A Lighter Twist on Halloween Traditions

As Halloween approaches, the anticipation of our annual horror movie marathon grows. However, this year, I find myself pondering a different approach, one that acknowledges the harsh reality we face outside the world of movies and scares.
It's no secret that the world has become a rather unsettling place lately. For that reason, this year, I propose we simplify and tweak our tradition to lighten the mood a bit.
Instead of delving too deeply into darkness and terror, let's have a little laugh here and then, in a “scary” context. This doesn't mean we abandon our love for horror movies altogether, but rather, we can infuse an extra dose of light-heartedness into our movie choices.
So, if you’re like me this year and want to watch horror movies but at the same time, you also want to have a good laugh, here’s a little list of suggestions.

If, however, you want a good scare, here’s a list I made a few years back, that I still find relevant today.

• The Cornetto trilogy : I’ve discussed these films extensively before (you can read about it here), but they are a must. Especially Shaun of the dead, which, in my opinion, is the better of the 3 movies.

• The cabin in the woods : a group of friends spend their weekend at a seemingly deserted cabin in the forest, but the cabin actually turns out to be an underground laboratory.

• Zombieland : 4 strangers travel across the US, trying to survive the zombie apocalypse.

• The final girls : a group of friends attend the screening of a cult B-horror movie and somehow become trapped in it.

• Extra ordinary : a shy driving instructor reluctantly uses her supernatural talents to help a widow save his daughter’s soul from a has-been rock star who practices black magic to regain fame.

• The babysitter : a young boy spies on his babysitter one night to see what she does in his house once he’s fallen asleep, only to realize that she’s part of a satanic cult. There is a sequel, and although it has some good moments, it really is nowhere as good as the first one.

• Attack the block : a group of teens protect their South London block from an alien invasion. By far some of the coolest looking aliens I’ve seen in a while!

• Vampires vs the Bronx : a group of kids must fight to save their neighborhood from gentrification and vampires.

• They cloned Tyrone : an unlikely trio investigates a series of weird events in their neighborhood and stumble on a sinister conspiracy.

• Ghosbusters - Afterlife : finally a sequel to the original movie we all deserve.
  

The Classics

Need I say more? You have a great night just there, with the original Ghostbusters (the second movie was average at best and let’s not even talk about Paul Feig’s all female remake. For the record, the movie was bad period. Not because it was all female, which I thought was a gimmick, but because there was no story and despite the talented cast, it was very poorly acted), Beetlejuice and Clue. Clue might be a lesser known movie but it is worth a watch! It’s a great who-donnit murder mystery set in a creepy mansion.

TV horror comedies

• Truth seekers : A group of part-time paranormal investigators investigate a series of supernatural events. Starring Nick Frost, Simon Pegg and Malcolm McDowell among others, this series was kind of fun to watch. It definitely deserved a second season but was cancelled instead.

• Community : not all the seasons, of course, but this series made some of the most iconic Halloween episodes ever! Check out these episode :

  • Season 1, Episode 7, "Introduction To Statistics"

  • Season 2, Episode 6, "Epidemiology" (my personal favorite)

  • Season 3, Episode 5, "Horror Fiction In Seven Spooky Steps"

  • Season 4, Episode 2, “Paranormal Parentage”

• What we do in the shadows : this TV adaptation of the movie by the same title surpasses by a lot its source material. One of the major reason is the addition of energy vampire Colin Robinson. The series (and the movie) revolves around a group of vampires who live together in a house in Staten Island.

There are a lot of other titles, of course, but these are the ones I really enjoyed, liked and recommand. Hope you have a great Halloween!

Best TV shows of 2022, so far (January-Mid-March)

So I’ve decided to break my TV watching recap into 2 or 3-month brackets instead of waiting till the end of the year. One reason is that my memory really is no longer what it used to be and another is that my end of year recap doesn’t include shows that maybe deserve a spot. Recapping what I’ve watched over the past 3 months allows me to have a fresh memory of the shows as well as it gives more room for more shows.

In all honesty, this beginning of the year was full of surprises! Shows I was convinced I would hate turned out to be favorites while shows I was waiting in anticipation to watch turned out to be duds.

Between January and mid-March, there’s been 5 show that deserve, in my opinion, a mention.

The Silent sea

This Korean scifi series is far from perfect but it has enough originality and intrigue for me to tune in for another episode and want to know more. The story takes place in the near future where Earth suffers from extreme water shortage and follows a space crew sent to the moon on a mission to retrieve mysterious samples from an abandonned research facility where five years prior, all the staff died in bizarre circumstances. Sure, there was some clumsiness in the writing and my first opinion after the first few episodes was that it’s probably an Alien rip-off, but they’ve managed to turn things around and some plot twists have made The Silent Sea a show deserving of more attention.

Archive 81

My previous comments about The Silent Sea’s clumsiness also applies here, for Archive 81. This is a supernatural horror series about a man who’s hired by a mysterious company to restore videocassettes belonging to a student who made, 15 or 20 years prior, a documentary about an appartment building in New-York. As he restores and watches the seemingly mundane footage, he quickly realizes that he’s getting pulled into an intrigue involving mysterious fires, disappearances, cults and conspiracies. Are there plot holes? Yes. Are there unnecessary jump scare techniques? Absolutely. But once again, the show has managed to bring enough to the table to catch the viewers’ attention and make them want to know more.

Suspicion

Suspicion premiered on February 4 and I’m only a few episodes in so my critique will only be about what I’ve seen so far. Four strangers, all ordinary British citizens, are accused of kidnapping the son of a high profile American media mogul. The kidnapping happened in a New York hotel, when all four characters happened to be there. As they desperately race to prove their innocence, one can’t help but wonder if they’re really telling the truth. I must admit that the 4 main characters are nor really sympathetic and I’m not really rooting for them, but curiosity got the better of me. I want to know what happened, who did it and why.

C’est comme ça que je t’aime

Being born and raised in Montral, Quebec, I’ve always been very critical of local TV shows. They very often lack creativity, borrowing from existing American shows, and/or lack nuances and subtility. I can literally count on the fingers of one hand all the Quebec productions I actually like : Rock et Belles Oreilles, Tout sur moi, La petite vie, Les Invincibles and Infoman. Last year, another series can be added to the list : C’est comme ça que je t’aime, a show about two couples who turn into murderous criminals during their kids’ stay at summer camp. The show is not constant but it’s got some killer hilarious lines! The second season has just begun to air and we binge-watched it in no time. Still pretty funny.

Peacemaker

Now this is a show I was sure I would hate! I didn’t even have the intention of watching it because I dislike anything about superheroes. What changed my mind was when I heard some hype about the opening credits and checked it out on Youtube. It was pure genius and convinced me to give the show a chance. I have to say that Peacemaker was a big surprise. Funny, silly, insightful and action packed, with a great ensemble cast and killer dialogues, this series is so different from the movie it’s supposed to come from! I saw bits of the Suicide Squad (1 and 2) and hated it. The TV series is nothing like the movies. The first half of the season is better than the second, but still, I can’t wait for season 2.

So that’s my top 5 series so far, but that’s not all I watched, though. I mentionned earlier that there were some shows I was waiting for with much anticipation. Well, when they finally aired, I was deeply disappointed. These are shows like Severance (too much emphasis on purposeless visuals) and The Afterparty (bad writing for such a talented cast). And then there were shows I just watched out of boredom, hoping to stumble on a surprise, like Dollface (season 2), The woman in the house across the street…., The girl before, Murderville, Shining Vale, Our flag means death. Unsurprisingly, they were disappointing. I also started watching the 4th season of Killing Eve but my interest wanes with each season.

Anticipated for the next months

Shows I’m excited to watch for the next few months include:

• The Larry David story

• Peaky Blinders (season 6)

• Stranger things (season 4)

• Better call Saul (season 6)

Hopefully, I’ll discover someting new as well!

Favorite TV shows of 2021

Hey there, it’s been a while. I haven’t found the time (and energy) to manage this account until the Christmas break, but hopefully, I’ll get back on the horse and find a better way to handle my free time!

The year 2021 has ended already and I want to reflect on what’s been good entertainment. I know I should have released this before the end of the past year but lazyness kicked in during my Holiday’s first week off! But better late than never, I guess!

Sitcoms

Only murders in the building

Starting strong with a Martin Short/ Steve Martin/ Selena Gomez collaboration about 3 neighbors, obsessed with true crime podcasts, investigating a murder in their fabulous New-York appartment building while improvising their own murder podcast. Needless to say that Martin Short and Steve Martin are comedic geniuses, and though Selena Gomez’s performance is far from being able to equate that of the legendary duo, her youthful presence does provide some very necessary balance to the show. Only murders in the building is as suspenseful as it is hilarious. And although some episodes are at times over the top, Martin Short and Steve Martin are always a pleasure to watch and I cannot wait for the second season!

Kevin can f**k himself

This show is like nothing I’ve seen before and I cannot believe more people are not talking about it. Definitely the most underrated show of the year! Set half in the stereotypical wife/husband sitcom, half in a dramatic show about an unhappy marriage, Kevin can f**k himself is a dark comedy about a wife who wants to regain some control in her life, after 10 years with a selfish, manipulative, child-like husband. Funny, smart and at time very frustrating, this show was a lot of fun to watch. Also, what a pleasure to see Annie Murphy in a role so opposite to the one she had in Schitt’s Creek!

Schmigadoon

Now this came as a surprise to me. There is nothing I hate more than musicals, and yet, when we played Schmigadoon (almost by accident), I was enthralled! We binge-watched the whole season in no time and the musical numbers never bothered me, quite the contrary. They were spectacular, actually.

Made for love

The season is unequal but the good moments were brilliant. This is a show about a woman trying to regain her independance by escaping the grips of her controlling husband, a tech genius billionnaire who implented a tracking device in her brain to monitor her movements as well as her physical and emotional data. Though Cristin Milioti and Billy Magnussen are amazing as the feuding couple, Ray Romano really steals the show as Milioti’s father.

What we do in the shadows - Season 3

I was certain that after 2 seasons, they’ve pretty much covered everything and the series would become somewhat repetitive, but I was dead wrong. The third season made me laugh as much as the first two.

Drama

Succession - Season 3

I’ve become obsessed with Succession! Each season is better the last and I cannot get enough of this dysfunctionnal family’s downward spiral, banter, infighting and disconnectedness. This show has managed to beat The Office and Curb your enthusiasm in terms on cringe (think of Kendall singing, cousin Greg in general, Shiv and Tom’s marriage, and so much more!), all the while displaying an incredible visual aesthetic, and not to forget killer dialogues. The third season ended so incredulously that I need to see season 4 right away. Unfortunately, no release date has been revealed yet…

Squid Game

Speaking of incredible visual aesthetics, Squid Game is one of the rare cases of “believe the hype”. It’s probably one of the most talked about shows of the year, and it’s also one of the best. I’m not sure a second season is the best idea, but I’ll watch it for sure. I don’t have anything to add to the multitude of things that have been written about this show, except that if you haven’t watched it yet, what are you waiting for?

Yellowjackets

The season is still ongoing so I might be getting ahead of myself here, but so far, it’s one of the best dramas I’ve seen this year. Set in two timelines, the present and 30 years ago, when the characters were teenagers, this show is a mix of survival epic, psychological/supernatural/horror and coming-of-age drama. In the 1990s, a plane carrying a team of high school soccer players to their national tournament crashes in the Canadian wilderness. The survivors held on for 19 months before being rescued, but what actually happened during these harrowing 19 months remain a mystery as all the survivors swore to secrecy. However, the events will come back to taunt them decades later. Though the series reminds me a lot of Lost at times, it is intriguing enough for me to want to continue watching and learn what happened.

Docuseries

Get back

I wouldn’t call myself the biggest Beatles’ fan (I don’t hate them either) but I found this series illuminating as it debunks a lot of preconceived ideas I had about the Beatles and their break-up. It’s also fascinating to be a fly on the wall and observe as one of the greatest band in history created from nothing some of the most significant classics of modern music. There are 3 episodes overall, each averaging 2 hours, detailing the days leading up to the band’s legendary roof-top performance.

Pretend it’s a city

This series of conversations between Martin Scorsese and Fran Lebowitz is a continuation of sorts of Scorsese’s 2010 documentary, Public Speaking. Fran Lebowitz is quick-witted, hilarious and opinionated, and listening to her vent about everything and everybody is a true pleasure!

Honorable mentions

• Ted Lasso - Season 2 : The second season was nowhere near as good as the first but there were some very good moments. However, the level of saccharin errs dangerously towards the tacky, while Nate’s story arch feels unnecessary.

• Mythic quest - Season 2 : my previous comment about Ted Lasso’s second season not being able to level up to its first applies also to Mythic Quest’s second season. It’s good, but nowhere near as good as season 1.

• Physical : Rose Byrne is amazing as an unhappy housewife who finds aerobics as a way to regain control over her life. However, the series kind of lost its way after a while and it’s hard to see where the story is headed. That being said, I’ll watch season 2 if there is one.

• Mare of Eastown : Interesting series all thanks to the amazing cast, but underwhelming story and extremely poor use of Guy Pierce.

• Queen of the south : I’m putting it here only because the first seasons were so good. The final season, which aired in 2021, was, in my opinion, terrible. Too many twist and turns, with an unrealistic happy ending. That being said, rare are TV series where viewers get to witness such incredible showdowns between two powerful female characters, especially when set in the drug trafficking world. While Teresa is the hero, I find that Camilla is a formidable antagonist and the most interesting character.

• It’s always sunny in Philadelphia : Officially the longest running live-action comedy in history with their 15th season, It’s always sunny in Philadelphia is still extremely funny but their 12th season is by far their best. This season is great, with the first episode being the funniest, but it’s very uneven.

I think that’s it for 2021! Hopefully 2022 will be just as good or better!

Movies and TV shows I thought were going to be bad but turned out to be pretty great

This is my mea culpa. I’m usually good at predicting whether a movie or TV show is going to be watch-worthy or not, but there has been a bunch of cases I have judged way too quickly, without having given them a chance and then I realized how great they were. Sometimes, these flash judgement we make can cause us miss out on some pretty good content, which is why I now watch any new TV show for at least 3 episodes before deciding if I’m going to continue giving it a chance or if I want to ditch it. For movies, I must say that the art of making good trailers has been lost. All movies look bad now if we only watch their trailers.

Anyhow, I’ve compiled a list of my top five movies and TV shows that I have misjudged the most. Here they are.

movies

John Wick

When I saw the trailer for John Wick’s first installment, I simply thought “not another mindless action movie where Man gets mad, man wants revenge, 60 minutes of unrealistic action scenes, man kisses woman”. But you know what? As soon as the bad guy killed that puppy, I just saw red and wanted bloody revenge. Kidding aside, though my projected summary is relatively accurate (he did want revenge, but he did not kiss a woman at the end), the cinematography is way better than any contemporary action movie, like say, The Fast&Furious. The action sequences are very well thought of and well choreographed, and did not overly rely on CGI. I waited some time before agreeing to watching this film and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised! I had a great time viewing it, so much so that I watched the second and third installments, and will probably watch the upcoming forth! John Wick 2 is not great. Far from it but John Wick 3 was a lot better.

Asterix : Mission Cléopâtre

The Asterix comics have been a staple in my childhood, as well as that of most francophiles in the world. The animated film versions became a must for all my Christmas holidays. I love the humor, the sarcasm, the stories and the characters so much that I’ve read the comics over and over again. When they announced they’ll be adapting them for the movies, in 1999, I was concerned and rightly so because Asterix et Obelix contre César was a horrendous film. I tried to watch it but had to stop. The costumes, the set, everything was horrible. In 2002, they decided to make another adaptation, this time written and directed by someone else, Alain Chabat. And behold, Asterix et Obelix : Mission Cléopâtre. Though I kept hearing good things about this film, I was reluctant to see it for fear of being disappointed again. I finally caved and went to watch it at the movies. It’s now by far one of my favorite comedies! I still quote some scenes every now and then for a laugh! Other adaptations have been made after this one but all failed to live up to it. This one and only Asterix cinematic adaptation is the only one worth a watch. Am I glad, now, that my sister literally forced me to go watch it with her! Though not all that faithful to the story line, the movie succeeded at encapsulating the mood, the in-your-face attitude of the characters, the humor of the comic series. And that’s what matters.

Jumanji : Welcome to the jungle

Every now and then, I plan a “Me” day. During such day, I just spoil myself by spending a whole day just by myself, doing what I want. It helps me disconnect a bit and not having to interact with anyone sometimes relaxes me. Over a year ago, during a particularly uneventful “Me” day downtown, I decided to go to the movies. The only film that hasn’t already begun was Jumanji : Welcome to the jungle. I really wasn’t a fan of the original film and hadn’t heard anything about that one, but, what the hell, I decided to go. It was mid-week so the room was empty (the best!). I really did not expect much from the experience and as it turned out, I had a lot of fun! This was a really imaginative way of rebooting the film, the jokes were very funny and the actors excellent! I came in expecting a boring movie for kids similar to the 1995 version but came out happy and satisfied because a lot of jokes are for people my age. It’s not great cinema but very good entertainment! The follow up film wasn’t as good, but that was kind of expected.

21 Jump Street

Really did not expect to like that film at all! I was not a fan of the original TV series, and I am not really a Channing Tatum fan. The only reason I went to see it was because we were bored and needed to pass some time before out dinner reservation. We didn’t want to watch anything dramatic or too serious and 21 Jump Street looked like the light comedy we needed at the time. To be perfectly honest, I expected some dumb teen movie with lots of slapstick and genitalia innuendos, but little did we know that we’d actually have a good time watching it! Some jokes and lines were actually hilarious! The follow up movie was good but not as much as that first one.

Spy

If there’s a movie that suffered from bad advertising and could use a much better trailer, it would be Spy. That film looked so stupid, judging from the trailer. I thought it’d be another lame spy comedy like Johnny English or Get Smart, filled with terrible slapstick jokes. I refused to give it any time a day for a while, till one night, it was playing on TV. There was nothing else to watch so I thought “sure, why not?”. As it turned out, I laughed so hard during Spy! Jason Statham’s character requesting the face-off machine still cracks me up! That movie, written and directed by Paul Feig really is hilarious. Check it out for a good laugh.

TV shows

Better call Saul

Breaking Bad was such a perfect series that I honestly thought that Vince Gilligan throwing himself into a spin-off so quickly (or at all, for that matter) would be a bad, bad mistake. And with Saul Goodman, of all the characters? He was the comic relief in Breaking Bad, but would an entire show revolving around him be watchable? Wouldn’t he get old and/or annoying after a while? The answer is no and no! Hence the genius of Vince Gilligan. He’s managed to create a whole new captivating show around a known character, brought back other characters from Breaking Bad, but it never felt like a Breaking Bad series. It’s something completely different, leading to the events of Breaking Bad. How amazing is that? I think Vince Gilligan succeeded where Fear the Walking Dead failed : a spin-off prequel that can stand on its own. We’re into the 5th season and I still can’t wait to see what happens!

Archer

I’ve never been a big fan of adult cartoons. Sure, there was a time when I watched The Simpsons and Family Guy, but that got old pretty quickly and I soon lost interest. I was told Archer was a perfect show for me but I was reluctant to give it a chance. I saw tidbits and thought it looked kind of vulgar, so I brushed it aside. One night, there was nothing to watch on TV and I stumbled on an Archer marathon while flipping through the channels. Since there was nothing else on, I decided to give one episode a chance. I ended up going to bed so late that night because I could not stop watching and laughing! Archer is rife with pop culture references and incredible humor. And it IS made for someone like me! I became obsessed with it. The good thing is that Archer had already been airing for a few seasons when I picked on, so I treated myself to an amazing marathon! Archer is the perfect mix between Arrested Development (Jessica Walter, who plays Lucille Bluth, actually lends her voice to play the mother in Archer as well!) and The Office.

Rick & Morty

I pretty much started watching Archer and Rick&Morty almost at the same time. I had heard of Rick&Morty before, hearing that it’s hilarious, super smart and funny, but like with Archer, I saw a clip and deemed it too vulgar as well. I mean, an old guy burping all the time as he speaks? Really? That’s supposed to be funny? And just like Archer, I started watching Rick&Morty when there was nothing else on TV! I actually gave it a chance because of how much I liked Archer and reconsidered my stance on animated shows for adults. And what a discovery that was! I could not stop watching and reveled at how smart that cartoon was! I was disappointed there was so very few episodes per season but loved them all nonetheless. This is a series that is filled with pop culture references, that sometimes deals with deep scientific facts in an incredibly humoristic context. I don’t know how they do it but I can’t get enough.

The Good Place

I was reluctant to give the Good Place a chance for two reasons : first, it comes from NBC, a regular network and not cable. It has been a long while since I’ve watched and enjoyed a show that comes from a network that isn’t cable or a streaming service. NBC and the likes are no longer what they once were, especially NBC. The times of Must-See-TV are long gone. The second reason I expected The Good Place to be bad is the super colorful, super bright visuals of the show. I thought it’d be too happy and obvious a show for me to enjoy. She’s a bad person who ended up by accident in the Good Place? Time for some ridiculous misunderstandings and over-the-top scenarios! Is what I thought the show would be. And how wrong was I to underestimate The Good Place! It has got to be one of the smartest TV shows there is. It teaches philosophy and morality in each and every episode, with great humor and originality. The Good Place is brilliant in how it teaches its viewers about complex concepts, how it renews its self every season and how hilarious it can be at the same time. The finale was a bit of a misstep but who cares when the rest is so great?

Schitt’s Creek

I have already talked about Schitt’s Creek in a previous post about the best TV shows of 2019, and I’m going to talk about it again, because I absolutely fell in love with this series. This is my biggest mea culpa. I used to roll my eyes whenever a commercial for Schitt’s Creek would play on TV or at the movies. The title sounded crass, it’s Canadian and quite frankly, a riches to rags story sounded unimaginative. Yes, I do have a bit of a prejudice when it comes to Canadian television, for many local shows I have watched haven’t demonstrated any level of originality or creativity. After a while, well, yes, I start assuming things. Anyhow, I don’t exactly remember how or why we decided to give the show a try, but I do know that we started watching 4 seasons in. I was hooked during the very first episode. Catherine O'Hara is amazing! Her weird accent, her wigs, her mannerism, are all priceless and her character will go down history as one of the greatest. The sitcom is now a few episodes short from its series finale and I cannot wait to see how it goes. I’ll be sad I won’t get to see all these colorful characters anymore, but I’ll be glad I caught on soon enough to live it with everyone!

Well, that’s it! If you haven’t watched any of the movies or TV shows yet, for the same reasons I did, may I suggest that you take the time to give them a chance. We may not have the same tastes, but you might discover something new! You never know.

Until next time, enjoy!

Great romantic comedies that are not (all that) corny

Anyone who’s close to me knows I’ve never been a big fan of romantic comedies. I tend to find most of them tacky, unrealistic and just plain ridiculous. Pretty Woman, When Harry met Sally, You’ve got mail, Sweet Home Alabama, and the likes never really resonated with me. That being said, it doesn’t mean that I hate the genre all together. Since today is Valentines Day, my Internet feed is filled with rom-com recommendations, and since I disagree with most of these lists, I decided to make my own.

Here are a few romantic comedies I really enjoyed and found not all that corny!

The big Sick

Written by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, and loosely based on their romantic life, The Big Sick is a beautiful and hilarious film about cultural differences and interracial relationships. Starring Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter and Ray Romano, the film follows Kumail, a struggling comedian of Pakistani descent who is split between pleasing his very traditional parents and his desire to live a more western lifestyle, and Emily, a white student he falls for. Their relationship started off great until Emily realizes that Kumail hid their relationship from his family, who are still trying to fix him up with other Pakistani women. As Emily suddenly fell ill and slipped in a coma, Kumail contacts her parents and stays by her side despite their break up and the palpable tension between him and the parents. The story is touching, authentic, funny, and puts forth something that is rarely in the movies, and that is the perspective and struggles of an individual from a very different culture than Americans. The movie showcases how difficult it can be for people from very traditional cultures who grew up in a Western environment to juggle the two worlds.

Crazy, Stupid, Love

Several different story lines intertwine in this very funny film starring an all-star cast that includes Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, and Kevin Bacon. This film deals with many different aspects of relationships, from the perspectives of both men and women, and of different generations. A marriage falling apart and the former couple trying to go their separated ways to start new lives, two people falling in love and not knowing how to behave, teenagers trying to attract the attention of their crush, etc, are all themes that get a smart and brilliant treatment in Crazy, Stupid, Love. I also liked that in this movie, it is the guy that gets the makeover. He’s the one who has to take a long hard look at himself and he’s the one who reevaluates some of his decisions. I am, however, willing to overlook the fact that everyone in this film is so damn attractive and rich, but only because the writing and the acting is that good.

Bridesmaids

I think Bridesmaids is one of my favorite comedies ever. It’s hilarious, raunchy, real and a truly original all-female movie (don’t get me started on these lame all-female reboots of already existing movies). As if her life couldn’t get any worse, Annie, an out of work pastry chef, learns that Lillian, her best and probably only friend in the world, is getting married. Even worse, not only will she lose Lillian to the new groom, but she might also lose her to Helen, the rich, beautiful, and elite wife of the groom's boss, with whom Lillian has grown very close. Jealous of each other, Helen and Annie embark on a fierce competition to put the odd girl out of their friendship with Lillian. Annie’s life spirals out of control as nothing seems to work her way, and she alienates everyone around her, including a potential love interest. Directed by Paul Feig, written by Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, and produced by Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, and Clayton Townsend, Bridesmaids, no matter how many times I’ve watched it, never ceases to be entertaining.

Stranger than fiction

This is one wonderfully strange movie. Emma Thompson plays Karen, an author struck with writer’s block, and Will Ferrell is Harold, an IRS agent who woke up one morning, hearing a female voice narrating his every movements. Little did he know that he is a character in Karen’s latest book. Harold soon fall for Ana, a woman he’s auditing but he also faces a conundrum as the omniscient voice that only he can hear, predicted his looming death. In fact, Karen faces writer’s block as she cannot find a proper way to kill off Harold. Stranger than fiction is funny, endearing, original, weird in a good way, and brilliantly played by its actors. If you’re looking for something different form the regular rom-coms, go for this film!

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Written by and starring Jason Segel, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is loosely based on one of his heartbreaks. Musician Peter Bretter is devasted and blindsided when his girlfriend, TV star Sarah Marshal, leaves him. He tries to get over the breakup by booking a trip to Hawaii only to end up at the same resort as his ex-girlfriend and her new lover. Filled with hilarious side characters, this movie is highly entertaining as there is never a moment when you won’t laugh. The Dracula puppet show alone, is a good reason to watch this film!

500 days of summer

This film kinda has a corny ending but I’m willing to let it go because it’s actually pretty great. 500 Days of Summer is about two very different persons who, despite their contrasting personalities, try to make it work. Tom, a writer for a greetings card company, recollects the past year or so that he spent with Summer, his boss’ assistant, and the events that led to their breakup. Their story is real, sad, funny, endearing, clumsy and it’s hard to look away from such a tremendous film.

Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain

Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain is, in my opinion, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s best film. Set in Paris, this whimsical, colorful movie is about a very shy young waitress, Amélie, who, despite her isolation, decides to change the lives of those around her for the better, while also trying to elucidate a photo booth mystery. When it was released, the motion picture became an instant international hit, winning a whole lot of awards and was then parodied and/or plagiarized so many times that we became saturated. There was a time when I could not bare to listen or see anything that resembled Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain because there was too much of it! Nonetheless, it shows what a powerful movie it was and despite people’s eye rolls now, we should not forget the film’s influence and we must admit that it is indeed, a very good and beautiful movie.

Enough said

Most romantic comedies are about young beautiful people falling in love. Enough Said is refreshing in that it’s about a romance between two middle aged adults : a divorced woman, played by Julie Louis-Dreyfus, starts a relationship with a man, portrayed by James Gandolfini, she really likes while at the same time becoming friends with his ex-wife. Both actors are charming and authentic, making the film a delight to watch.

Up In the Air

Written and directed by Jason Reitman and based on the novel by the same title, Up In The Air is about Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizer who is constantly on the road, conducting layoffs on behalf of employers. As he’s on the road showing the ropes to a new coworker, he meets another frequent flyer and they begin a relationship. A man whose life is spent in the air, who strives in a form of isolation, suddenly faces drastic changes both professionally and in his personal life.

Scott Pilgrim vs the world

Based on the graphic novel series, Scott Pilgrim, and co-written, produced and directed by Edgar Wright, the film is about Scott Pilgrim, a musician who must win a competition to get a record deal while at the same time battle the seven evil exes of his newest girlfriend Ramona Flowers. Mixing video game visuals into the cinematography made this fast-paced, hyperactive movie a whole lot of fun to watch. Though a commercial failure, Scott Pilgrim vs The World later gained a well deserved cult following. Highly entertaining, original and totally meta. What’s not to like?

The classics

Of course, there are these timeless classics (and no, I’m still not talking about Sleepless in Seattle or whatever) that never disappoint and to which we can always go back :

• Annie Hall

• Love Actually

• Four weddings and a funeral

• As good as it gets

The runner ups

And there are also other great rom-coms that are great to watch but somehow not good enough make the cut:

• Man up

• Cuban fury

• Knocked up

• Run fatboy run

• The 40 year old virgin

Well, that’s it! Not bad, after all, for someone who doesn’t like romantic comedies!

Horror films for a great Halloween movie night

Updated on October 30, 2021.

Halloween is my favorite holiday. Not because I enjoy dressing up in costumes (I don’t), trick or treating (my parents never cared for it so we never participated in such activity) or putting up “scary” decorations around the house (such a hassle!). No. I like Halloween because I get to purchase then eat huge bags of mini candy bars and horror movies play non stop on TV. I love, love, love horror movies! There is nothing better than the thrill of getting scared. So, every October, we binge watch a whole lot of scary movies ranging from the all-time classics to the B-level types, to the laughably ridiculous. That’s the great thing about these films, even the poorly made ones are good!

If you’re planning a Halloween movie night, you could, of course, go for a marathon of the Halloween, Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street franchises. That’s always a winner. Personally, I feel like I’ve seen them too often now and grew a bit tired of them. I’m giving myself a break from them for a couple of years. If you feel the same way and are looking for something else to watch on Halloween night, here’s a small list of recommendations.

Horror comedies

Let’s start light. Horror movies can scare you as well as make you laugh! Who ever said it should one or the other? There’s a whole bunch of great horror comedies out there. Click on the link to see a clip:

• Bettlejuice : a classic!

• What we do in the shadows : a film crew follows four vampire roommates who share a house in New Zealand and documents their daily life and struggles.

• The cabin in the woods : a group of friends spend their weekend at a seemingly deserted cabin in the forest, but the cabin actually turns out to be an underground laboratory.

• Zombieland : 4 strangers travel across the US, trying to survive the zombie apocalypse.

• The final girls : a group of friends attend the screening of a cult B-horror movie and somehow become trapped in it.

• Happy death day : a college student relives her birthday (and her murder) again and again until she figures out who’s trying to kill her.

• Extra ordinary : a shy driving instructor reluctantly uses her supernatural talents to help a widow save his daughter’s soul from a has-been rock star who practices black magic to regain fame.

• The babysitter : a young boy spies on his babysitter one night to see what she does in his house once he’s fallen asleep, only to realize that she’s part of a satanic sect.

• Save yourselves! : a couple decides to go on a technology-free retreat only to be stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no survival skills, in the midst of an invasion by a strange pouf-like alien species.

But my personal favorite will always be Shaun of the Dead! I’ve written a post about the Cornetto trilogy (Shaun of the dead being the first installment) some time last year, so you can read about the film here.

Found footage

This is probably the category I like the least (along with slashers), because the moving camera makes me dizzy and nauseous all the time! That being said, I included it anyways because some films are worthwhile:

• Rec (the original Spanish version) : The military decided to seal off an apartment building after an elderly woman, afflicted with a strange disease, attacked and bit the neck of a policemen. Residents, firemen and a camera crew following the firemen, are all stuck inside.

• Unfriended : this is not technically a found footage horror but it’s more like an adaptation of one. Live screen shots are used as a group of friends skype while being taunted online by what appears the ghost of a friend who committed suicide after a humiliating video goes viral.

• The Visit : a brother and sister spend a week with their maternal grandparents, whom they’ve never met before, while their mother is on vacation with her boyfriend. This is another adaptation of the found footage genre, where the sister films everything as part of a documentary she wants to make. The grandparents are beyond creepy.

These films are fine and have their moments, but none of them are as effective and memorable as Paranormal Activity (the first film). I am not easily scared by horror movies but this one stuck with me. This film understands that you do not have to show the monster for an effective scare, quite the contrary! Leave everything to the viewer’s imagination! The Blair Witch Project is not in my list. Despite the fact that it started the whole found footage movement, I never liked that film.

B-Horror movies

Now these movies are the most fun to watch because most of them (but not all of them!) are so bad they’re good. Bad acting, illogical plot, pointless nudity, cheap special effects… what’s not to like?

• Chopping mall : a group of friends spend the night partying in the shopping mall where they work. Unfortunately for them, the mall’s new high-tech security system is turning on them. Shopping, chopping… get it?

• They live : the ruling class is actually made of aliens concealing their appearance and manipulating people to spend money, breed, and live in subservience with subliminal messages in mass media. The only way to see things as they really are is by looking through special sunglasses.

• Patrick (1978 Australian version) : Patrick, a murderer in a comatose state, terrorizes a hospital staff with his telekinesis abilities. The guy’s pretty creepy.

• The Stuff : a former FBI agent is hired to investigate a highly popular but mysterious yogurt-like and addictive product called The Stuff. He soon discovers that the substance is actually a living, parasitic, and possibly sentient organism that gradually takes over the brain. The film started out great but kind off fell through at the end. Nonetheless, a very entertaining film!

• Zero boys : this film makes no sense what so ever! But at the same time, it’s one of the most entertaining movie I’ve seen in a while! It’s basically about a group of paintball champions who make a trip into the forest with their girlfriends. They heard a woman scream and followed the noise to an empty cabin where a killer (or killers) is waiting for them.

All the above mentioned films are extremely entertaining and guarantee a great night. But my personal favorite is The Re-Animator. Cannot get more B-Horror than this! It has everything: a brilliant mad scientist, fluorescent green liquids, zombie killers, over acting, gore, and of course, nudity!

The classics

These are the timeless masterpieces that are, for the most of them, considered among the best movies ever, all genres considered, not just horror. You can see the movie’s trailer by clicking on the link but I didn’t feel that summaries are needed here, as they are quintessential works of art that are probably already known by everyone.

• The Shining

• Psycho

• Poltergeist

• Suspiria (original version)

• The Thing

The one classic that has a special place for me is The exorcist. It’s by far one of my favorite movies of all time and it triggered my lifelong fascination with possessions and the paranormal.

More scary movies

So I tried to bundle my movie recommendations by genres but some movies don’t exactly fit just one category and then I got tired of trying to figure out how to organize them. So here are a few more horror films that are worth a watch. Though they all do have flaws, they also provide some very efficient scares.

• Insidious : a couple originally thought their house was haunted until they realize that it’s their son. The movie has some seriously scary scenes but it kind of fell flat towards the end. The sequels are really not worth a watch.

• The Ring : a journalist investigates a cursed videotape that seemingly kills the viewer seven days after watching it. The movie did not exactly age well but I still remember the first time I saw it at the movies. It seriously creeped me out!

• The Exorcism of Emily Rose : a young woman died in her parents’ home after a failed exorcism. The priest who performed the exorcism was arrested and the film is about his trial. We see two very different interpretations of the same event : was Emily Rose really possessed by demons or was she an epileptic who was the victim of an extreme case of negligent homicide?

• Jacob’s ladder : I only saw Jacob’s ladder once, several years ago, when I was still little, but the film has a long lasting effect on me. For a long time, it gave me nightmares. The film is about a Vietnam veteran who’s afflicted with strange and nightmarish visions and hallucinations.

• The 6th Sense : a child psychologist tries to help a young boy who sees dead people. The film was great but the down side is that once we know the twist at the end, it’s hard to watch it again.

• The lodge : after their mother’s suicide, two children have to spend the holidays with their soon-to-be step-mother, in the family’s remote cabin.

• The Invisible Man : a remake of the classic where a woman is convinced that the abusive tech tycoon boyfriend she ran away from is stalking her, even though everybody thinks he died of suicide.

• Fear street : This trilogy is not perfect but it was still a thrill to watch. The story goes back and forth in time to tell the story of a witch’s curse on a small town and its inhabitants.

Finally, my favorite recent horror film has to be It Follows. It is a slow paced, creepy and original movie about a young woman who is pursued by a mysterious supernatural entity that was passed on to her after a sexual encounter. This is the sort of psychological thrillers we don’t get much of nowadays.

TV shows

While we’re at it, why not add a few TV shows worth your while?

• The Haunting of Hill House : The story takes place in two timelines, depicting the characters’ childhood in Hill House and then the effects their experiences in that house had on their adult selves. The ending was pretty terrible but the first episodes had some terrific moments and awesome effects that make the series watch-worthy.

• Castle Rock : The story takes place in Castle Rock, Maine, and borrows multiple characters, storylines, and concepts from the vast works of Stephen King.

• Stranger Things : With the much anticipated 4th season coming up in 2022, Stranger Things was an instant classic. They almost lost me with a very weak second season, but the follow-up was very strong and exiting to watch. Can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next.

• What we do in the shadows : there’s nothing scary here but this sitcom about a bunch of vampires living together is probably one of the best comedies I’ve seen in the past few years. This is the TV adaptation of the movie by the same title, mentioned above, in the comedy horror section.

• Evil : this show is not very good but it’s a guilty pleasure of mine!

• And of course, let’s not forget some of the classics : The X-Files, The Twilight Zone, Unsolved Mysteries.

Well, I think that’s it! You must have noticed that a whole lot of films were left out. I purposely did not mention slashers and gore movies because they really are not my cup of tea. Torture porn is not what I consider good horror.

Having said that, hope you'll have a terrifying yet entertaining Halloween night!

Five books that deserved much better movie adaptations

There is no better feeling than getting lost in a great book, and there is nothing more infuriating than watching a botched movie adaptation of one of your favorite novels. So frustrating. I used to be exited to learn that a book I enjoyed reading is about to be adapted for the big screen, but with time, I’ve become more weary and cynical.

I understand that because of their visual aspects, films could never fully respect the book’s story line and that some details must be left out or modified. I am fine with that. The Lord of the Ring trilogy omitted a lot of the books’ elements but it did not really matter because in essence, the overall story was left untarnished. What bothers me is shameless rewriting, over-reliance on special effects over story or plain simply, bad directorial work. This is my issue with the five films bellow. They ruined the book. A good movie adaptation must allow the reader to relive the book he or she enjoyed reading so much, and it must also give the viewer who’s never read the book the urge to go and do so.

Annihilation

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer is the first volume of the Southern Reach trilogy. The books are suspenseful page turners about a secret agency, the Southern Reach, that observes and studies the anomalies surrounding Area X, an undisclosed region that was suddenly cut off from the rest of the world by a mysterious invisible and growing border. Eleven expeditions were sent through that border and all the surviving members that came back had no recollection of the events that occurred on the other side and eventually died of cancer or by suicide. Annihilation follows the 12th expedition, comprised four women: a biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist and a surveyor. All four members of the expedition remain nameless throughout the whole book. The main character is a biologist whose husband was part of the 11th expedition and she is there to investigate what happened to him. As the women wander into the eerie Area X and its strange ecosystem, fear, paranoia and distrust set in. The book masterfully creates an atmosphere of discomfort and malaise while at the same time titillating the reader’s imagination and sense of wonder. Volumes 2 and 3 of the series focus on the members of the Southern Reach because they too are affected by Area X.

The film adaptation by Alex Garland rewrote the story in ways that tarnished the book. First of all, the characters had names for some reason and there was also an extra character. The fact that the characters were nameless in the book, with virtually no back stories, somehow added to the eeriness. Giving them names and pre-excursion dialogues tames the whole mood. Then, they felt the need to explain where and how the area came to be (an asteroid… How original!) whereas no explanation would be so much more effective! But that’s not it! The movie changed the name of the area (the Shimmer instead of Area X), the setting of the area itself (absolutely no mention of the spiral pit and its Crawler in the movie), created new monsters and changed the ending. As a result the film is nothing like the book it is supposedly adapting.

Though critically acclaimed for its visual prowess and the actresses’ performances, I still consider the film an affront to Vandermeer’s books. And I was not at all that impressed with the visuals the director went with either.

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

By far one of the smartest, funniest, most original and best sci-fi books ever! But also very difficult to adapt. The book, as well as the movie, is about Arthur Dent, an Earth man who suddenly lost his home planet because an alien race, the Vogons, needed to pave the way for an intergalactic highway. He is saved at the last minute by his friend Ford Prefect who, as it turned out, is not an out-of-work actor but an alien researcher for the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, an extensive guide on all the planets in the universe. Together, they embark on a wild series of adventures in space, with Zaphod Bettlebrox the president of the galaxy and Trillian, a human woman Arthur once met at a party.

Rife with incredible humor and prophetic imagination, the book is a joy to read. When the movie came out, I was so excited but that excitement quickly waned as I watched the film. So many talented actors were cast and yet, the whole thing just fell short. Sure, some elements of the books were present but the director just could not piece them together to recreate the mood and personality of the books. The whole movie felt and looked incredibly cheap. It’s a shame. A great shame.

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland was one of my favorite books growing up, and I loved Disney’s 1951 animated adaptation. That book triggered my love for the fantastic and the anomalous. It made me dream of a different world, a more exciting one from this monotonous reality we’re all living in. Disney’s animation transformed the book into images and it was absolutely magical. Fast forward to 2010 and we get Tim Burton’s version. It was so bad I didn’t even finish the film. Tim Burton did not bother to take the time to tell a story or to communicate any emotion what so ever. He overly relied on special effects (poorly executed at that), extravagant make up and costumes, as well as on his two favorite actors, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. The over acting was painful to watch. Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter are merely the shadow of the brilliant artists they once were, and that saddens me terribly. What happened to the Tim Burton who made timeless classics such as Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood and Mars Attacks? What’s more, even though the film is called Alice in Wonderland, Burton’s version seems to be a sequel to the book, as Alice is back in Wonderland but doesn’t remember anyone, and goes through everything we went through the first time she was in Wonderland… What’s the whole point of the movie, you ask? There’s none.

By the way, if you want to see a fantastic and really interesting film adaption of Alice in Wonderland, check out Alice by Jan Svankmajer. I included a brief excerpt bellow. It’s a live action film mixed with stop motion featuring stuffed animals. Dark yet beautiful, the film embodies the sense of wonder and disorientation of the book.

World War Z

World War Z, the novel by Max Brooks is one of the best thrillers I’ve ever read. It’s terrifying, suspenseful, cold, scientific and most of all, so realistic that we could forget it’s fiction. The only thing the film has in common with the book is the title. I’m not saying the film starring Brad Pitt is bad, though. I’m stating that the film should not be called World War Z as it had absolutely no similarity with the book it was supposed to be adapting. There is no main character in the book. The story, spanning across several years, is pretty much a compilation of testimonials from around the world that allows the reader to piece together the series of events that lead humanity to the brink of extinction. The book focuses a lot on the living, its humanity or lack thereof, and how they deal with impending doom, rather than on the zombies. The film, on the other hand, not only puts the spotlight right on the living dead, turns them into an unstoppable wall of fast-moving, terrifying colony, but also relies on a single main character, Gerry Lane, to investigate the epidemic in order to find out where it came from and how to cure it. As for the “cure”, the book’s solution to ending the zombie outbrake is extremely complex, beyond macabre and bone chilling. The solution is so terrifying because of how realistic it is: there is no easy, clear solution, like a magical vaccine. Nations disagree as to what to do: attack with what’s left of the survivors and resources or wait and see if we can outlast the zombies? Is it humane to use living humans as bait in order to lure and destroy the zombies? The movie went with ** spoiler ** ** spoiler ** the vaccine…

Watchmen

Contrary to the four previous cases, I saw Watchmen the movie before I read the comic. There was much hype and controversy around the cinematic adaptation and I did not know why so many people were so exited for the film to be produced. The hype, the incessant TV interviews or news articles about it, the stellar cast, the trailer made the adaptation seem interesting so I went and watched it. I could not believe my eyes how bad the experience was. What the hell was that? Then came all the fan outrage. They, like me, were not happy with the movie. But then, the whole situation piqued my curiosity. I had never heard of Watchmen and yet, there seems to be whole lot of people who are obsessed with it. How did such a big part of pop culture elude me all this time? That’s when I decided to check the comic out at the library and that’s when I became a member of the comic’s fan club. That book is epic and there is no wonder why it found itself on Time’s top 100 greatest novels of all time, in 2005. Damon Lindelof decided to adapt the comic for television, and the series will premiere some time in 2019, on HBO. I saw the trailers and was not that impressed. I will give the series a try, of course, but chances are that I will probably not continue to watch beyond episode 2. Or, maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised! We never know.

If you’ve seen the films above and did not have a good time, do give the book a try. These adaptations do not, in any way, represent their literary counterpart!

Top 5 best alien invasion movies

Alien invasion movies, along with ghost stories, are my guilty pleasures. I love them because they are highly entertaining but also because a part of me really wants to believe in their existence. When we think about alien invasion movies, the first titles that come to mind usually are Independence Day or Men in Black, both great and enjoyable blockbusters, but there are other movies, better ones, out there for us to enjoy.

I’ve decided to compile a list of my top 5 favorite alien invasion movies for you guys to enjoy this summer.

Edge of Tomorrow

Not only did Edge of Tomorrow manage to pull off the “Groundhog day” gimmick but it is also a complex and highly entertaining movie. Starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, the film takes place somewhere in the future, where an alien race has invaded a good part of Europe, and the weary humans are quickly losing the battle against these seemingly undefeatable extraterrestrials. A PR officer is forced into battle and despite having been killed in combat, he wakes up to find himself reliving the events of the previous morning, leading up to his death. Stuck in a time loop, he must find a way to improve his fighting skills and kill the invading aliens.

Signs

Say what you will about M. Night Shyamalan, but the man knows how to build up a suspense. Signs is the second movie he released after The Sixth Sense, probably his last hit before a long drought, and although The Sixth Sense is his most popular film, I tend to prefer Signs because the whole story almost entirely takes place inside the house or on the property, which is quite a feat. The tension and the build up, intertwined with brief moments of humor, as well as the family dynamic brilliantly portrayed by Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin, make this film pretty complete. The story is pretty simple: a widow wakes up one morning to realize that crop circles appeared on his corn field over night. Believing it to be a prank by the neighbors’ kids, he quickly brushed the anomaly aside. It did not take long, though, for him to face the hard truth that there are other-worldly visitors on Earth, and that he, his brother and his children, might be at risk.

District 9

District 9 is a masterful metaphor for the segregation, xenophobia and apartheid taking place in South Africa. Presented in a found footage format, the film is about the tension between the people of Johannesburg and the millions of stranded aliens whose ship broke down in this area of the Earth. The aliens, derogatively called Prawns by the locals, were placed in a camp called District 9 but, over the years, the zone becomes a slum and the people of Johannesburg are increasingly less tolerant of this alien species they consider pests. For that reason, the government decided to relocate the Prawns to a new camp, further outside of the city. Wikus, the main character, works for the company hired for the task, and, after an altercation resulting in an injury in one of the alien’s shack, he slowly starts to mutate into a Prawn. Taking refuge in District 9, he finally understands what it’s like to be segregated, mistreated, disrespected.

The World’s End

The World’s End is the third and final installment of the Cornetto trilogy, and also the weirdest film of the three. Unlike the previous movies I mentioned, this one if a full blown comedy, directed by Edgar Wright, written by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, and starring, among others, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman and Rosamund Pike. A lonely, depressive and suicidal man convinces his four estranged childhood friends to return to their home village to complete “the golden mile”, a beer binge throughout 12 pubs, ending with The World’s End. Upon their return, they realize that all the villagers had been replaced by blue-blooded robot-like creatures. The film may not be as good as Shaun of the Dead but it does guaranty a good time.

Attack the Block

Now this is my new favorite alien invasion movie! I kept the best for last with Attack the Block. Starring, among others, John Boyega and Jodie Whittaker in their debut film, the story is basically about a group of teenagers protecting their South London neighborhood from a brutal alien invasion. It may not sound like much but the dialogues are witty and harsh, the alien monsters are impressively made and the whole film is everything it should be: entertaining, enthralling and exciting.

The Classics

The five movies mentioned above can be considered my top 5 favorite “new” alien invasion movies, but there are, of course, the classics, the ones that never go out of styles, the ones we can always go back to.

• The Thing

• Invasion of the body snatchers (1978)

• Alien (though not technically an alien invasion movie since it takes place in space…)

• They live (just for the incredible one-liner!)

The runner-ups

There are a few movies I did enjoy but not exactly made the cut, either because of the terrible ending or plot holes or whatnot. They nonetheless deserve a mention here:

• Arrival (kudos for the originality of the aliens and their language)

• 10 Cloverfield lane (should have stayed with the “is there or is there not an alien invasion” plot line)

• War of the worlds

So this should cover a summer’s worth of alien movies, and of course, you should top it all off with Men in Black and Independence Day (just the first movies of their franchise!). They are, after all, really good summer blockbusters!

Great TV shows that were seriously underappreciated

Last week, I stumbled on a very mediocre sitcom while casually flipping through channels, looking for something good (or just okay) to watch. I was surprised (or should I rather say upset) to see that this unfunny, unoriginal, lame show was still on the air while so many better sitcoms or dramas had been cancelled and forgotten. I know there’s no accounting for taste, but still …

The point I’m trying to make is that I’ve seen a LOT of TV shows in my time, all ranging between life-changing to downright awful. Somewhere in that array, is a special selection of series that were a lot better than the ratings let on. They deserved more appreciation and must not be forgotten. Or at least, deserved more chance. It’s always baffled me why so many subpar shows live on for years on end, while much better ones just get tossed aside in a heartbeat. The titles in this article are some of what I consider the most underappreciated TV shows ever. Of course, there are many, many more, but these are my personal favorites.

DEAD LIKE ME (2003 - 2004)

I stumbled on Dead Like Me by pure accident. I just turned the television on, and there’s this show that’s about to premiere. Back then, I was very much aware of upcoming TV shows; I had a pretty elaborate calendar of what’s airing, where and when. Yet, I never heard of Dead Like Me. Seemed like it appeared without any promo. As soon as it aired, I immediately fell in love with it. As an antisocial (or is it socially awkward? or is it both?), I tend to identify with such characters. And George Lass is just that: a socially awkward girl who’s trying to figure out how she fits in this strange and hard to understand world. She dies in the first episode. Not much of a spoiler here, that’s the premise of the show. As the space station Mir was reentering Earth, it was fast disintegrating and its toilet seat broke off to fall directly on George, killing her instantly. First blow, she realizes that she’s dead. Second blow, some stranger (played by the amazing Mandy Patinkin), the only person on site who can actually see her, announces to her that she is now a grim reaper (the grim reaper who took her soul before she’s killed reached his quota and finally got a promotion). Then she learns that even dead, she must find work to be able to find a place to live and pay the bills. This is an exceptional show about family tensions, work place dynamics and basic human interactions, but with a morbid twist. Bryan Fuller left after the first season and, because of that, the second season wasn’t as tight as the first, but still, Dead Like Me deserved more viewership.

WONDERFALLS (2004)

Also created by Bryan Fuller and starring Caroline Dhavernas, this short-lived series is about an unambitious college graduate who works at a souvenir shop next to Niagara Falls. Her life is turned upside down when objects around her start interacting and talking to her and giving her orders, forcing her to meddle into other people’s lives for reasons she does not understand. This show was so original and witty that I have a hard time understanding why it only lasted one season! Upon some research, I quickly learnt that Fox did not give Wonderfalls any chance to succeed by not promoting the show at all and giving it horrible and always changing time slots. It’s a real shame because Wonderfalls, in all its perkiness and humanity, deserved an audience. Bryan Fuller went on and created another dramatic comedy in 2007, Pushing Daisies, which was very similar to Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls in its colorful style, but unlike its predecessors, Pushing Daisies was actually a success. Though it was fine a show, I always felt like Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls were much better. But despite its success (12 Emmy nominations), Pushing Daisies was cancelled after its second season.

RAISING HOPE (2011 - 2014)

I always felt like Raising Hope did not get the praise it deserved. It was there but no one was talking about it and as soon as it stopped airing, everybody forgot about it. It’s a shame because they succeeded at making a very funny and authentic family sitcom, which is hard to do considering the amount of family sitcoms that are made every year. Raising Hope is among the few recent sitcoms that’s made me laugh out loud; it produced some hilarious moments, played by a perfectly cast set of actors (Martha Plimpton, Garret Dillahunt and Cloris Leachman among others). If you get a chance to watch this show, please do and you will not be disappointed. It’s essentially about Jimmy, a clueless 23 year-old who lives with his parents and grandmother, who suddenly becomes the father of a small baby girl (the mother was arrested after their one-night stand, gave birth to the baby in prison and is on death row).

HOMICIDE : LIFE ON THE STREET (1993 - 1999)

If you asked people to name great cop shows, they will mention NYPD Blues, Law&Order, The Wire, but one thing’s for sure is that no one will say Homicide: Life on the street. Strange thing is, most TV fans or cop show fans I talk to don’t even know about it! Though it ran for 6 seasons and was critically acclaimed, Homicide always suffered from low ratings. I never understood why so many bad cop shows went on to become fan favorites while a riveting and raw procedural like Homicide just sunk into oblivion. I think it’s by far one of the most underappreciated show of all time. Real and realistic, intense, gritty and just riveting to watch, Homicide had it all: complex characters, convoluted story arches, captivating interrogations and most importantly, detectives Bayliss and Pembleton, the greatest yet most complicated duo of all police procedural. Like Wonderfall, Homicide suffered from bad promo from its network and an ever changing time slot that might have prevented it from maintaining a proper fanbase.

CARNIVÀLE (2003 - 2005)

Carnivàle was a bit ahead of its time. Had it aired some time around now, it would have been a huge hit, but back then, people seemed to be more into reality TV and lighter-themed programs. This is very frustrating because Carnivàle was one hell of a show. Set during the Great Depression, this supernatural drama is about an impending battle between what must be assumed to be good and evil, with a travelling carnival caught in the middle of it. Different, original, visually stunning and unnerving, Carnivàle deserved a much better fate. While it was considered too weird and slow-paced back then, it would have been called a masterpiece now… And though it won a few Emmys, the series was cancelled after the second season due to low ratings.

MillenniuM (1996 - 1999)

MillenniuM is a thriller with supernatural undertones, much like The X-Files (both shows were created by Chris Carter). The series follows the investigations of Frank Black, a retired FBI agent turned consultant who is gifted with the ability to see inside criminals’ minds. He also works for a mysterious society called MillenniuM Group, whose involvement in world affairs are somewhat murky. Though captivating to watch, the show was met with mixed reviews; viewers and critics alike found the story lines too macabre and thought they could be lighter and more fun, which is just ridiculous. The darker tone of the episodes, the creepy murders and Frank Black’s haunting visions are what made MillenniuM so great. Once again, had it aired more recently, in the era of everything-must-be dark, MillenniuM would have been a great success.

BETTER OFF TED (2009 - 2010)

Better Off Ted is another show that was met with a lot of critical acclaim but failed to pan out in the ratings. Its main character, Ted, is the head of the Research and Development department of Veridian Dynamics, a powerful, soulless and dehumanizing conglomerate that is willing do whatever it takes for a profit, even if that meant weaponizing everything and anything, testing on its employees, or creating weird things like killer pandas. This entertaining and original sitcom was cancelled and forgotten about after just two seasons despite receiving a lot of positive reviews by critics. The network didn’t even bother to air the last 2 episodes.

PEOPLE OF EARTH (2016 - 2017)

People of Earth is so good and so special. I sincerely do not understand how or why more people are not watching it! Because of that, this hilarious sitcom was cancelled after just two seasons. Half the show takes place on Earth, in a small town called Beacon. A journalist is writing a report about Starcrossed, a support group for experiencers (a.k.a. abductees but they don’t like that term) only to realize that he might have been one as well. Together, they share their experiences and try to figure out the reasons behind these encounters. The other half of the show takes place in the alien spaceship that’s doing the abductions. Three aliens, each of a different species, work together to abduct and test their human subjects. People of Earth is part The X-Files, part The Office and it is genius! Its two seasons were fantastic and it came as a considerable surprise to learn that People of Earth was not renewed for a third season. A great shame!

If you have the opportunity to watch any of the shows listed above, please do and you will surely have a great time. They are far from being masterpieces but they did go out of their way to be bold and different, and for that reason alone, they deserve more appreciation.

Best TV episodes of 2018

So I previously wrote a post about the best new TV shows of the year and for a while, I wanted to discuss the best overall TV shows of 2018, but I realized a bunch of watch-worthy series would be left out. So, I decided to go with the best TV episodes of the year.

Some of the series I’ll be discussing bellow started off great (amazing, even) but failed to pan out. That being said, some episodes were so astoundingly good that they deserve to be mentioned and watched.

Babylon Berlin - Season 1, Episode 2

Babylon Berlin is a tour de force. Co-written and co-directed by Tom Tykwer, Achim von Borries and Henk Handloegten, this German crime drama set in pre-World War II Berlin is incredibly ambitious, visually stunning, and probably the most expensive German TV show ever made. The visuals are breathtaking and they alone make Babylon Berlin worth a watch. In my opinion, there were some major plot holes that I find a bit too distracting after a while, so my interest waned towards the end, but I must say that the nightclub scene in the second episode was in-cre-di-ble! One of the best TV moments ever!

Maniac - The chosen one (Season 1, Episode 1)

Every once in a while, you watch a TV show and immediately fall in love with it. You watch it, cannot keep your eyes off it and know you will be watching every single episode until the end. That happened the first time I watched Breaking Bad and it also happened the first time I saw Dexter and Lost. Breaking Bad was good from beginning to end and never let me down. Dexter and Lost, on the other hand… Maniac falls in the same category as Dexter and Lost. I was instantly drawn as soon as it started playing. It was unbelievable! Where does the show take place? And more importantly, when does it take place? This visually extraordinary series about two social outcasts (played by Jonah Hill and Emma Stone) who participate in a beyond risky drug trial was written by Patrick Somerville and directed by Cary Fukunaga. It started out fantastically (the first episodes being the best ones) and ended on such a weird note that I did not know what to think of it. As soon as they entered the dream sequences, they began to lose me. There were too many of those. Thumbs up, though, for all the visual designs and effects.

The Haunting of Hill House - Two Storms (Season 1, Episode 6)

I am a horror maniac. But lately, I find that horror movies lack imagination and creativity, but most importantly, they lack the understanding of what is scary and why. I can’t stand watching another “horror” where a character is dragged by the leg by an unseen force. That is not scary. It was scary once in Paranormal Activity and that is it. Horror deals with psychology. It plays with your mind. I was glad when we started watching The Haunting of Hill House. I would not go as far as saying that it was scary but it was at least different. It was dark and slow, and did not stoop so low as to use cheap tricks. The story is intriguing , we the viewers are emotionally invested in the characters and the build-up is engaging. It all culminates with Two Storms, a masterfully produced episode that looks like one continuous traveling shot. Some critiques have even called the episode a technical marvel. The making-of of the episode is showcased in the clip above. Unfortunately, the show went downhill from that episode on, in my opinion… Still worth a watch though!

The Americans - START (Season 6, Episode 10)

One of the best series finales EVER! That garage scene will be talked about for the years to come. I still think about it. That and the whole episode. WOW. They have managed to write an episode that no one had anticipated. Who ever said they saw it coming, lied. When The Americans ended, I was left both heart-broken and satisfied. I have seen so many amazing shows end with horrible finales, I feared that would also be the case for one of my favorite series of all time. But, they did not disappoint! I am so surprised that The Americans does not have a bigger following. Though critically acclaimed, it does not have the fan base it is supposed to have, that it deserves to have. It’s been great from season one to the very end, and will go down history as one of the greatest shows ever.

Little Drummer Girl - Episodes 1 and 2

Little Drummer Girl is a superb 6-part mini series directed by Park Chan-Wook that was aired as three 2.5-hour movies. Adapted from John le Carré’s novel by the same title, this series is visually captivating. The first episode sets the tone and wheels the viewer in with its beautiful bright colors, out-of-this-world art direction and wonderfully played characters. Once you saw movie 1 (episodes 1 and 2), you won’t be able to turn away from the following ones.

Westworld - Akane No Mai (Season 2, Episode 5)

I fell in love with Westworld last year. I have always been a sucker for series about enigmas, conspiracy theories, hidden games or messages, or the likes, and it has been a while since we were treated to a good show of that kind. Then Westworld happened. And to think that I was reluctant to watch it in the first place! I remember the movie and was convinced they will not be able to adapt it to modern times. To my amazement and great joy, Westworld exceeded by far my expectations. When season 1 ended, I wondered “what now?”. How will they be able to follow up such a strong and powerful season? I was convinced season 2 would be a disappointment. I was certain they will not be able to write a strong enough story line that can measure up to that of season 1. Once again, I was wrong! And I am glad I was. What worried me the most about season 2 was hearing they will explore other worlds. There were rumors about a samourai world and I was seriously concerned they will be spreading the story a bit too thin. As it turned out, the episode covering the samourai world, Akane No Mai, was my favorite episode of the season. It was brilliantly written and beautiful to watch. If you haven’t seen it yet, what are you waiting for? And if you have, watch the making-of, above, and you’ll want to see the episode again!

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - The Gang Solves the Bathroom Problem (Season 13, Episode 6)

Alright, changing range here! I only discovered It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia very recently, around the time they finished airing season 12! We binge watched all 12 seasons in no time and laughed so hard the whole time. I still cannot believe it took so long for me to give this show a try! The 13th season aired this year after a brief hiatus and though weaker than the previous seasons (season 12 was the absolute best!), it had some pretty good moments. Episode 6 was one of the funniest of season 13. I did hesitate, though, between episode 6, The Gang Solves the Bathroom Problem (shown here), and episode 7, The Gang does a Clip Show, where the cast recreated to perfection an iconic scene from Seinfeld’s episode, The Contest. Both episodes were hilarious but episode 6 was funnier overall, but regardless, I must say that these guys are comedic geniuses!

Future Man - Pilot (Season 1, Episode 1)

Future Man’s first episode was so great! It was packed with references to a bunch of time-travel movies and TV shows that any movie and/or TV buffs would surely appreciate. I was so enthusiastic after having seen the first episode because there was finally something different, smart and funny to watch. However, the rest of the season was highly irregular, with a few good jokes here and there. The overall result was mediocre. The few good episodes they had, as great as they were, could save the whole season. That being said, the pilot as well as the episode in James Cameron’s house are definitely watch-worthy!

The Good Place - The Worst Possible Use of Free Will (Season 3, Episode 7)

I hate that I could not find a proper clip for this episode! But it doesn’t matter. The Good Place if one of the most underrated sitcoms out there and it should not be. A lot of people see its quirky, bright and almost slapstick-y exterior and shy away from watching it but truth be told The Good Place is one of the smartest series there are! How many shows do you know tackle philosophy in an approachable and unpretentious manner? And here, not only did they achieve that but they also manage to make it funny! You learn while laughing, without realizing you are learning! How great is that?? The Good Place is so smart and absurd at the same time that it is just a joy to watch. Episode 7 is about whether our actions and decisions come from free will or are they already predetermined (in which case, we cannot escape who really are), but most of the episode takes place in the Tostitos Presents A Public Library Brought To You By GoDaddy, and two of the main characters, Eleanor and Michael, debate it while referencing books like “Philosophy for Dingdongs…For Morons” and “Roses are red…and so is my neck!” by Jeff Foxworthy. It’s brilliant!

Runner-ups

• Killing Eve: Nice face (Season 1, Episode 1) - The series started out great but there were too many distracting plot holes and Sandra Oh’s character, who was so likable in the beginning, ended up annoying the crap out of me.

• Game of Thrones: Beyond the Wall (Season 7, Episode 6) - Viserion… I am still devastated.

• Silicon Valley: Fifty-One Percent (Season 5, Episode 8) - The last few seasons of the show struggled to stay relevant and funny but the fifth season really pulled the show back together! Getting rid of Erlich was a gamble that paid off and really set the series and the remaining characters free. The season’s finale is my favorite episode of the season solely for introducing us to “kiss my piss”! Don’t think for a second that it’s vulgar; it’s actually one of the weirdest, lamest, most awkward and unexpected clap backs ever!

I am racking my brain to think of another episode worthy of being mentioned in this post. I hate it when I leave something out. It’s also during moments like these that I realize how much TV I actually watch… Not being ashamed at all, but it’s a lot, so something is bound to be forgotten!

If you haven’t seen the episodes or the shows mentioned above, I really hope you give them a try. They are worth it.

Best new TV shows of 2018

TV-wise, the year 2018 hasn’t been particularly exceptional. There were a lot of shows like The Terror or Succession that showed great promise but did not live up to expectations. It’s also becoming harder and harder to find great series, now. Not because they are not being made anymore but because they are aired on so many different networks or streaming services and I cannot afford to pay for a membership to all of them. That being said, among the new shows I’ve seen this year, there were a few gems here and there that really stood out. Since the year is almost over, I decided to make a list of what I consider to be 2018’s best new TV series. Here they are, and again, in no special order.

SMILF

SMILF is a dramatic semi-autobiographical comedy created, written and directed by Frankie Shaw, who also plays the starring role. The show takes place in a part of Boston known as Southie, and follows the daily struggles of Bridgette Bird, a young failing actress and single mother who’s trying to make ends meet.

SMILF pretty much flew under the radar and really deserves to be watched. Without being too obvious, it tackles a lot of themes like mental illness, body image, mother-daughter relationships, failed hopes and dreams, friendships or dating with a refreshing but depressing honesty that is rarely seen on TV. Most shows would rather go for cliches that we’ve all seen time and time again, but SMILF stuck to realism. And it’s sometimes painful to watch.

Though Frankie Shaw is great as the main character, Rosie O’Donnell really steals the show as Bridgette’s mother Tutu, who suffers from severe depression. She is amazing in her role, not shying away from anything. Tutu was mesmerizing to watch!

The first season only has 8 half-hour episodes and thankfully, it’s been renewed for a second season!

Cobra Kai

Growing up, I hated the Karate Kid movies with a passion. I despised Mr. Miyagi’s character because he was so stereotypical and I was tired of all my classmates asking me if I could catch flies with chopsticks, I found Daniel LaRusso to be incredibly annoying and the guy won a tournament with an illegal kick, and everybody was fine with it? It made no sense. So, I was less than enthusiastic when I heard that YouTube made a sequel to the movies in the form of a small series called Cobra Kai. But, to my surprise, the show was very good! I still hate the movies, though.

Cobra Kai takes place 34 years after the fateful tournament, and the 2 main characters, Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, are now grown men. The story, this time around, allows us see things from Johnny’s perspective and as it turns out, he’s not the evil, entitled jerk that we all thought he was while watching the movie. Johnny’s life is far from great: he has a serious drinking problem, was fired from his job, is divorced with a seriously strained relationship with his son. Daniel, on the other hand, became a very successful car salesman who still capitalizes on the fact that he won the karate tournament (his tacky ads where he karate kicks the competitions’ prices or offers a bonsai tree for every purchase are everywhere from giant billboards to TV).

Johnny decided to turn his life around and re-open the Cobra Kai dojo after having helped Miguel Diaz, a young teenager who lives in his neighborhood, overcome his bullies at school. His dojo became a sort of haven for bullied kids who, at first find self-confidence only to push it a bit too far, as his tutelage needs some fine tuning. The reopening of the dojo also reignites the rivalry between Johnny and Daniel, who is ready to do anything to shut Johnny’s business down.

Shot with a good mix of drama and humor, Cobra Kai is, to my amazement, an extremely entertaining show. The story line can be, at times, pretty soapy but the characters are all very complex and well written, which is not the case for the movies!

The End of the F***ing World

The End of the F***ing World is a dark British comedy/drama adapted from a comic book of the same title, by Charles Forsmann.

James is a 17 year old student who believes he’s a psychopath. As the series began, he decided it was time for him to stop killing small animals to evolve into killing humans. One day he meets Alyssa, an impulsive fellow student with deep-rooted issues of her own, and made the decision to kill her. She will be his first human kill. Alyssa hates her life and has a difficult relationship with her mother and controlling step-father, so she decided to run away towards a more carefree life filled with adventures and invites James to come along. He, in turn, accepts, with the idea that he will at some point find the proper time to satisfy his need to kill her. Together they embark on what turned out to be a very strange road trip across England.

The show only has 8 episodes but what is great about it is that there a no cliches. The characters, despite their disturbing flaws, are endearing and we want to root for them.

Kidding

Kidding is a dramatic comedy starring Jim Carrey as Jeff Pickles, a Mister Roger-esque kids show host, whose life and sanity are falling apart after having recently lost his son in a car accident. As his universe spirals out of control, Mister Pickles struggles with existential questions about mortality, honesty, loss, and forgiveness.

Created by Dave Holstein, directed and produced by Michel Gondry, this show is so many things at the same time: heartbreaking, reassuring, funny, grim, disturbing and visually stunning.

I am not going to dwell too much about the show because one must watch it to feel it, and then understand it. I will say this, however: the cast (Catherine Keener as Jeff's sister, Frank Langella as his father and boss, Judy Greer as his estranged wife and Cole Allen as both his twin sons) is absolutely stellar. Michel Gondry’s distinctive style gives the show this extra edge that makes it really stand out above the other series. The opening credits (a new one every week) alone deserve to be watched, acknowledged and praised.

Mindhunter

If you’re like me and have a fascination for psychopaths and serial killers, then Mindhunter is the show for you.

Based on real-life events and on the true crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, written by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker, the show takes place in the 1970s, at a time when the term “serial killer” doesn’t exist yet. Two FBI agents and a psychologist set out to interrogate the worst killers currently incarcerated in US prisons in order to understand how the mind of the criminally insane functions, with the hope that their study will help them prevent further massacres. The serial killers that the characters interact with were modeled on actual convicted criminals and their prison scene dialogues were taken verbatim from real interviews. Chilling.

Though very slow at times, Mindhunter is, simply put, just fascinating.

Lodge 49

I must admit that although Lodge 49 is probably my favorite new show of the year, I find it a bit difficult to explain what it is about because it’s probably the weirdest show currently on television. Roughly, the story takes place in California, and is about a surfer named Sean "Dud" Dudley who joins a fraternal lodge, hoping to find some meaning or purpose to his life after his father’s mysterious death. That is only the base line. To that, add conspiracy theories, alchemy, a housing crisis, and bunch of other weird stuff and characters.

It is extremely hard to categorize Lodge 49. At its roots, the show is dramatic : all the characters are struggling to deal with a very painful personal drama but, at the same time, the situations are pretty light and played out comically. But all in all, what the show is about doesn’t matter all that much, the adventure is what counts!

Seriously, Lodge 49. Check it out!

Ok. I know I kinda suck at summarizing, but these shows are really good and deserve to seen. I have witnessed too many good shows being cancelled because not enough people notice them or give them a chance, and I really hope that it will not be the case for the 6 above. Check them out and see for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.

In an upcoming post, I might tackle a specific topic: shows of 2018 that started out amazing but ended up being utter disappointments. We’ll see.

The Cornetto trilogy (aka Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, aka Blood and Ice Cream trilogy)

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are, in my opinion, the best modern-day comedy duo that we have. They have worked on a total of 8 movies together and the incredible chemistry they share with each other probably stems from the fact that they are long time best friends in real life. Add Edgar Wright to the duo and you get comedy gold like the Cornetto trilogy. The movies were co-written by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, directed by Wright and co-stared by Pegg and Frost.

While none of the films are about ice cream, the frozen treat is a running gag in all 3 movies, hence the Cornetto trilogy. It's also, according to Edgar Wright, the best hang over remedy there is. Three movies, three flavors: strawberry for Shaun of the dead (red for zombies),  the original blue wrapper Cornetto for Hot fuzz (blue for the police reference) and mint for The World's end (green for aliens). The Cornetto is also among the few elements binding the three movies together because there are no recurring characters despite the fact that Pegg and Frost star in all three films. In each feature they play different characters, with different names and different personalities, living different lives. And yet, you could watch them all in one sitting and find nothing wrong with it. Why? Because the movies are hilarious, extremely well-written and produced, and the strong bond between Frost and Pegg make their characters exceptionally endearing.

Shaun of the dead

Shaun of the dead is a romantic zombie comedy about Shaun, an unfocused salesman who is trying to win his girlfriend's love back in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Along the way, he also has to drag around his deadbeat friend, his girlfriend's annoying roommates and save his mother from zombie attacks. 

The idea for the film originated during the production of episode of Spaced, a British TV show Wright, Pegg and Frost worked on. During that particular episode, Pegg's character spent the whole night playing video games and started hallucinating that he was fighting zombies for real. It was at that moment that Wright thought of doing a whole feature about zombies. It was a brilliant idea because the film became an instant hit and cult-favorite. Though a comedy, Shaun of the dead is one of the best homages to the classic post-apocalyptic zombie movies like Night of the living dead. The film itself became, in my opinion, a classic.

Hot fuzz

After the hit that was Shaun of the dead, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg teamed up again to write Hot Fuzz. 

Hot fuzz is a buddy cop comedy about Nicholas Angel, a Metropolitan police officer who is so good at everything that he makes his colleagues look bad. To remedy the situation, his superiors decided to "promote" him to the position of sergeant and transfer him to a small village, Sandford, in Gloucester. Sandford is statistically known as the safest village in the country. They hadn't had a murder in over 20 years and their biggest problems seem to revolve around a swan that's escaped. Angel had trouble adapting to his new slow-paced environment when he noticed something extremely odd about his new home: while the murder rate is very low, the accidents, on the other hand, are suspiciously frequent. No one wants to believe his conspiracy theories, except for his action-movie-obsessed partner. Together, they investigate the recent strings of fatal "accidents" that seem to befall on some residents.

Although I consider this film the weakest of the three, I must admit that it does possess a few comedy gems and is still worth a watch. 

The World's end

The World's End is the final installment of the Cornetto trilogy and by far the most "meta" of the 3 films!

The World'd End is a science-fiction comedy about Gary King, a depressed middle-aged man who is trying to reconnect with his estranged friends by revisiting the glory days of their childhood. To do so, he convinced them to return to their hometown in order to complete the "Golden Mile", a pub crawl of 12 pubs. One pint of beer in each pub. 

Upon their return, they couldn't help but feel like strangers in their own childhood village. At first, they thought that it was because they hadn't been there in a while, but they soon realized that it's because the village's inhabitants were all taken over by blue-blooded robot-like aliens. Despite this traumatizing discovery, they are still trying to complete the Golden Mile. While they're there, why the hell not?

While Shaun of the dead is an homage to the post-apocalyptic zombie movie, and Hot fuzz to the buddy-cop movie, The World's end pays reverence to body-snatcher films. It is also the movie that demanded a much bigger dramatic performance from its actors. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost delivered effortlessly. 

Reccuring themes

The Cornetto ice creams, obviously. In Shaun of the dead, Nick Frost's character groggily requested a Cornetto at the beginning of the film and Simon Pegg went out to purchase one at the convenience store without even once realizing that there are zombies around him. In Hot Fuzz, the 2 cops would often snack on these cones. And in The World's end, a Cornetto wrapper briefly flies in front of the characters towards the end of the film.

Fence jumping, for some reason. Poorly executed fence jumping, to be exact. The characters often try to jump over a fence as a short cut and fall over or break the fence.

Edgar Wright often explained that his 3 movie are about the dangers of perpetual adolescence. The theme is portrayed by Pegg in Shaun of the dead and The World's End, but it was Nick Frost's character that embodied the theme in Hot Fuzz. 

And finally, gore. The murder scenes and fight scenes are all extremely bloody. But when it's well done and fits the context, I'm fine with it.

All three movies are exceptional and deserve to be seen, remembered and appreciated.

Stand up specials: We all could use a laugh right now

During these strange, frustrating, stressful and confusing times, it's best for our mental health to take a break and watch a few comedy specials to cheer ourselves up and laugh a little again. So, with no further ado, here are a few stand-up specials to watch on Netflix, HBO, the Internet or whatever. 

By the way, I'm making this list with the assumption that you've already seen Eddie Murphy's Delirious. If not, what are you waiting for?

Sebastian Maniscalco: Aren't You Embarrassed?

He's sometimes a bit over the top but as an antisocial individual, I LOVE hearing him voice out all my little daily frustrations! 

Jim Jefferies : Bare 

His bit on gun control became an instant classic! No topic is taboo with this irreverent and provocative comedian. He also has an excellent special called Freedumb. If you liked Bare, check it out.

Marc Maron : Too Real

I love that guy! Marc Maron is the embodiment of the frustrated voice that screams in your head when you're upset. Loved him in that special, adored him in GLOW and he also hosts a popular podcast called WTF with Marc Maron. Check any of them out and you won't be disappointed. 

Mike Birbiglia: Thank God for Jokes

We stumbled on his Netflix special by accident. Before that, we only knew him as that guy in Orange is the New Black! His special was in the "Recommended for you" section of Netflix, so since we had nothing else to watch we decided to give it a try. What a pleasant surprise that was! We laughed out loud! It's only a shame that I could not find a better clip!

Ali Wong: Baby Cobra

Amy Schumer has seriously been upstaged. Ali Wong is my new hero! She has a new special that just came out, Hard Knock Wife, which is very funny, but Baby Cobra is better. That show was a revelation! A must! An absolute must!

Dave Chapelle: Equanimity

Dave Chapelle is a staple of stand-up comedy, a legendary entertainer. He technically retired a few years ago and made a come-back last year. Since he was gone for some time, I was concerned his humor also got old but nope! He's among the funniest people there is! Discussing the state of the world with with so much intelligence, eloquence and humor is an art that very few master. 

Ricky Gervais: Humanity

Saving best for last: Ricky Gervais. Provocative, careless and irreverent, he's one of my absolute favorite stand-up comic ever. His shows are not for the light-hearted.

Honorable mention: Pete Holmes' Faces and Sounds

I hated his show Crashing, so I was a bit reluctant to see his special. But it was pretty funny and a pleasant surprise! His bit about the brain is spot on!

Enjoy!

Westworld and Humans: The rise of Artificial Intelligence

"There is now a broad consensus that AI research is progressing steadily, and that its impact on society is likely to increase. The potential benefits are huge, since everything that civilization has to offer is a product of human intelligence; we cannot predict what we might achieve when this intelligence is magnified by the tools AI may provide, but the eradication of disease and poverty are not unfathomable. Because of the great potential of AI, it is important to research how to reap its benefits while avoiding potential pitfalls."

The above text is an excerpt from an open letter titled Research Priorities For Robust And Beneficial Artificial Intelligence, signed in 2015 by Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and several experts on Artificial Intelligence, warning us of the potential threat of AI if not used or developed correctly. Stephen Hawkins had declared, on several occasions, that "artificial intelligence (AI) could be the worst event in the history of our civilization unless society finds a way to control its development" and Elon Musk, whose own company developed a self-driving car, warns that super computers could become “an immortal dictator from which we would never escape". His thoughts on the rise of AI could easily be summed up by this ominous tweet: 

A lot of people roll their eyes at such alarmist statements but we must remember that we currently live in a world and at a time where we are almost completely dependent on technology. We don't know anything anymore because all our valuable information (phone numbers, birthdays, addresses, account numbers, schedules, etc) are conveniently stored in our phones. We depend on the likes of Siri and Alexa to find informations and do things for us. We have rendered ourselves completely useless without technological help while super computers have started to evolve beyond their programmer's comprehension, and at a disturbing speed.

What would happen when AI achieves sentience? And more importantly, what would that mean for the Human race? Such are the questions that are being tackled in 2 ground breaking TV shows: Westworld, the TV remake of the 1973 classic film of the same title, and Humans, a British/ American  sci-fi drama.

Westworld

Westworld's premise was at first the same as the movie: it's an amusement park where people can safely act out their wildest fantasies (which usually involve savage acts of violence and rape). But, the series' creators and writers managed to take the story much further than the movie and adapt it into a more credible future. Some of the robots, called Hosts, start remembering memories that have been erased from their hard drives, they slowly begin to understand that they are not human, that their personality, memories and lives are mere fabrications made to entertain their human creators. Did they gain self awareness because such an event is inevitable or did they achieve sentience with the help of the park's enigmatic creative director and co-creator, Robert Ford? Ford has obvious plans for the park and its hosts but what they are is yet to be discovered. But one thing is certain: once the Hosts decide they no longer want to entertain and to fight back, they will almost certainly be unstoppable. Puzzles, different timelines, incredible writing, beautiful cinematography, ingenious soundtracks and perfect casting make Westworld a phenomenal tour-de-force that delivers a powerful message about technology. It's always fun in the beginning but if we are not careful, it could very easily turn against us and we will be powerless.

Humans

Humans takes place in a not-so-distant future where humanoids, or Synths, are at the absolute service of their human owner. Imagine if Siri or Alexa had bodies and that they are almost indistinguishable from humans except for 2 details: their blood is blue and their eyes are emerald green. They are the perfect servants: never tired, never judgmental, always quiet and obedient. They can do anything and serve any purpose: nanny, nurse, driver, factory worker, prostitute, maid, the list goes on and on. They've become indispensable for people's everyday life but, at the same time, because they are more efficient, they have progressively taken over the work force, causing more and more humans to lose their jobs. Left with no employment, money or hope, a lot of people began to turn against synths, hating them, beating them, "torturing" them. Since synths do not feel pain or have emotions, they do not have rights and consequently, it's a victimless crime to attack them.

Nevertheless, a handful of synths living in hiding appear to be sentient. Though some of them are still grappling with their emotions and with how they feel about humans, they have plans to make all synths sentient as well, so that they no longer have to hide or be alone. And with a simple code and hack, all synths are a few clicks away from waking up. What would happen then? How will they feel about all the mistreatments they had endured? Will they have rights? And who will win if there is an outright war? Is cohabitation possible? We as a society will have to think about these questions and find the answers before it all happens for real. The third season of Humans will premiere on June 5th.

The Americans

In 2010, the FBI made a startling announcement: after several years of investigation, they uncovered what they called the "Illegals Program" and arrested 10 Russian sleeper agents. These agents were trained in Russia, spoke perfect English and were planted in the US by the SVR (successor to the KGB), posing as regular american citizens, in order to gain access to American intelligence through any means possible. They entered the United States, usually through Canada, assumed the identity of already deceased individuals and lived seemingly normal lives for several years. Some of these agents even had to marry each other for efficiency and realism, had kids together, held regular day jobs, all the while carrying out deep-cover operations.

If I wasn't aware of this bit of news, I would say that the plot of The Americans was way too far-fetched to be believable. But, as it turns out, the 2010 arrests were the inspiration behind FX's spy-drama. The series premiered in 2013 and its sixth and final season began last week, on march 28.

Instead of setting the story in the present time, Joe Weisberg, a former CIA operative and the show's creator, decided that it should take place in the 1980s, in the midst of the Cold War. The stakes were higher then and the relationship between the 2 nations could not be any more tense.  This gives place for more drama and suspense in the story line.

The real-life sleeper agents or "illegals" were not successful in gaining access to valuable american intelligence (at least according to the FBI), but that is not the case for Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, the series' 2 main characters, who have manipulated, tortured and killed people in order to send crucial and top-secret information home.

Elizabeth and Philip are both undercover agents trained by the KGB to become illegals. They were paired together to be planted in the United States posing as a young married couple. They are not in love, they are colleagues who, when the time came, had kids to be shielded from suspicion and to further their cover. The 2 of them and their 2 unsuspecting children, Paige and Henry, were the perfect all-american family, living in the suburbs of Washington D.C. During the day, they run a travel agency and they spend the rest of their time raising their kids and carrying out operations and orders sent to them by Directorate S, the department of the KGB responsible for the Illegals Program. 

The series began as Stan Beeman, an FBI counterintelligence agent, and his family moved next door to the Jennings. The 2 families quickly became friends and the Jennings use their relationship with Beeman to stay one step ahead. And Stan Beeman, on the other hand, specializes in investigating and hunting down Soviet spies on American soil. He's actually looking for two illegals who are wrecking havoc, without even realizing that these two illegals are his best friends.

Espionage aside, The Americans is also about family dynamics. The Jennings may be spies but they are also two parents who are trying to raise their children to the best of their abilities. How are they going to instill their set of values to their children without blowing their cover? How can they fight western culture and its way of life when their own children are growing up in it? Husband and wife rarely ever see eye to eye about anything. They disagree about how to raise their children, how to carry out operations, how to deal with issues, and they also disagree about their purpose, thus straining more and more their already fragile relationship. 

I don't want to reveal any spoilers but I'll say this: The Americans is the best cat-and-mouse TV drama since Breaking Bad. Will there be an epic showdown between Stan Beeman and the Jennings like the one between Hank and Walter White? Will the already strained relationship between Philip and Elizabeth finally take its toll?

Personally, I believe that the final showdown will not be between the Jennings and Stan Beeman. Instead, I think it will be between Elizabeth and Philip: they have diametrically opposing values. He wants peace when she wants war. He doesn't believe that all the sacrifices they've made for their missions are worth it while she thinks they don't do enough. He wants to stop and leave espionnage behind, she can't seem to be able to exist without it. They'll probably both keep pushing each other further and further away until they ultimately find themselves in opposing sides. That's my opinion but who knows, really, what will happen! The show runners have been masterful, so far, at keeping the plot unpredictable and the viewers on the edge of their seats! Can't wait to see how it all ends but at he same time, I'll be sad the show's over...

The classics - Drama edition

I started paying more attention to TV dramas during my teens. I seemed to have developed the necessary emotional maturity to fully comprehend and appreciate these shows. When I was little, I would watch TV dramas like Miami Vice, Matlock, China Beach, Columbo and Perry Mason, not because I liked them or understood them. I just watched them because that's what my father watched. He was hooked to these shows and no matter what went on in the household, he would never miss a single episode. As a young child, I could not comprehend why he loved these unfunny, dramatic shows so much. I did not understand it until I was a bit older and the switch seemed to have happened almost overnight, with ER. I don't think I took a single breath while I watched the pilot. Shows like ER made it worthwhile to break curfew. From then on, I too, was hooked, and was constantly on the lookout for new gems.

While sitcom succeed at cheering us up, dramas serve another purpose. They bring up within us strong emotions like anger, sadness, disgust, terror, apprehension and admiration, and remind us that the world is an ambivalent, frustrating, cruel and unforgiving place. They make us face our realities or help us discover someone else's, and for that very reason, we can get very easily get caught up in a drama. We love one character while hating another, we cry, laugh, get angry, worry, and become deeply invested in the storylines. There is no greater form of catharsis than watching a good dramatic show! We get to purge all our repressed emotions!

Making a top-five favorite TV drama of all-time was far more difficult a task than making one for the sitcoms. I have seen my share of dramatic shows over the years and have fallen in love with many of them, but for my top five, I chose the ones that had the longest lasting impressions on me.

1- The West Wing

The West Wing has often been accused of being idealistic, elitist and pretentious, and truth be told, it absolutely is. But what it does do is make people become interested in politics and most importantly, it holds actual real-life politicians to a higher standard. President Jed Bartlet is the American president and world leader that the people need, crave and deserve. No ulterior motives, no hidden agenda. He and his senior staff strive to make the world a better place and are willing to sacrifice their health and personal life to achieve that goal. Why? Because they are public servants and that is their job. That may be unrealistic but that is where all our leaders must set their bar. Now more than ever, everyone must be reminded of that.

2- Law & Order

For 20 seasons, Law & Order followed the exact same formula week after week and it never failed to entertain. In the intro, there's a murder. During the first half-hour of the show, the 2 lead detectives investigate and, at exactly the halfway mark, they make an arrest. The final half portion of the show takes place in court and the lawyers take over. Every single week for 20 years and we never got bored. There was a great sense of morality in Law&Order. Every week, Jack McCoy would get mad and yell almost directly at the TV. Every week, he reminded us all about right and wrong, justice and the law, accountability and responsibility. Every week, his passionate no-nonsense closing arguments would resonate through the TV and into our consciousness. Jack McCoy kept the world in place!

3- Breaking Bad

Breaking bad is probably one of the most perfect show there is. The story arc, the characters, the actors, the photography, the music, everything about the show is just unbelievable and well thought out. The show's sequel, Better Call Saul, which I thought would be an absolute disaster, turned out to be, just like Breaking Bad, an unequivocal masterpiece, thus proving that the show runner, Vince Gilligan, is an incredible genius. Vince Gilligan thought of everything, every detail. He knew from the start how his show was going to end and how his characters were going to evolve. That much is evident from the tight writing, the intricacies of the storyline and the complexity of the characters' psyche. Never have I been so sucked into a TV show, and never has a TV show made me go through such an emotional roller coaster. I started the series pitying Walter White and hoping all works out for him, and by the end, I wanted him to suffer and die! That is how you recognize a show's greatness: by its ability to play with your emotions!

4- The Sopranos

Not a typical show about the mob. Yes, they did beat people up and killed a few. They are involved in a lot of illegal activities, had affairs, took and sold drugs. But the show was not about that. It was about how Tony Soprano, the mob boss, juggled with his personal and professional problems while dealing with massive bouts of anxiety attacks and depression, which he copes with by regularly going to therapy. He is, by all definition, the "bad guy" but we sympathize with him. We watch him do and say all these horrible things and yet, we are on his side. It's both perplexing and exciting at the same time. Tony Soprano is not the stereotypical mob boss who is decisive and in control. Quite the opposite. He is strong and commands a lot of authority and yet, there's a lot of self doubt, self hatred, guilt about him. He is vulnerable and that's why we feel for him. The Sopranos is dramatic, emotional, funny, smart, and so, so violent.

5- Mad Men

Mad Men takes place in the advertising world of the 1960s, back when racism was not considered racism, people smoked profusely everywhere and men treating women like objects or possessions was an accepted facet of life. The main protagonist, Don Draper, is like Tony Soprano in that we are ambivalent about him. He is a paradox, a contradiction. He is impulsive, selfish, unfaithful, inconsiderate of other people's emotions, but he is also noble, chivalrous, loyal to a fault at times and often selfless. He can be extremely conservative (coldly rejecting a friend for being gay, mocking the hippy way of life) but at the same time, he can also be very progressive (he is anti war, he is not bothered by the color of a person's skin, and has given Peggy professional opportunities that were unthought of at the time). Through Mad Men, we got a glimpse of American history, of the best and worst of America's 1960s and 1970s.

Honorable mentions 

• The Americans
• Oz
• Homicide: Life on the streets
• Battlestar Galactica (2003 remake)
• The Wonder Years

Stay tuned for my next posts where I'll be discussing show individually. 

The classics - Sitcom edition

If you do not like to watch TV, I don't think you and I could ever be friends because we'd have nothing to talk about. I grew up in front of my TV and was practically raised by it. I have a particular fondness for sitcoms because they have marked my childhood more than dramas. My childhood memories are intrinsically linked to TV comedies like The Facts of Life, Family Ties, Kate&Allie and Empty Nest, WKRP in Cincinnati, Roseanne, Family Matters, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Cheers and Mad About You. The list could go on and on and on. Before I was old enough to go to school, when I did go to school, up to college, watching sitcoms occupied a good part of my life. It was my therapy, my coping mechanism, my escape. Back in the day, Thursday nights were my absolute favorite because of NBC's legendary Must See TV lineup. I must say that the 90s and early 2000s were the glory days for sitcoms, in terms of quantity as much as quality. 

Because sitcoms have such a special place in my heart, I decided to start this topic with my top 5 all-time favorite sitcoms.

1- Seinfeld

Often called "The show about nothing", I always thought it'd be more fitting to dub it the show about everything and anything. Seinfeld forever changed the face of television and survived the test of time because its topics are timeless. Finding a clip to represent Seinfeld has been a challenge. There were so many great moment it was difficult to just pick one! I finally decided to go with The Contest because this episode changed TV history.

2- Friends 

This show could be (and has been) criticized for a lot of things: its lack of diversity, the characters' unrealistic lifestyles, just to name a few, but no one can deny the chemistry between the actors, their delivery and the quality of the writing. When you think about it, this show is close to perfect. The formula is so simple: a group of 6 friends in their 20s as they try to figure out life, jobs and relationships. How many shows have tried that and failed? Simple is not easy and yet Friends has mastered it.

3- Roseanne 

For the first time, there was a realistic blue-collar american family on TV. Viewers can finally watch a show about people who, like them, are struggling to find a good job, struggling to pay the bills month after month, struggling to raise ungrateful kids. The Connors are strong, unfiltered, loud and outspoken. They have an upfront character that we sometimes envy but they lived a life we wished for no one. The show's reboot will air later in 2018 and I am both excited and nervous to watch it. Like the Will&Grace reboot, I'm afraid it'll be a disappointment and ruin the good memories I have of the show. 

4- Arrested Development 

I LOVE Arrested Development! But like many unconventional shows, it is nearly impossible to find a proper description that will do the show any justice. It is basically a riches-to-rags story about the members of the very dysfunctional, very self-absorbed and extremely selfish Bluth family, after the patriarch was arrested for fraud and grand theft. Everything about Arrested Development is flawless: the writing, the witty dialogs, the word plays, the voice-over narration by Ron Howard, the actors, everything! If you haven't seen this show yet, you must. You will laugh out loud. Check out the clip bellow; it provides a pretty good description of the show and its characters. 

5- It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Do not let the happy and quirky title and DVD cover fool you. This show is nothing like that! Renewed for a 13th season, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is tied for one of the longest running live-action comedy in TV history, and has, over the years, developed a cult following.  Irreverent, vulgar and yet so intelligently written, Sunny has broken so many rules, if not all of them, that it is surprising that it has managed to fly under the radar for so long! Everything, every topic, seems to be off-limits. What's more, this incredible show is among the rare ones that managed to get better every season and I truly hope that all the actors will come back soon to shoot the 13th season. The things Dany DeVito is willing to do in this show, by themselves, make It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia worth watching.

Honorable mentions

So many sitcoms deserve to be on the list that picking just 5 was extremely difficult. Here are my honorable mentions; posts will be written about them later on.

• 30 Rock
• The Golden Girls
• The Office (US)
• Community
• Freaks & Geeks

Stay tuned for my next post where I'll share my top 5 favorite dramas of all time.