Community Season 1 Review, or It's Not Harvard, But Community College Still Rocks

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I've heard a lot of great reviews about Community, so I decided to check it out for myself. And I wasn't disappointed.

Although this series is about the college experience, there is nothing nerdy or geeky about this series. No Star Wars references, no Lord of the Rings quotations. This is community college. Which is basically post-high school. I think.


1. "Pilot"

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The gang. Or in Spanish, "la pandilla".

The premise: community college. The star: former lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale). The chick: Britta Perry (Gillian Jacobs), who in my opinion isn't really as pretty as she promises to be. Just cute, maybe. Definitely not that hot. The weirdo: Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi). And the rest of the cast you'll get to know as we go through the season.

The Big Year Review, or Having Three Comedians Doesn't Necessarily Mean It's a Comedy

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EXPECTATION

This is going to be a riotously funny comedy, all on the strength of the three lead stars, Messrs. Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Luke Owen Wilson. I think this movie will deliver a lot of laughs to the point that would make my stomache ache with laughter.

All Movie Photo

Look at the three of them with their binoculars. So funny.

REALITY

No, this is not a comedy at all. Having three very talented and extremely funny comedians topbilling this film is not a guarantee of side-splitting laughter.

All Movie Photo

"Really? We're not funny?"

The Big Year is a feel-good movie, closer to a drama than a comedy, and even closer to a documentary than a comedy. It's about birding, or birdwatching, a legitimate hobby that inspired me to search for my own hobby that doesn't require too much equipment. It also tells the story of three birders (I just assumed that's what they're called), and narrates their personal struggle alongside their birding.

This film isn't that funny. That's because it's not a comedy. But it's a great movie, one that would teach viewers more than just the names, plumages, and songs of the birds of North America.



The Big Year. USA. 2011.



Rating: Seven and a half out of ten.

Midnight in Paris

"Love the sort of Van Goh poster"
a.k.a "The title card is too simple (not that I'm complaining)"

While vacationing in Paris with his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams), Hollywood screenwriter Gil (Owen Wilson) falls in love with the city and dreams of, in his opinion, its golden age in the 1920s. Drunk and lost on his way back to his hotel, the city clock strikes 12 and Gil rides a vintage car to the era he loves in the city he adores. That's when the rest of the movie begins, the romance flourishes, and the smiles chime in.

"A scene to tease and to deceive. Why? Watch."
a.k.a. "A kiss is always a good start to a movie"

Like Before Sunrise (also a love story set in Europe) or Vicky Cristina Barcelona (also written and directed by Woody Allen, but less whimsical than this one), the movie carries the same tone all three movies share—very spontaneous and carefree. But while it's a love story on many levels, it's also a fantasy adventure, kind of a time-traveling, self-reflection story of a guy who seeks more in life.

"I said "more in life". not more girls in life" a.k.a "Owen is one lucky guy"
(left: with Marion Cotillard); right: with Lea Seydoux)

Part of the mystique is having world-renowned artists and literary giants portrayed by current actors. If you paid attention during your art and literature classes, you'll spot them easily and get their drift and the narrative slightly better than those who flunked the subject.

"Star-studded cast both past and current" a.k.a. "The only few I know"
Clockwise from top left: The Fritzgeralds (Alison Pill, Tom Hiddleston), Hemingway (Corey Stoll),
Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates), Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo), and Dali (Adrien Brody)

I love how all the movie's themes cut across time, also proving that old school can still be relevant in this day and age. Plus, to be so taken by the breathtaking sights of Paris—spectacular yet not very tourist-y, as Allen captured it—is always a pleasure. The film's premise and story is simple but profound, yet such a breeze to watch. And if you don't take with you romance or lessons, you should have at least bagged a good, genuine smile.


Midnight in Paris gets a seven-point-five out of ten for giving us a very timeless upgrade: romance with a hint of modern and a dash of nostalgia in the city of love.




*movie poster from apercucinephilia.wordpress.com; screencaps courtesy of VLC

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