Well, you all demanded it (at least in my head you all did), so I delivered.
I decided that my smash hit piece on the most memorable dogs in film could not stand alone. Given that TV is going through some sort of Golden Age right now, I figure that the dogs of the small screen deserve just as much attention as the dogs on the silver screen.
So here is my list of the most memorable dogs on TV. And this time, there are no rules. Talking dogs and animated dogs rule! Anarchy! The Purge!
“We have always been a nation of immigrants who hate the new immigrants.” -Jon Stewart
Between Colonial Williamsburg and 90s nostalgia, humans have a bad habit of white washing history. Between the men dressed in funny outfits and the All That reruns, we often forget the wars and the dysentery.
Because of this, I praise the heavens above when a film like The Immigrant comes out. This is the kind of film that treats history less like an epic poem and more like a rap lyric. In other words, this film is aware that life is a dirty game, and you’ve got to play dirty to win. Now, excuse me while I slap myself in the face for writing those last few sentences.
This article is based on a TV show that I actually watched. The names and events reflect what I actually saw.
The best drama that I have seen on television so far this year is the one that I expected to actively dislike. Instead of trying to simply imitate its source material, Fargo went in a completely new direction. It kept all of the darkest elements of the original Fargo while weaving together a completely original story. It is a triumph.
While Fargo is its own entity, it also does Joel and Ethan Coen proud. The Coen Brothers have such an original voice that it seems nearly impossible to replicate it. Yet, Noah Hawley somehow managed to do this. The Coen Brothers Universe are the kind of people who base stories off true events that never happen and adapt movies from novels that they have never read. Fargo does just the same, and it has a blast messing with our heads.
What Fargo made me realize is that everything the Coen Brothers does definitely exists in the same world. It is a singular universe that I may just enjoy more than, say, the one created by the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. While Fargo goes its own way, it also references films of Coen Brothers past, and connects itself to their universe many times over. Like Deputy Molly Solverson would do, its time to create a crazy web of conspiracies. Here is every Coen Brothers reference that I could find in FX’s Fargo:
It is impossible to know what will be revered down the road, but it is truly something to behold when you witness a film that you are just sure will be a future cult classic. From the detailed world to the crazy monologues, I get a good feeling that Snowpiercer will be just that.
Snowpiercer, the latest film from Bong Joon-ho, is a rare breed: too smart to be a summer blockbuster, yet too fun to be a moody summer indie flick. So instead, it is a little bit of both, with fantastic results. Based on a graphic novel, Snowpiercer takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. After a solution to solve Global Warming fails, the Earth freezes over. A select few are given their own ark, in the form of a train that runs on a perpetual engine. Snowpiercer is able to explain this in a manner that is much more succinct than the normal blockbuster would. This is a film that truly knows how to pace itself.
Band of misfits. Image via Business Insider
Okay, so being negative about awards is fun. But I got that out of my system yesterday. So today, it is time to be nice.
Luckily, there is a lot to be nice about, because Emmy voters did a pretty good job this year. They didn’t do the best that they could have. On that note, can somebody please photoshop a picture of Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer holding Emmys?
Anyway, if you look close enough at the nominations, you will see that this year’s lineup does as good a job as possible at reflecting the incredibly diverse array of programming that makes up the current golden age of television that we are living in.
For this, I have decided not to include shows like Game of Thrones, Louie, or Breaking Bad. While their inclusion makes me happy, their nominations were foregone conclusions. So instead, let’s focus on some of the people and shows that might not have expected to heard their names called yesterday morning:
I come to you today, ranting about awards, not because I want to, but because I need to.
You see, as somebody who doesn’t watch sports, I need some place to let out the insane amount of masculine aggression that lies inside me. So while I can’t complain about that ref who needs to get his eyes checked, I can complain about that voter who needs to stop accepting bribes from Chuck Lorre.
This year, the good news is that the amount of snubs probably come from the fact that there are just so many good shows on television, and not enough awards to give out. I accept the fact that most of my choices aren’t necessarily the ones that beg for awards. However, it just seems wrong that the Emmys almost completely ignored the Comedy Central Renaissance. Seriously, put on Comedy Central at some point. You will be surprised to find that they have a lot more than Tosh.0 re-runs now.
Without much further adieu, here is my list of this year’s most egregious Emmy snubs:
Episode 16: Ian and Cassie talk about the return on “Community” to Yahoo!, the pilot for HBO’s “The Leftovers” and David Wain’s “They Came Together.”
Hi, can I please be friends with both of you? I’m kind of cool and not desperate, I swear. Image via Vanity Fair
I can’t do it. I just…I can’t do it. I can’t…review…They Came Together.
Don’t worry, I haven’t reached my breaking point. I have just found a film that has rendered itself unreviewable. That is not to say that They Came Together is bad or difficult to understand; it is just to say that is so self-aware that at times it won’t feel like you are watching a movie, but rather two idiots with too much imagination pitching their idea for a romantic comedy. And that is not a diss at all.
They Came Together starts with a double date where the story of Joel (Paul Rudd) and Molly’s (Amy Poehler) relationship goes on for a very long time, and turns out to be just like “a corny romantic comedy.” Thus, they proceed to tell the story of the worst romantic comedy possible. They Came Together tries to be bad, and that is what makes it so good.
For that reason, I feel like an ordinary review would not work here. So here is a long of jumble of thoughts on They Came Together:
Episode 15: Ian and Cassie talk about how season two of Orange is the New Black made an already great show even better and why Obvious Child is a breath of fresh air in a crowded summer movie season. Plus, what we’ve been consuming (watching, reading, listening, etc.) this week.
For the record, this poster is awesome. Image via Screen Crush
In response to the recent trailer for Seth Rogen’s upcoming The Interview (which looks amazing), Kim Jong-un released a statement from Pyongyang condemning the film. Okay, that makes sense, as I wouldn’t like a film about my death either. Then, he went so far as to call the movie “an act of war” and that America would be in big trouble if they supported it. It is probably important to note that Seth Rogen co-directed The Interview with Evan Goldberg, and it is probably even more important to note that Rogen is actually Canadian.
Rogen responded to the statement with a statement of his own:
