What I'm Watching 26/07/15

In future posts of 'What I'm Watching' I'm not going to write an introduction. But just tolerate my narcissistic narrative for a few more moments. 

This summer I have been working at IMAX a job I was lucky to secure through my school (Paulatim Sed Savedmyass) and it's brought more knowledge and interest in the entertainment world than before. Between that and my previous interest in writing/acting/producing it's shaping up to be an informative summer. Because of it however, I'm watching things I wouldn't otherwise see, and making time to make time to see things (does that just mean 'made time to see things'?)

I thought I'd tell you all what it is I've seen this last week or two between work and play and if it catches your interest let me know or give it a watch yourself.

1) Amy: This is the Amy Winehouse biopic that seems to be taking the world by storm, something it's muse did too. If there is anything this movie showed me it's that she had an unfathomable amount of talent, and never wanted to get thrown into the spotlight the way she did. With unseen footage, calls and interviews with people who were truly close to her, we see an Amy Winehouse that wasn't the reckless rioter that the media portrayed her to be, but a vulnerable soul who was hit by tragedy after tragedy due to some toxic company. Perhaps this is how the director intended for us to feel, either way, he did a good job. If there's any one reason to see this film however it's that you see the events and feel the emotions that lead her to write what she writes, especially with regards to 'Rehab' and 'Back to Black' and this gives those lyrics that much more weight. An air of sad sympathy emanated from the audience and it was a truly remarkable piece of work which left everybody thinking in some way or another.

2) Skeleton Twins: I love SNL. It's unlikely you'll have a conversation with me about entertainment and I won't bring it up. It's also going to be popping up a few times in this article. Skeleton twins takes two SNL alums and puts them in a more dramatic role. It is the story of two estranged, and equally dysfunctional, and self-destructive siblings spending time together again. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig are both fantastic, Luke Wilson should also be commended for his portrayal as Wiig's fiancee and Ty Burrell (Phil, from Modern Family) as Hader's character's lover. Everyone brings great humour and humility to their roles reminding us they're not just great comedians but versatile actors.  The film has touching highs and sombre lows, it's sweet and honest. It also has the best use of 'Nothing's gonna stop us' by Starship.

3) Good Morning Vietnam: Robin Williams was a force of nature with boundless talent and this film proves it. I find myself constantly saying 'another classic Robin Williams role' but every role seems to be that. I think it is a true testament to his talent that every character he plays he brings a unique charm and energy. This film reminds me why it is I love radio, the beauty of creativity and (because I'm such a rebel) the ability to truly speak freely and when oppressed...stick it to the man. A 'Black Comedy', it's equally as quirky with highly amiable characters and is well paced and just so damn sweet. I miss Robin.

Right so that covers some pretty heavy, thought provoking films I've watched and now onto the lighter stuff! 

Action/Comedy-

Mission Impossible 5: Great stunts, lots of action, nice touch of humour. Massive set pieces and is definitely an adrenaline rush. If you do go see it, the plane stunt was done by Big-Tom himself. Well done sir. Also, the new heroine is Rebecca Ferguson from Sweden and now I think I'm in love. How does Rebecca Ganjoor sound, or Ishan Ferguson? God I'm lonely.

Ant-Man: Okay listen up haters, this is a solid Marvel film, with the ever-charming Paul Rudd in the lead and the infamous Michael Douglas as his mentor. Michael Pena plays Scott Lang (Paul Rudd)'s best friend, and is the funniest thing I've every seen in a Marvel film, and is absolutely hilarious by any standard. Written by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead etc) Adam McKay (Anchorman) and Rudd, it ends up being a very quirky Marvel film with unique action scenes, one favourite being a little action scene set in a falling briefcase.

7 Days In Hell: An HBO original with Andy Samberg (Lonely Island, SNL (I told you), Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Jon Snow (or 'Kit Harington') it's about a 7 day tennis match between an 'American Playboy' and a 'Straight-laced, British mothers boy' and is absurd, outrageous (there's a threesome on the court at one point) and just a good time-pass. In all fairness, with my man Andy writing it I thought it would be a touch funnier, but it was still fantastic. Look out for the animated swedish prison orgy scene (that just feels weird to write...) 

TV-

30 Rock: This has basically been my life lately and I'm ashamed to say how many episodes I've watched in the last month (here's a hint...it's all of them). Witty, odd and fresh. Not only does it make me laugh every episode, the core relationships are different to your standard sitcom and Tina Fey and Co make plenty of jokes about the actual entertainment industry, movies, actors and writing. It deserves the slowest of claps.

What I'm looking forward to-

Fantastic Four, Trainwreck and Inside Out in the near future. All different to the rest of the films in their genre. 

The Fantastic Four (cleverly stylised as Fant4stic, get it?) reboot will be dark and gritty (yes that bit has been done before) but will place more emphasis on origins, and the science of it all than the previous Fantastic Four. It's got a far more talented ensemble too, with Miles Teller (Whiplash, 21 & Over) Rooney Mara (House of Cards) Michael B Jordan (The Wire, Awkward Moment) and Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot). It's going to be good, I'll bet this Ice-cream I just finished on it.

Trainwreck is the latest Judd Apatow film (Superbad, 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Freaks and Geeks) film and is written by Inside Amy Schumer's Amy Schumer. With Bill Hader ('wait a second isn't that the guy from SNL and also The Skeleton Twins', why yes it is.). Amy Schumer has proven herself time and time again with her sketch show and this film looks like it's going to be equally as funny, if not more. With Bill Hader, a master of sketch himself, the acting and comedy prowess is extraordinarily high. Even supporting cast like Vanessa Bayer, Colin Quinn (both SNL) and Tilda Swinton just add to the abundance of talent. Hader's best friend in the film is also none other than LeBron James who is very funny in it. Which sucks, by the way. What a selfish dick for being good at Basketball and acting. YOU'RE ONLY MEANT TO GET ONE. 

Inside Out is Pixars latest about the emotions in your head. Amy Poehler (Parks and Rec), Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project), Bill Hader (my god he's on a roll), Phyllis Smith (The Office) and Lewis Black (I don't know, he's some guy) play the emotions. It's meant to be equally as entertaining for adults and kids and seems wonderfully different, something Pixar never fail to do.

So yes, now I stare at screens, and also write about what I'm staring at. I should probably get off my ass and go to the gym...

Joking, what am I...The Rock?

The Late Night Show Landscape and James Corden

The Late Night Show Landscape and where James Corden could place himself?

The Late-Night talk shows in America are a rather unusual phenomenon. No other country has so many different talk shows, with such varied and widespread popularity. I see myself yearning to be the host of one someday, so I was excited and a tad jealous when I heard that a Brit would be taking one over. James Corden (JC) is one of Britain's most prized celebrities having shown himself to be skilled across the arts. In particular, One Man, Two Guvnors left me in stitches, whilst 'Gavin and Stacey' was a roaring success of a sitcom, and 'A League of Their Own' is the only Sports panel show I watch. Not just that, but he is amiable (see Comic Relief Video) making him a worthy successor to Craig Ferguson on the Late Late Show.

The main motivation behind this post came from David Letterman himself, who in an interview referred to JC as that 'chubby guy from Great Britain'.  He then proceeded to ask 'where's the tubby kid?' in reference to the 3 months James Corden has taken to begin his tenure as host (due to obvious scheduling conflicts, and uprooting his entire life by moving to LA). Moreover, Letterman is a producer on JC's show, so makes money off of JC (why did David Letterman slander him, to the extent he then had to issue an apology on air?). It just frustrates me...when I'm on the radio I don't play a song just to follow it up by saying how awful I find that song. The only person who comes across poorly in my opinion is David Letterman.

As a point of reference, I have attached a list of rankings of the late night shows, by their Nielsen ratings (used in TV to assess the popularity of a show with regards to demographics, the list below is in the 18-49 category).
1. The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon — 1.28 (3.9 million viewers)
2. The Jimmy Kimmel Show — .64 (2.7 million)
3. Late Night with Seth Meyers — .64 (1.6 million)
4. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart — .56 (1.4 million)
5. The Late Show with David Letterman .47 (2.49 million)
6. The Colbert Report — .45 (1.1 million)
7. Nightline — .41 (1.67 million)
8. Last Call with Carson Daly — .35 (878,000)
9. Conan — .34 (734,000)
10. The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson — .30 (1.2 million)

A few pieces of information to bear in mind:

• The Late Late Show  is what proceeds David Letterman's (soon to be Stephen Colbert's) show. Therefore, to some extent, there is a symbiotic relationship between the two shows. They can each create both negative, and positive effects for the other. This relationship is also seen between Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. The latter of which is partially sitting pretty at number three due to Jimmy Fallon's raging success!
• The average performance of both David Letterman and Craig Ferguson (5th and 10th respectively) probably encouraged their resignations (and also explains why Craig Ferguson is not replacing Letterman, as was in his contract).
• Conan O'Brien is at 9. awks.

Without further ado, I shall attempt to try something that no student has done before, I am going to apply my degree. I'll assume two major factors that make a successful host/show: Amiability/Banterousness (just...go with it) and how topical it is (what with the Colbert report and the Daily Show so high up, political satire and being current are extremely vital).

Back in my first term when I was 'studying' Managerial Economics we learnt about the Lancaster Paradigm model. Whereby, one uses graphs to analyse where they ought to place something in the market such that it is unique. It is a graphical interpretation of a Unique Selling Point. Using my two main factors I have drawn up a line of where Stephen Colbert will most likely be, as are Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers and finally, where James Corden should place himself.

From the graph above we can see that not only should James Corden make himself a true Bantersaurus-rex, but we can further see that it will complement Colbert nicely, as he will most likely stay true to his satirical roots.

(James Corden hopping on board the Banter-Bus)

As a final couple of points I should add that in my opinion James Corden is very good at creating chemistry with big celebrities and really coaxing them into doing fun things, or chatting freely. In his show he has said he will bring out all the guests at once. (whoa, steady on JC)

Last but not least, every Late-Night talk show has it's own in-house band. In my opinion they reflect the feel of the show. Jimmy Fallon has The Roots, a very hip &very funky band. Seth Meyers has Fred Armisen leading his band, Fred Armisen is known as more cooky, a bit arty and very fun. David Letterman had Paul Shaffer, a more accomplished musician steeped in musical history (just as David Letterman is on the Late-Night scene. I knew this analogy would pay off!).

James Corden has Reggie Watts, a famous beatboxer/comedian/jack-of-all-trades. He's very funny in a slightly less mainstream, weird way. So that should be very interesting! Below is a clip of him on Conan O'Brien. (Wait, isn't that also a Late-Night talk show Ish?)

Why yes, yes it is. See what I did there.

I wish James (yes, we're on a first name basis) the best of luck on Monday!

SNL 40th Anniversary Special: Views/Review

SNL: The Reunion.

 As many people know, I am a HUGE Saturday Night Live Fan. 'It's like that SNL sketch where...' being much higher in my repertoire of most-used phrases than myself (and those around me) would like. So with this 40th anniversary special, I decided it was an appropriate time to begin sharing my insights into the world of entertainment, (TV, Film, Music etc) with all of you unfortunate twats. (Blog followers -1)

'The potential of this episode was limitless' - (My Brother, 2015). Often I disagree with my brother, not because we have opposing views, but because I'm much cooler, wiser, handsome..and generally better than he is. Except in Madden NFL 15, that game is the bane of my existence. This statement of his rung true though.

It's an unfortunate truth that SNL has been teetering on the brink of 'mediocre' for quite some time, I seem to always enjoy it, because its great moments are truly fantastic. But I was left a little annoyed at this Reunion. I felt with the people they got together in Studio 8H something much more memorable was on the cards. I'm trying to keep this as concise as possible, so here goes:

Things I liked:

• The spectrum of guests, early members such as Jane Curtin, chairing weekend update with the Feyhler duo was great
• Popular sketches with celebrities/great impressions (I'm looking at you Californians, and the always pretty decent Jeopardy)
• 100% of the time I've seen Maya Rudolph as Beyonce, I've loved it #surfboard #airport
• The moments where you realise how long SNL has been creating contemporary laughs
• The audition tape was adorable. They were all nervous awkward, kind of funny people performing to a crowd that could change their lives forever. A bit like the 40th special, perhaps the 50th will be more like the confident innovative comedians who leave SNL? 

Things I Disliked

• The show was largely timid banter and acting as Lorne Michaels A-list studded hype squad.
• The lack of sketches-SNL was built as a sketch show, yet tonight there were only a handful at best, you could've put Bill Murray, Taran Killam, Will Ferrell (random names from across the timeline) in one sketch! That's more talent in a few minutes than most movies nowadays. (also, perhaps not those three, because they're all white...maybe throw Sasheer Zamata in there.)
• The lack of quality writing- there are some of the best writers in the world in that studio, but poor De Niro's monologue was not only stumbled, but sounded pretty standard. 
• The lack of the current cast - they are, after all, the people on who SNL's future relies on.
• All this hype of Eddie Murphy?! Why. I get he was good, but today he just grinned, clapped...and left. Or did i miss something?
• Whilst I liked weekend update, a segment of 'Really?!' with every anchor they could have mustered would have been interesting...
• Lack of Stefon
• Kanye West...Wolves may need a bit of work.
  
  

Just a snippet of the talent present.

That's a fairly brief feeling of what I got from tonight. It sounds like I'm extremely cynical and mean I'm not, honest! (except when I'm losing at Madden NFL 15...I hope it goes to hell.)

All in all, it was a timid reminder that SNL has been a cultural staple for the last 40 years, but also more strongly that it needs to do something drastic, quick.

P.S. A Vogelchecks Sketch would have been insane.

Let me know what you thought/ write generic hate comments! I look forward to reading anything (please? someone read my blog?)