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!

I want to talk about science-fiction movies today. There are some incredible and epic sci-fi movies, like Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien, Blade Runner, The Matrix, and so much more, that will be remembered for generations, but I feel like there’s a whole lot of amazing science-fiction films out there that are not taken into consideration because they don’t have mind-blowing special effects or because they were not huge blockbusters. These little gems flew under most people’s radar and that’s a great shame. Five of such movies will be discussed bellow. Smart, innovative, prophetic sometimes, they deserve to be watched.

Primer

Released in 2004, this low-budget movie is probably one of the smartest, most complex, mind-boggling time-travel films that have been made. Intended to be seen, then seen again to be thoroughly understood, Primer is about 2 friends, both engineers, who have managed to create a machine that can freeze objects from the effects of gravity. They soon realize that the objects were frozen from the effects of time as well. Using this construct, they built themselves time travel machines to get richer with stock exchanges. Of course, things get freaky when unexpected interference messes up their timelines. This brilliant film was shot over a span of 5 weeks, with a budget of 7 000$, and a crew of 5 people. Shane Carruth, who plays one of the main characters, is the film’s writer, director, producer, cinematographer, editor and music composer. Primer went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance film festival. Despite that, most people have never heard of it.

Ex-Machina

This beautifully made film about artificial intelligence by Alex Garland is both fascinating and frightening. A programmer wins a contest for a one-week visit to the isolated home of his billionaire boss and creator of the world’s most powerful search engine. As it turns out, this stay is to test his boss’ new project, humanoids equipped with artificial intelligence. The young programmer is to spend time with Ava to determine whether she is genuinely capable of thought and consciousness despite knowing she is artificial. As the days go by, he grows more uncomfortable at the isolated location, not knowing his strange boss’ intentions and who to trust or what to believe.

Safety not guaranteed

A journalist and his 2 interns investigate a weird classified ad that reads: “Wanted: Somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. P.O. Box 91 Ocean View, WA 99393. You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before”. The person behind the ad is Kenneth Calloway, a paranoid man who wants to go back to the year 2001 to prevent his then girlfriend from being killed. Darius, one of the journalist’s interns, gains his trust and becomes a candidate to follow him in his mission. Though not perfect, this 2012 sci-fi romantic comedy is funny, quirky, original, endearing and films like that are not made anymore.

Colossal

This film starring Anne Hathaway and Andy Sudeikis was not what I expected it to be, and it was awesome. Gloria, an unemployed young writer returns to her hometown after her fed up boyfriend breaks up with her and kicks her out of his apartment. Upon her return, she reconnects with her childhood friend Oscar who now owns a bar. After a while, she discovers that she is inexplicably linked to a giant monster who is wreaking havoc halfway across the world. The film makes us believe it will go towards some romantic comedy clichés before leading us in a whole other path. The ending is a bit disappointing but the film as a whole is refreshingly different and very entertaining.

Idiocracy

Far from being a perfect movie, Idiocracy should be seen as a brilliant sketch scifi comedy rather than a film as a whole. Though tanked by its own studio, the film, thanks to DVD viewership, became a cult classic. I want to mention it here because still a lot of people haven’t heard of it yet and it is a great shame. Funny then and prophetic now, Idiocracy is a time travel comedy about an average man who participated in a secret government experiment on hibernation and accidentally wakes up 500 years in the future. Society in the dystopian universe he wakes up in has degraded to a point where he, a man of average, if not below-average intelligence in the 2oth century, became the smartest man in the world. Hyper-commercialism, illiteracy, anti-intellectualism and just plain apathy has become the norm, and as a result, the world is falling apart. Idiocracy contains some brilliant flashes of comedic genius, and its actors are plain and simply incredible. Terry Crews as the president of the United States is hilarious. Though a laugh-out-loud comedy then, the movie has foreseen so many things back then that, sadly, it’s practically become a documentary. This is one of my favorite comedies of all time, despite all its flaws. A must for everyone. I included one of my favorite scenes from the movie, below.

If you haven’t seen any of the 5 mentioned above, please do and you will not be disappointed!