Not since Arrested Development have I seen such a perfect and balanced cast so suited for their roles. There isn’t a moment on screen where I think to myself “oh, this character again, this won’t be funny”.

Modern Family takes some cues from “The Office” in that it is shot like a mockumentary. A supposed camera crew are filming this extended family to document the lives of the modern, American suburban family. It works, and works well. This format allows for personal interviews of the family members that proved excellent in “The Office”. It also allows for glances directly into the lens of the camera by the cast that adds a sense of realism to it.

But, the format is just what they got right in the foundation. This show is also built on some excellent writing, great acting and characters that are believable.

There is the grumpy, old Grandfather, played by “Married with Children”’s Ed O’Neill, with his trophy wife (although they seem to be doing a lot to dispel these common stereotypes). The father who doesn’t want to seem out of date with his kids generation. The mother who doesn’t want to grow old and then the usual children archetypes, the intelligent one, the social one and the stupid one. There is also a gay couple which adds the father issues of the son and the dramatic flamboyance from the queen.

Overall, it is very well rounded. Once of the few new shows this season that I actually look forward to each week. Check it out. You’ll be doing yourself a disservice by just looking for funny youtube clips. But, regardless, here’s one for a taste of what to expect.

So… guess what, the hype didn’t ruin this film after all. I literally walked out of this movie with that same feelings I got when I came out of Jurassic Park and The Matrix. Liked I’d just seen a film that I’ll still be re-watching decades from now.

I’m not going to talk about the plot. It’s fairly predictable, ticks all the right boxes and doesn’t rock any boats. I’m not going to talk about the characters. They’re well rounded, but lack depth for the most part (fingers crossed that there’s hours of bonus footage on the bluray) I’m going to talk about the technical achievement of this film.

Visually, there is nothing that even comes close to it. If you watch this film in the Cinema, in 3D, you will be watching a cornerstone in cinematography. When your kids ask about the days of animatronics, plastic miniature models and when all that could be left behind, “Avatar” will be the film you mention.

Honestly, as the credits began to roll, I got this gut wrenching feeling like I was being pulled out of a world I’d rather be in. Cameron, in his planet Pandora, has created a people, in the Na’vi, so realistic as to fool the viewer into literally believing they exist. Their facial expressions and movement are flawless, it’s hard to describe as, at this point in time, it’s completely unique. It really needs to be seen to be believed. It sucks you in, with levels of immersion that I’d never previously experienced.

The 3D is used brilliantly throughout, and I feel it is this constant sense of depth and space that gives the viewer the memory that they where actually standing in that world, watching the scenes happen. When I remember this film I don’t remember looking at a 2D image projected onto a screen, I remember it like I was standing in that Jungle, looking up through the canopy, or being present, watching the Na’vi in person during one of their rituals.

Overall, the film is lacking in a number of areas that I’m sure you’ll be able to find plenty of cynical reviews detailing, but as an experience it can’t be paralleled. I think this is a point that is frequently forgotten. Film isn’t about ticking a set criteria of boxes, but also about creating an experience for the viewer that they will never have in the real world. When you think back over films like E.T. or any of your childhood favourites, you didn’t critically review it based on how well the characters where developed or how unique the plot was, you evaluated it on how it made you feel as the credits rolled, and Avatar brought this sense back, I felt happy and literally elated. It made me feel like a kid again, in that I’d been given an experience I will be able to share with my children and they with theres.

Avatar is amazing. It is what film is all about. Don’t listen to the reviews, don’t worry about the hype… see it, and see it in the cinema while you can. It’s an experience that should not be missed.

The shows main cast are made up of Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis (love this guy, if you haven’t, watch his “Between Two Ferns” series). The plot centres mainly around Schwartzmans character Jonathan Ames who is a struggling writer who moonlights as a pretend private detective. Overall though, the plot is of little relevance, the main meat of this show comes from the solid writing and acting between the characters. It’s quick paced, witty and, perhaps not hilariously funny, but it will definitely keep a smile on your face for the entirety.

The pilot wasn’t the strongest if I’m being honest, not compared to “Modern Family”’s pilot which instantly pulled me in and had me laughing out loud. The show has been slowly improving in quality though over the past weeks, with each new episode adding layers to the characters, and getting the viewer accustomed to the quirky sense of humour it portrays. Even the writers don’t seem sure on how to define it, so they’re describing it as a “Noir-otic Comedy”, which I tend to agree with.

Overall this gets my stamp of approval as a one to watch, and it’s also been renewed for a second season by HBO. So check it out.

I guess it has aged as well as it has because it’s writing concerns itself mainly with the morality, ethics and traits of humanity, which are timeless. Anyway, here are the movies I’ve been watching recently.

Film:

Defiance: Starring Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber it tells the story of 2 Jewish brothers who flee to the forests in Eastern Europe around their town during the Nazi occupation and round up for the camps. It follows them as they slowly gather more and more Jews together, and continue to evade capture. I personally really liked this movie overall. I thought I would be jaded by the war epic and felt this might just be another Schindlers list, but the dialogue and general progression kept you interested throughout. I’d highly recommend this movie.

Primer: I’d heard good things about this movie from friends and after finally getting around to watching it I was not disappointed. The movie continually pushes the viewer to fill in the gaps. Nothing is spoon fed to you or insults your intelligence. It’s basically a time travel story done right for once. It was slightly confusing through the middle, as more and more of the plot was left up to the viewer to figure out, but if you had been paying attention then the ending will seem absolutely fantastic. I loved it to be honest. Although watch it when you are prepared to concentrate, don’t expect the hollywood time travel explanations that you see in movies like “Timecop”

Transformers 2 (Revenge of the Fallen): This pretty much sums up the entire film. It’s like Micheal Bay knows he’s stereoty0ped for making movies that are all form and no function and is whole heartedly embracing it. The plot in this movie is non-existent and there is probably barely an A4 sheet of dialogue in the whole thing, so how Micheal Bay managed to stretch it out for 150 minutes I don’t know. The movie basically follows this format: Transformer battle, puerile jokes, Megan Fox pouting and striking a pose… rinse repeat. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching transformers battle, but there has to be some substance or point to it all.

There was a rough storyline, but it was glossed over with too many explosions. I seriously felt jaded by the end of it, I never thought I’d say this, but you CAN have too much giant robot fighting and explosions in a movie. If the movie was an hour shorter I’d be singing a different tune, but it isn’t, it drags out for an hour longer than needed and left me feeling bored by the end of it all.

Also, being a slight Transformers fan there where a few things I couldn’t help but feeling. There wasn’t near enough transforming. For the majority the transformers remained in their Robot form, with little to no use of the vehicles they can transform into. Also, by the end of it I actually sympathised more for the Decepticons rather than the Autobots, as they where only trying to secure a power source so that their race (and that of the Autobots) could live on. At one point Megatron actually pleads with Optimus Prime to think of his own race but he flatly ignores him. Optimus also seemed way too violent in this. I mean he spends most of his time just riping the other robots to pieces. You have to remember, these are his kind. It’s akin to a human just ripping the limbs off of other humans and then expecting the audience to sympathise with this character.

Overall I felt let down as a Transformers fan and bored as a cinema goer.

TV:

Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season 1: Just finished season 1 of Star Trek. A lot of the episodes where really foggy in my mind and I was amazed how much I’d forgotten. Overall the season is solid. It had big shoes to fill mind which is why I think it is largely skipped over or disliked. The production quality is low (even for the 80’s) and the dialogue could be quite hammy in places but as an introduction to the characters and their personalities it was perfect. I just started season 2 there and immediately from the first 5 minutes you can see a noticeable jump in production quality. The enterprise looks more than just a plastic figurine and they actually have, wait for it, competent CG effects. If you’ve seen TNG before, on a rewatch I probably would advise skipping over season 1, but as my better half knew nothing of Star Trek: TNG, I felt it was only right to watch it in entirety from the beginning.

Film:

The International: Clive Owen’s in this film with a plot about trying to overthrow some evil Bank. It’s your archetypal story about “one man” “fighting the system” who’s a “loose cannon”… it really is clichéd in all the worst possible ways. It feels like it’s going somewhere and then 45 minutes from the end, it feels like it’s reached a conclusion, but then they pull a LotR’s and drag it out. The actual ending is such a let down, and mirrors the one I was expecting 45 minutes earlier. It’s hard to know whether I should recommend this movie as the first 2 acts are solid, but the end really just drags on for no good reason. I guess if you like Clive Owen then see it, if you don’t like him but think the premise of the movie will save then save yourself the time and money and avoid it.

Rosemary’s Baby: What a weird movie. Good weird though. All throughout I had predictions as to the ending, and even though the actual ending is the most obvious I still couldn’t believe. For it’s time it must of been a real shocker. If you haven’t already, I’d recommend watching this movie. Some really good acting throughout also.

Easter Egg: If you put together the titles of all the episodes that start with the B&W flashforward they spell out the sentence “737 Down Over ABQ”… neat huh.