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Blonde (2022)
Staggering Masterpiece
Blonde is not a biopic. It's an art house psychological horror shining a light on how we cannot escape our trauma, especially in the cruel, exploitative world of Hollywood. The films of David Lynch are clear influences - The Elephant Man, Mulholland Drive, Inland Empire and Twin Peaks are all borrowed from, but it still retains enough of a unique visual style to exist in it's own world. The fact that this was shot in 45 days is remarkable, the result of Andrew Dominik's vision stewing for twelve years before taking this massive gamble in today's increasingly vacuous and empty world of Netflix productions.
Murderville (2022)
Wil Arnett Nails this Great Concept
I have not seen the British version, but I am normally skeptical of US remakes. In this case though, Wil Arnett was the perfect choice to drive this concept. Hilarious scenes exist between misfires, and this is part due to high level improvisation from Arnett and the clear delight the actors are getting from trying to remain straight faced through absurd scenarios.
I am just a little surprised by some of the cast additions - I would have expected people with more comedic backgrounds (like Conan) rather than actors or athletes to play the central roles. I would like to see the second season take a Curb Your Enthusiasm approach and get people who are more comfortable in this environment - comedians and comic actors like Bill Burr, Andrew Santino, Jason Bateman, David Cross, Bob Odenkirk, Tim & Eric etc.
Shithouse (2020)
Promising debut
This is a great debut for the writer/director. Naturalistic, realistic college love story that many people will resonate with. If you like the earlier work of Linklater and Charlie Kaufman, I think you will enjoy this. Don't expect the poetry or beauty of those directors, but you may see similar existential themes from anxious main characters. The acting from Raiff and Landecker was spot on, there are no melodramatic or romance tropes, it's just about young people trying to find their way with several genuinely funny scenes. My criticism was potentially the ending of the film that seemed a bit disjointed and hurried. Interesting to see what Raiff does next.
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (2019)
Tim Robinson is going places!
I don't like sketch shows generally, possibly because such awful shows like SNL and Mad TV ruined the genre. However, this is more in line with the great works of Tim & Eric and Wondershowzen, but is still absolutely unique to Tim Robinson. Detroiters was great and had a lot of potential, but this format allows Tim to really go wild and not be contained within a plot device.
I really hope there is a second season, and hopefully, Conner O'Malley, Will Forte and Tim Heidecker are given more prominent roles.
The Comedy (2012)
Most underrated film of the last decade?
Give Heidecker an award for one of the most true to life performances that indie and arthouse stars dream about. Manages to be both highly obnoxious and yet undeniably funny. There is also depth to the film that was missed by the critics. Watch it!
Sincerely Louis CK (2020)
Not his best, but good to have him back
In a world where most American stand up comedy is totally unwatchable, it's good to have one of the masters back. Not as a poignant or thoughtful as some of his older stuff, it's still interesting to watch from start to finish.
Chris D'Elia: No Pain (2020)
Disappointed
I want to say first that I believe D'elia may be one of the funniest people alive in off the cuff, conversational comedy. As a podcast guest and on Instagram, he is probably in my top five comedians. This is why it pains me to write this review, but I think he needs to hear this criticism in order to level up in the stand up game. The reality is that the podcasting circle of comedians will always attract an audience at shows, because they have become personalities. Therefore, the true and honest feedback they will get about the art and craft of stand up will be limited.
Chris' special is unwatchable. D'elia is using the same strange, frat boy voice in his latest special than he did in his first. There has been no evolution. No relaxing into it. It sounds very forced, and honestly the jokes are pretty hacky. I can't for the life of me understand why he doesn't try to bring his real life persona onto the stage. It seems like he is actively targeting the teenage market, which is fine, but he has the potential to be so much more. Do yourself a favour, get off Netflix and download Louis CK's latest special or find an old copy of Colin Quinn's stuff. Or go check out the comics coming out of the UK and Ireland, who seem to be on a much higher level than the LA comedy scene.
Brendan Schaub: You'd Be Surprised (2019)
The Unfortunate State of Stand Up
Can we all agree on one thing - LA stand up comedy is extremely overrated. We are now in a time when podcasting has allowed "personalities" to call themselves comedians, despite not being particularly funny people. There are thousands of TFATK fans that will pay to watch Schaub do stand up, but this is not necessarily a good indicator of content quality. While Schaub will get hate for this special, he isn't the only podcast personality taking advantage of this new medium. Joe Rogan is one of the most popular comedians in America, yet many would agree that despite having a great podcast, he isn't particularly funny on stage. On podcasts and social media, Chris D'elia is one of the funniest people in the world... but as much as I hate to say it, his comedy specials are just okay and don't translate nearly as well as he does as a personality. Don't even get me started on guys like Kevin Hart, who seems to have become the worlds most successful comic, despite hacky material.
Stand up comedy is one of the hardest things to get right, and very few people are able to do it well and actually be funny over an hour long special. Schaub does not deserve any more hate than the plethora of other Netflix and HBO specials that are just as unwatchable. At least he has an excuse that he is only three years in.
If you are new to stand up comedy and don't want to waste time scouring through hours of undeserved specials to find funny material, I would recommend checking out Doug Stanhope, Colin Quinn, Louis CK, Patrice O'Neal, Dylan Moran and Ricky Gervais. While others like Bill Burr and Dave Chapelle are not my personal cup of tea, I can at least see why they are so popular.
Fighting with My Family (2019)
Mr Merchant enough is enough
Firstly, there is no reason for this film to exist. The story is neither new, nor interesting. This is not Aronofsky's The Wrestler, which pulled real emotion from the pro wrestling business. In Fighting With My Family, we see a watered down plot arc, portrayed so many times in so many different variations that I just can't imagine what inspired the co-writer of two of the greatest TV shows of all time to want to re-tell it. It's a true story, but it relies on played out tropes and rote cliche and it also reenacts certain key events incorrectly to embellish that cliched core. There ARE funny moments thanks to Merchant's comedy writing and Vince Vaughn and Nick Frost's delivery, but they do not make up for the rest of the "overcome hardship to win your dream" mess.
I am perhaps being overly critical because of the potential I see being wasted. Stephen Merchant, for the love of God, reunite with Gervais and continue your destiny as the creator of classic television comedy. Surely that beats producing middle of the road, feel good movies that will be forgotten in a few months time.