintings in front of the camera. How much fun is that? I’d like to find out that whole process.

Here’s a list of all the clothing items from this movie that I want, and where it can be found time-wise:

- The first cardigan seen in the Opening Scene

- Lee’s dress 55-ish minutes in

- The sweater at 1:29

Aw man, there were way more dresses in this movie that I liked, but I forgot to write them down.