A major star vehicle for comic actor Jenny Slate, the purposefully awkward and thoroughly charming Obvious Child deals head on with how seemingly well adjusted adults still have a lot of growing up to do after they think they’re done with life lessons.
A clever, emotional, and meticulously constructed parable about Dan Harmon’s return to Community, “Basic Sandwich” is a well earned declaration of victory more than anything, even if it is a little inaccessible.
Dan Harmon, like a one man Save Greendale Committee, has returned to a ruined school and turned it back into the place we most want to visit on Thursday nights, showing us the difference between stories and sandwiches.
“G.I. Jeff” constantly delivers nostalgic 80’s animated fan service, but Community has set a strong precedent for making these fun departures into character exploration exercises, so there is an implied mystery afoot as well: Who is imagining this? Why? And does it matter?
Delivering about two laughs for every one second of airtime without leaving its primary location, “Advanced Advanced Dungeons and Dragons” is about slaying the metaphorical old naked lunatic called “communication problems” who rides an invincible dragon named “family ties.”
The independent end of days comedy It's a Disaster focuses on a big name cast acting like unlikeable louts for genuinely great comedic results.
We review a whopping 7 films currently out on DVD. There's a whole bunch of good, not great and a couple of real stinkers as we look at Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Machine Gun Preacher, The Collapsed, Madison County, The Prodigies, and Demoted
Lots of talk about boys and men this week as Brandon Bastaldo takes a look at the coming of age tale La Haine, looks at the Quebecois hockey comedy Les Boys II, and Phil Brown looks at Men in Black, About a Boy, and the almost childlike inhibition of Gremlins 2: The New Batch.
Your course schedule for This Week in DVD: Psychology (A Dangerous Method), philosophy (Confuscius), physical education (Monster Brawl), American Studies (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close), film studies (Corman's World), and detention (Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked).