opinion

Pilot Review: Selfie

In a world of short titles that do nothing for the viewer but provide the laziest of context, “Selfie” is not the worst and it certainly is relevant. I’m willing to admit to watching a show by that name to my colleagues. But then again, I’m not known for my taste in television.

If you had a negative knee jerk reaction to the title and are thinking about skipping this half hour of programming please let me convince you otherwise.

The show’s premise is a re-imagining of “My Fair Lady” for the 21st century. Instead of the obvious of option turning a hick into a suave socialite the writers came up with something a little more unique and far more appropriate. What they give us is the story of a young, hot, internet famous girl and a workaholic man with no time for socializing.

Continue reading →

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Pilot Review: Selfie

In a world of short titles that do nothing for the viewer but provide the laziest of context, “Selfie” is not the worst and it certainly is relevant. I’m willing to admit to watching a show by that name to my colleagues. But then again, I’m not known for my taste in television.

If you had a negative knee jerk reaction to the title and are thinking about skipping this half hour of programming please let me convince you otherwise.

The show’s premise is a re-imagining of “My Fair Lady” for the 21st century. Instead of the obvious of option turning a hick into a suave socialite the writers came up with something a little more unique and far more appropriate. What they give us is the story of a young, hot, internet famous girl and a workaholic man with no time for socializing.

Continue reading →

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Movie Review: 22 Jump Street (2014)

I think I forgot what was funny until I saw this movie. I laughed more at the ending credits than I did for the entirety of A Million Ways to Die in the West and Neighbors. Not only is this movie the funniest thing I have seen in quite some time but it also manages to blow the first one out of the water.

I don’t know if the writers are in their prime or if the actors felt unstoppable but I doubt anything as funny will be coming out anytime soon. The trailer was mildly humourous but it didn’t even come close to brilliance of this movie.

All the talent was utilized brilliantly. Of course, not everyone can be a main character but they made sure that everyone worth hearing from got to shine a little.

The humor was far more palatable for my poor sensibilities as well. There was very little potty humor and the sex jokes were as tasteful as sex jokes in a movie aimed at guys can be. Not once did I find myself trying to ignore a scene or pretending that I was completely cool with something happening.

There was an attempt at a larger theme but unlike other movies that have attempted a deeper meaning it actually delivered the message with a subtle hand. It didn’t throw it in our faces in the beginning, it didn’t forget about it in the middle, and it didn’t rush to conclude at the end. Continue reading →

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On Fun Fonts

If you are writing and have the thought, “Maybe I’ll jazz it up a bit by using a font that fits the story,” STOP. (You could argue similarly for using all caps for emphasis but that’s another post and not one I will be writing.) Don’t do it. I have seen many a weak, poorly developed plot and cliché rhyme painted over with a “fun” font. Here are some examples.

  • A story about food in the freezer written in “Chiller”
  • A story about a retired journalist written in “Courier New”
  • A poem written as a letter in “Lucida”
  • A story from a kid’s POV written in “Comic Sans”

I’m not talking about well sprinkled font use. If your serial killer has written, “Hello,” on the bathroom mirror and the main character sees right before noticing the shadowy figure in the reflection go ahead and write that in “Chiller”. If your character reads a newspaper, you can put the article in newstype. If the character is writing a note use one of the handwriting fonts if you want. Continue reading →

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The Fault In Our Stars

Just in case you a waiting for me to see and review this move I want to let you know:

I will not be seeing this movie. It looks terrible. If movies were people this would be the try-hard who keeps the class until the bell because they actually have questions when the teacher says, “Unless there are any questions you are free to go.”

They have the same hair color and almost the same haircut and that weirds me out.

I have a feeling about this movie that I have had before about:

  • Precious
  • Slumdog Millionaire
  • Little Miss Sunshine

I watched those and many others despite my gut feelings and I hated every minute of them (except the Bollywood dance scene at the end). When all I want is an hour or two to escape from the real world these movies suffocate me with heavy, self-satisfied plots. I can see the writers looking at the finished scripts smugly thinking to themselves, “This is amazing. I am so brilliant and deep.”

If you like movies that try their hardest to make you feel bad about humanity, make you regret your life, and make you think that you will become a better person just from understanding the messages in the movie…please feel free to go see it. I won’t judge you for it as long as you don’t consider me an uncultured, mainstream, waste of humanity for staying away from this movie and you until you get over it.

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