Movie Monday Update Week of August 5th

Hello and Happy Monday TC readers! It’s a jam packed edition of the Movie Update with tons of retail release, movie trailers, and films hitting the big screen this weekend! Don’t forget to check out my review on The Muppets (2011) here if you haven’t done so already and hey while you’re at it why not follow Thinking Cinematic on twitter here @Think_Cinematic! All right, let’s get down to business.

In Case You Missed It:

A new trailer for the movie Machete Kills hit the web last week and you can check it out here! The U.S. government recruits Machete to battle his way through Mexico in order to take down an arms dealer who looks to launch a weapon into space –via IMDB. Machete Kills stars Amber Heard, Jessica Alba, Charlie Sheen, Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, and Danny Trejo. The movie is expected to hit theaters on October 11^th, 2013!

A new trailer for the movie Bad Grandpa hit the web last week and you can check it out here! 86-year-old Irving Zisman is on a journey across America with the most unlikely companions, his 8 year-old Grandson Billy in “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa –via IMDB. Bad Grandpa stars Jackson Nicoll and Johnny Knoxville. The movie is expected to hit theaters on October 25^th, 2013.

A new trailer for the movie Lone Survivor released last week and you can check it out here!  Based on the failed June 28, 2005 mission “Operation Red Wings.” Four members of SEAL Team 10, were tasked with the mission to capture or kill notorious Taliban leader, Ahmad Shahd. Marcus Luttrell was the only member of his team to survive – via IMDB. Lone Survivor stars Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, Eric Bana and Mark Wahlberg. The movie is expected to hit theaters on January 10^th, 2014!

A new trailer for the movie American Hustle hit the web last week and you can check it out here! The story of a con artist and his partner in crime, who were forced to work with a federal agent to turn the tables on other cons, mobsters, and politicians – namely, the volatile mayor of impoverished Camden, New Jersey – via IMDB. American Hustle stars, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Christian Bale. The movie is expected to hit theaters on December 25^th, 2013!

A new trailer for the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty released last week and you can check it out here! An office worker who lives inside fantasy worlds where he gets to live an adventurous life while romancing his co-worker sets off a global journey to fix things when both of their jobs are threatened – via IMDB. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty stars Adam Scott, Kristen Wiig, Sean Penn, and Ben Stiller. The movie is expected to hit theaters on December 25^th, 2013!

That does it for a glimpse of last week’s trailers. Which one is your favorite? Leave a comment below and let us know! Let’s go ahead and move on into home releases.

Coming to Blu-ray/DVD:

August 6^th:

• Oblivion (My Review)
• The Place Beyond the Pines
• To the Wonder
• Mud
• On the Road
• Robin Hood: 40^th Anniversary Edition
• The Sword in the Stone (50^th Anniversary Edition)
• Oliver & Company: 25^th Anniversary Edition
• The Pagemaster (Blu-ray)
• Community: The Complete Fourth Season

Coming to Theaters:

August 6^th Wide Releases:

• Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (Evening Showings)
• We’re the Millers (Evening Showings)

August 8^th Wide Release:

• Elysium (Evening Showings)
• Disney’s Planes (Evening Showings)

See anything that’s missing? Comment and let us know!

That does it for this week! Be sure to keep coming back every Monday and Saturday for new Thinking Cinematic content!

Want to join the Thinking Cinematic team? Send in your movie reviews to ThinkCinematicReviews@Gmail.com! Is T.V. more your speed? You can also send weekly T.V. reviews there too! Contact ThinkCinematicReviews@Gmail.com for more info!

Connect with me at:

Twitter: @Treyrs20o9
Twitter: @Think_Cinematic

Community Review: Basic Human Anatomy (4.11)

Summary:

Basic Human Anatomy brings the familiar Community charm by inserting a wacky theme while still keeping it grounded in reality. The episode touches on the awkwardness of the romantic relationship between Troy and Britta and gives more depth to it in one episode than they have all season. There is a nice flow between the plots that makes great use of the study group and their fast paced banter. The joke density is high in this episode and we see a lot of strong story pairings between the group.  Overall the episode finds the perfect balance between emotional depth and crazy humor.   

All season I have been waiting for an episode of Community that would be the stand out episode for the season. I have been on board with season four of Community since the get go but I do acknowledge that there seems to be something off. There have been a few gems here and there but nothing that seemed to hit on all cylinders. Though we still have two episodes to go, last night’s Basic Human Anatomy (4.11) made a really strong case as the standout episode for this season.

The episode opens up with the gang as they’re discussing their last history project for the semester. Annie and Shirley are both concerned with the group’s effort due to their neck and neck race with becoming valedictorian, while Jeff is content with a doable and passable grade. Meanwhile Troy and Abed celebrate their three-year anniversary of the first time that they watched Freaky Friday by accidentally swapping bodies.

Basic Human Anatomy marks the first episode written by Oscar Winner, Jim Rash (The Descendants), aka Dean Pelton. Rash is able to capture the spirit that seemed to be lacking in season four while still maintaining the new tone and direction. One of the things that I liked most about this is episode is the fact that it was able to make use of the group without feeling like anyone was particularly isolated, save for Pierce but that’s a different story. The joke density is solid and is probably one of the more quick-witted episodes this season. The fast pace banter around the study room is back and provides a lot of great laughs.

The episode works to the strength of the cast and we see the return of some nice pairings. The competitive nature between Shirley and Annie has always been delightful to watch on screen, and even more so now that they introduced the race to be valedictorian.  Troy and Jeff also get some nice screen time and we Jeff acting as a father like mentor to Troy.

One of my complaints this season has been the romantic spin that the writers have placed on this season, in particular with Troy and Britta. Although last season saw the two pair up, it never really developed into a full relationship and often felt out of place. Not only does this episode acknowledge this but it gives depth to a relationship that has been so flat all season. It’s amazing how many emotional chords this episode is able to hit despite its wacky body-switching theme.

I was apprehensive to say the least when I heard that this episode would be tackling a Freaky Friday homage. This season has proved that the new crew hasn’t quite figured out how to nail high concept episodes yet, and I was worried that it would fall flat. However, the Community charm shines bright in this episode and it’s able to insert a wacky idea like Troy and Abed switching bodies and still keep it grounded in reality. We see so much emotion from various characters in a scenario that is easy to roll your eyes at but the talent, and the writing are able to make it work. It was very reminiscent of Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas from season two. It’s episodes like Basic Human Anatomy that proves a fifth season would be worth it, especially if they give Jim Rash more episodes to write.

Basic Human Anatomy brings the familiar Community charm by inserting a wacky theme while still keeping it grounded in reality. The episode touches on the awkwardness of the romantic relationship between Troy and Britta and gives more depth to it in one episode than they have all season. There is a nice flow between the plots that makes great use of the study group and their fast paced banter. The joke density is high in this episode and we see a lot of strong story pairings between the group.  Overall the episode finds the perfect balance between emotional depth and crazy humor.

Interested in writing reviews or news posts for Thinking Cinematic? Contact me at ThinkCinematicReviews@gmail.com! You can also send your guest reviews there too!

Connect with me at:
Twitter: @Treyrs20o9

Twitter: @Think_Cinematic
Email: ThinkCinematicReviews@Gmail.com

Community Review: Intro into Felt Surrogacy (4.09)

Summary:

For such a high concept episode Intro into Felt Surrogacy feels so forgettable. The episode features a cute but hollow charm that manages to produce smiles and laughs. Dig deeper and there’s little to be found in this episode. The guest stars are so underused that they come off as nothing more than ratings boosting star power. The puppets lack necessity or explanation that made the other concept episodes believable. The musical numbers lack humor and are used as nothing more than progression from one scene to the next. Maybe the shine and denial is wearing off but these past two episodes of Community have been rather underwhelming and as a die-hard fan it makes it extremely disappointing. I’ve been on board for majority of the season and would still love to see the show go on. There’s hints at greatness here but a mixture of behind the scenes drama as well as built up pressure are hurting the show. Here’s to hoping that these last few episodes can pull Community from out of this late season slump especially when ratings are on the decline.

Community is no stranger to bizarre concept episodes, which for the most part have been some of the series’ strongest episodes to date. DnD, paintball, Claymation, musicals, and video game episodes are just a few of the concepts that the show has tackled. Last night’s Intro to Felt Surrogacy (4.09) marks the shows first foray into felt puppetry and despite a few laughs it doesn’t prove to be one of their stronger concepts.

The show opens up with the group as they nervously stare each other down. The tone is awkward and there is obviously something so unsettling among them that they refuse to talk to each other. Inter-dean-ing, the Dean decides to use puppets to help the coax the group out of their silence.

Overall the episode felt like a one off episode that didn’t further any of the season’s over arching plots. Majority of the show is a flashback of the events that took place outside the episode with the group being in puppet form. Occasionally the group breaks out into song to progress them from one scene to the next but it comes off cheesy. I know this seems to be parodying most puppet shows but it didn’t work so well here.

The episode did feature some pretty entertaining banter between the group as they were seated around the study table. The Dean’s humor lacked subtlety that made him entertaining to watch in previous seasons. Jim Rash’s delivery is still comedy gold but the way they’re writing the character seems to have all but openly expressed his feelings for Jeff. The episode featured some great one-line jokes from both Troy and Britta as well as some nice bickering banter between Britta and Jeff.  In all honesty the humor was there but the puppetry, music numbers, and some of the big names attached this episode felt like a distraction.

The puppet versions of the study group is cute and did manage to place a smile on my face throughout the episode but it never felt like it reached its full potential. When we got the Claymation episode we were viewing Abed’s point of view when he was in the middle of a mental break down. When we were introduced to the video game study group it was because they were digitally copied into the game. In this episode I don’t understand why the group is remembering themselves as puppet version of themselves during their trip. It feels unnecessary and with no other purpose than to just be puppets.

Musical numbers have always been a grab bag for me ranging from catchy to funny but these felt rather forgettable. With very little jokes in the lyrics the music only described the character’s action from one scene to the next. Although it’s never a bad day to see Yvette show off her music pipes the songs never get pasted feeling shoehorned in.

To say Intro into Felt Surrogacy underused Jason Alexander would be an understatement. Both Alexander and Sarah Bareilles felt just as necessary as the puppets with little more to do with the episode than just star power. Alexander had a few lines and one song and then was quickly written away with little explanation or retribution for drugging the gang. Bareilles is given one verse in a song and then used as a deus ex machina in the end. The time devoted to the songs, the guests, and the puppets could have been allocated to focusing on a tighter story.

The big reveal is that the study group is nervous around each other due to the fact that they all believe they revealed a dark secret about themselves that would negatively affect their image within the group. After Shirley reveals hers, the group suddenly remembers that nobody can remember each other’s secret except for the fact that Shirley just blurted hers out. To make up and allow each other to feel better they willingly and soberly divulge their secrets. All of which, aside from Shirley’s, seem to come out of left field and are so haphazardly thought up that most aren’t even that dark or are character ruining. The worst offense is the way Abed treats Shirley after her emotional breakdown. Despite being friends for almost four years he decides to call it a wrap and go watch a movie while she’s on the verge of tears. For lack of a better word it was a dick move and felt so out of character for Abed.

For such a high concept episode Intro into Felt Surrogacy feels so forgettable. The episode features a cute but hollow charm that manages to produce smiles and laughs. Dig deeper and there’s little to be found in this episode. The guest stars are so underused that they come off as nothing more than ratings boosting star power. The puppets lack necessity or explanation that made the other concept episodes believable. The musical numbers lack humor and are used as nothing more than progression from one scene to the next. Maybe the shine and denial is wearing off but these past two episodes of Community have been rather underwhelming and as a die-hard fan it makes it extremely disappointing. I’ve been on board for majority of the season and would still love to see the show go on. There’s hints at greatness here but a mixture of behind the scenes drama as well as built up pressure are hurting the show. Here’s to hoping that these last few episodes can pull Community from out of this late season slump especially when ratings are on the decline.

Interested in writing reviews or news posts for Thinking Cinematic? Contact me at ThinkCinematicReviews@gmail.com! You can also send your guest reviews there too!

Connect with me at:
Twitter: @Treyrs20o9

Twitter: @Think_Cinematic
Email: ThinkCinematicReviews@Gmail.com

Community Review: Herstory of Dance (4.08)

Summary:

Overall Herstory of Dance feels like it fits right in the comfort zone of this season. Once again there’s an imbalance of comedy and tender moments. The episode does end on a heartwarming note but having one week to week begins to take away from the effect. The episode further delves into the study group’s romantic relationships, more so with Abed and new girl Rachel. Brie Larson brings a wonderful personality to Rachael that serves as a great on screen counterpart to Abed. The chemistry is great and it’s nice to see the writers create a romantic interest for Abed that’s not just a female version of him. With only a handful of episodes left Herstory of Dance seems like a weak foot to start on in this final stretch. 

Community returned last night from its one-week break with the airing of Herstory of Dance (4.08)! We’re down to the final stretch of episodes and there’s still a lot of ground to cover between now and then. Unfortunately last night’s episode didn’t feel like a step in the right direction.

The episode opens up with the group in the study room as Pierce is discussing his new love for the American version of Inspector Spacetime. The Dean interrupts the gang announcing that there will be a Sadie Hawkins Dance where the women will be the ones to invite the men. Offended by the sexist undertones Britta vows to throw her own gender equality dance to upstage the Dean. Meanwhile, Annie and Shirley decide to set Abed up with dates for the dance but Abed has plans of his own in mind.

This is the first episode of the season that really didn’t do anything for me. I was more forgiving in the earlier part of the season when the episode weren’t able to provide a steady stream of laughs but after eight episodes it’s concerning that episodes are still having a balancing issue. The episode does end on a heartwarming note but after so many of those tender moments week to week it begins to feel so formulaic. There are chuckles here and there but overall I didn’t find myself bursting out laughing. It’s still enjoyable given the wonderful talent and my interest in these characters after so many seasons.

I feel like the B plot with Annie and Shirley was a rehash of an earlier episode in season one when the gang tries to set up Abed with a mystery girl despite Abed’s reluctance. It seems redundant that the gang would try and do this again especially when Abed clearly stated he has no problem hooking up with girls, he just prefers when they approach him instead.

Strangely enough this plot line was the strongest aspect of the episode and I actually liked the pairing of Abed and Rachael, played by Brie Larson. The chemistry between the two worked really well and it was cool to see them create a character that shared enough interests without just making a girl version of Abed. I wouldn’t mind seeing Brie Larson becoming a regular for a while to flesh out this relationship a bit further, especially since after this season the group will be minus one due to the departure of Chevy Chase. More on that later.

One of my biggest worries after watching the first few episodes of season four was that Community would return to romantic driven relationships that dominated season one and it seems as though my prediction may have come true. Although the relationship between Troy and Britta may be on the back burner it seems as though the writers are trying to heat things back up again with Jeff and Britta. These two have way more chemistry than Troy and Britta but it’s a bit uneasy to watch the two flirt with each other without a mention of Troy. I like the idea that this group is a family and undercutting each other like this ruins that dynamic. They did it once in season two and it was quickly resolved. The relationships within the study group are messy and personally don’t do much for me but if this is the route the writers are going I hope that they can clear some confusion relatively soon.

A few positives this episode. Pierce returns to his wise old man status that has been dearly missed since season one. Going out of his way to help Britta with advice and support is a great change of pace for him and watching him put Jeff in his place was refreshing. It’s such a bummer to watch these last few episodes with Pierce knowing he’ll be gone after this season but I’m glad they’re giving us a great Pierce to remember before he leaves.

Pairing Shirley and Annie is always a fun experience though it does seem that the two didn’t reach their full potential this episode. Watching Britta’s struggle through the dance preparations was an easy way to connect with her this episode and the eventual payoff was rewarding. It was also nice to finally see her taking action against using her name as a verb to indicate something bad happening. It always felt like that slipped in uncontested from Britta. The episode also felt like it didn’t know what to do with Troy but the small gags he was in were chuckle worthy.

Overall Herstory of Dance feels like it fits right in the comfort zone of this season. Once again there’s an imbalance of comedy and tender moments. The episode does end on a heartwarming note but having one week to week begins to take away from the effect. The episode further delves into the study group’s romantic relationships, more so with Abed and new girl Rachel. Brie Larson brings a wonderful personality to Rachael that serves as a great on screen counterpart to Abed. The chemistry is great and it’s nice to see the writers create a romantic interest for Abed that’s not just a female version of him. With only a handful of episodes left Herstory of Dance seems like a weak foot to start on in this final stretch.

Interested in writing reviews or news posts for Thinking Cinematic? Contact me at ThinkCinematicReviews@gmail.com! You can also send your guest reviews there too!

Connect with me at:
Twitter: @Treyrs20o9

Twitter: @Think_Cinematic
Email: ThinkCinematicReviews@Gmail.com

 

 

Community Review: Advanced Documentary Filmmaking (4.06)

Warning: This review features a pretty major plot spoiler, please watch the episode before reading the full review otherwise don’t read past the summary.

Summary:

Overall Advanced Documentary Filmmaking is another solid episode coming off last week’s extremely strong episode. Although this episode isn’t a comedy powerhouse it still featured some great bits, especially with Troy and Annie, and Shirley and Britta. Ken Jeong featured a very strong performance this episode and produced an awesome scene between Kevin and Jeff. It almost feels like a step back for Jeff this episode with the way he perceived the group but his plot resolution works well enough to redeem him.

Changnesia has been the teasing point for all of the promotional trailers for the fourth season of Community. The first episode left us with a nice little cliffhanger and then the plot line disappeared for two episodes. It was teased one more time before we finally got to the episode dedicated to it. I’ve been looking forward to this for quite a while, mainly because I was curious to see how it was all going to be pulled off. After last season’s appearance of Chang as a mad dictator I just couldn’t see the gang or Greendale buying into this strange illness. However, Advanced Documentary Filmmaking (4.06) may have just made me a believer of Changnesia.

The episode opens up with the definition of Changnesia and a few testimonials from various people including Chang and Dean Pelton. The entire episode is a documentary homage, shot by Abed, which follows the study group as they try to convince the MacGuffin Institute to award the school grant money for the aide in Kevin’s (formerly Chang) recovery. Jeff is the only one who doesn’t buy into the ‘sickness’ and aims to prove Chang a fraud and everyone else wrong.

Last night’s episode featured a lot of great visual humor such as “rent memento” on Kevin’s arm as well as the name tags in front of each character’s testimonial. The highlight of the episode was the pairing of Troy and Annie as they did some investigation work on the cause of Kevin’s Changnesia. Although it felt like Annie’s new interest in forensics seemed to have come out of left field I am enjoying her new interest and it seems to fit her personality well. Shirley and Britta’s bit at Shirley’s Sandwiches was also another great moment and featured a fantastic exchange between the two actresses. Almost carrying over from last week’s episode Pierce felt great for the first 10 minutes of the episode but quickly devolved back to his racist butt of the joke humor. It’s getting almost uncomfortable to see how much disgust Chevy Chase is emitting on screen and I fear it’ll only get worse from here. Advanced Documentary Filmmaking may not have been a powerhouse of comedy but it still managed to be an incredibly interesting episode.

I have been going back and forth on whether or not I believed Changnesia was real or just another ploy by Chang to be accepted into the study group. I could see him faking for nefarious purposes, and I could also see him being honest only to regain his memory again down the road. The episode worked extremely hard to disprove the skeptics and it does a fantastic job of it. This episode featured some strong performances from Ken Jeong and an fantastic exchange between Kevin and Jeff. The scene alone sold me on the fact that his Changnesia is in fact real and I was excited to see Kevin integrated back into Greendale. I miss the early days of Chang before he was used as a completely insane evil villain and just a mildly insane jerk of a Spanish teacher. If Changnesia is the way to bring a saner Kevin/Chang back into Greendale I’m ready to welcome it with open arms.

Only, there’s one minor problem. Last night’s tag pretty much undid everything the episode worked hard to accomplish by revealing to the audience that nothing has changed. Chang is still evil and he finally has all of Greendale convinced that he has lost his memory. Although I’m still interested in the direction this season is going I can’t help but feel a little cheated that this reveal was done so quickly. They spent so much timing hyping up this plot line, doing a fantastic job of convincing us that it’s real, only to feature it and do away with it in one episode. I understand the short episode order is largely to blame but I would have like to have seen the reveal written a little later down the road. My only hope is that they don’t go completely off the rails with Chang, like they did in season three, and somehow Chang will find some redemption.

Overall Advanced Documentary Filmmaking is another solid episode coming off last week’s extremely strong episode. Although this episode isn’t a comedy powerhouse it still featured some great bits, especially with Troy and Annie, and Shirley and Britta. Ken Jeong featured a very strong performance this episode and produced an awesome scene between Kevin and Jeff. It almost feels like a step back for Jeff this episode with the way he perceived the group but his plot resolution works well enough to redeem him. If I had to place my finger on what’s going wrong in the eyes of most critics this season, I’d have to say it’s the fact that there’s an imbalance of comedy within the episodes. As a fan of the show I’ve grown extremely attached to these character and being able to see them interact is enough to satisfy me, but as I take a step back I can see how imbalanced the humor has been this season. Hopefully this new revelation with Chang will provide more avenues for jokes in the remaining episodes.

Community airs Thursdays at 8/7c on NBC! Check out last night’s episode here on Hulu!

Interested in writing movie reviews or news posts for Thinking Cinematic? Is TV more your speed? Contact me at ThinkCinematicReviews@gmail.com! You can also send your guest reviews there too!

Connect with me at:
Twitter: @Treyrs20o9
Twitter: @Think_Cinematic
Email: ThinkCinematicReviews@Gmail.com