Bored to Death

Bored to Death centers around a yuppie novelist (Jason Schwartzman) and his unofficial night job as a really bad private detective.

Somehow his run-ins with the Russian mob, among other things, make up for his mediocre life.

In his adventures, he reluctantly takes with him his editor (Ted Danson for the win) and his comic book illustrator friend played by Zach Galifianakis of The Hangover fame.

Galifanakis is a pleasant surprise; there's more to his boneheaded friend typecast.

The show does a good job of parodying detective stories and sit-coms. Down to playing with gadgets and undercover work. It also deals with how adults act like moronic kids because they've grown up to be mediocre.

The cinematography, at times, looks like a video cam that a friend used to record your moronic deeds, which is just as well.

I'm worried about the smallness of the locale. I've only seen a few episodes and they've all revolved around the suburbs and the three characters getting stoned while staking out a house. It may not be as exciting if you're into lots and lots of action.

I think if the writers can apply their dialogue wit onto utilizing the suburbs to the fullest, then the show is set.

So, yeah, so far, so far, Bored to Death gets an 8/10.

Bottle Rocket

When I was in grade school and high school, I would buy all sorts of magazines related to films. They were expensive, especially for someone who had an average food allowance but I managed to buy a few foreign magazines such as Entertainment Weekly, Premiere and Empire magazines as well as the underrated Glitter magazine, a local one.

That's where I found this film that they called "an indie gem": Bottle Rocket. There are three things that attracted me to this film. 1) The stars were brothers (Owen and Luke Wilson); 2) I like bottle rockets; and 3) I felt like I was the only one who knew about it.

I scoured my local video rental place, the last one that I haven't been banned from, and surpisingly found it on Laser Disc. Not surprisingly, looking at the card, it showed that nobody has rented it.

I half expected bottle rockets and to tell you the truth, I was sligtly disappointed that there weren't any.

But the story was good, and its pace was very different from the usual films I used to watch.

Briefly, it's about three friends (The Wilsons plus Ned Dowd) whose mundane lives bring them to finding a bit of adventure by becoming criminals. Owen Wilson is the star of the film and his nose has never been as prominent. I think I spent half an hour just thinking how this guy had the guts to be on film with that grotesque nose.

The film was very well done and funny at times but its significance is not how good the film was, but what it did to those who were part of it.

This film launched three careers, particularly: Owen and Luke Wilson, and director Wes Anderson.

We all know how things have turned out for Owen Wilson, who has headlined some of the best comedies in recent years such as Zoolander and The Wedding Crashers.

Luke is probably two levels below Owen, as he has become the prennial "boyfriend" in female-oriented flicks. Other than Old School where he portrayed The Godfather, nothing seems to be of note but at the same time, he doesn't seem to be trying either.

Wes Anderson on the other hand has become a respected director despite the limited resumé. His latest one is The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and it has been getting a lot of great reviews.

Dignan, Owen Wilson's character, had a catch phrase just before they did a job. True to their nature of not being cerebral criminals, he'd say, "Time to Get Lucky".

And I guess they all did.

8/10

Important Things with Demetri Martin Season One

Okay for those of you who do not know who Demetri Martin is, the easiest way to make you go "Ahhhh" is that he used to be a writer for Conan O' Brien in Late Night.

("Ahhhh")

Surely you still don't know him, but I guess you now know what kind of comedy he brings.

Demetri Martin is probably the most talented young comedian today. The best way to describe him is he comes across as a young Jery Seinfeld, finding humor from almost absoultely nothing. That's where his genius lies. He observes and then makes a funny comment about it and we all laugh while at the same time we're thinking "I knew that! I could've made that joke!"

You probably could, but you didn't.

Important Things with Demetri Martin is an extension of his stand-up comedy. I guess this is a staple anyways. Tim Allen with Home Improvement, Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock with their shows. Hell, Seinfeld plays himself in his show! (And as Seinfeld once said, "The show may no longer be on air, but I played myself in it. So I'm still having Episodes!")

Martin's show is a sketch comedy complete with stand up, music (provided by himself), short filmed segments and funny drawings.

I've always been a fan of these types of shows and for the most part, they have been dominated by blacks, most notably by Rock and Chappelle. The problem is, as funny as those two are, the issue of race seems to get thrown in a lot almost as a "Go-to" joke. Yeah it's funny. In fact it's hilarious. But sometimes you need a break from that and that's exactly what Martin provides. A breezy comedy, with no hang ups but still with an edge.

9/10