ARCHER

ARCHER
Now Streaming on Netflix
5/5 Stars

Hitting the ground with running jokes and brilliantly drawn characters, FX’s Archer is the spiritual successor to the late, lamented Arrested Development. To further solidify the comparison, Archer even features three cast members of Arrested in recurring roles. And if Arrested Development is one parent, the other is definitely creator Adam Reed’s previous show Sealab 2021. The two share dark humor, brilliant segues, and perfect comic timing.
At two years old, Archer is already one of the most well-written comedy shows ever. The show makes pop culture references as diverse as Bullitt and Bartleby the Scrivener with equal ease. The most impressive thing might be that the show creates its own vernacular as it goes. Just try NOT saying “sploosh” or “Wah wah” after finishing the first season.

JONAH'S ARCADE

JONAH’S ARCADE
Now Streaming on YouTube
5/5 Stars

Sometimes, the best, most hilarious shows get cancelled before their time. Sometimes they are killed in infancy like prom babies. Such was the fate of Comedy Central’s Jonah’s Arcade. Give thanks then that we live in an age where failed pilots inevitably find their way to the Internet for us to share with our friends.
For enthusiasts of video games or sarcasm, Jonah’s Arcade is a half hour of pure delight. Comedian Jonah Ray and friends make light (often darkly) of video game trends, news, and players with the kind of insight only fellow gamer geeks possess. The host and green screen format should be familiar to fans of Web Soup and Tosh.0, but the show is also packed with several strong sketches. There are many laugh-embarrassingly-loud moments here, which may make you wonder why the home of Krod Mandoon couldn’t give this show six episodes. But don’t worry, fans of nerdy comedy. The guff isn’t empty yet, and I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of Jonah Ray and Kumail Nanjiani.

FETCHING CODY

Final Engagement:
FETCHING CODY
Streaming Until 9/1/11 on Netflix
4/5 Stars

When one brings up science fiction, one often pictures huge effects-heavy blockbusters filled with spacecraft and laser blasts. But time travel films run the same gamut as cinema itself. The past ten years have given us several wonderful little time travel indies: Primer, with a budget of only $7000; the Spanish language Timecrimes; and 11 Minutes Ago, which was shot entirely in a single day (and is Now Streaming on Netflix)! These movies wow the viewer with intricate plots and personal stories rather than light shows or flying cars.
2005’s Fetching Cody also belongs on this list. Filmed in Canada for a budget that makes it look like a very special episode of Degrassi, the film is clever enough to keep you hooked. It’s more cute than funny, but the pathos is real thanks to solid acting. Jay Baruchel plays against type as a ne’er-do-well drug dealer and Sarah Lind is fantastic as his titular girlfriend. The time travel device is the silliest this side of Peggy Sue Got Married, but if you go with it, you will have fun.

BRICK & WINTER'S BONE

Double Feature Friday:
BRICK & WINTER’S BONE
Now Streaming on Netflix
5/5 Stars

Sometimes a film can come along and so perfectly blend two genres or tones that it creates its own special niche. Tonight’s double feature consists of two movies that have re-imagined film noir for a new generation.
Brick, the brilliant debut of writer/director Rian Johnson, transplants noir into a modern high school. All the noir staples are there, from the tough-guy talk to the femme fatale to the double-cross. All the characters, archetypes though they may be, really pop, even in short bursts, and the story never uses its high school setting as a gimmick. The danger feels genuine and the mystery is both exciting and heartbreaking.
The quadruple Oscar-nominated Winter’s Bone gives us our first taste of “hill-billy noir”. As in all the best noir, a tough-as-nails hero must solve a mystery by interviewing shady characters. But this time the hero is a 17-year-old girl who must deal with the meanest meth-dealing rednecks this side of the Ozarks. The acting is subtle and superb, making the threats and the tragedy that much more palpable.
Both movies are wonderfully executed experiments in drawing outside the lines, and in doing so giving us a new picture of film noir.

LOUIE

LOUIE
Now Streaming
-Complete 1st Season on Netflix
-New Episodes on HULU
5/5 Stars

Probably the best half-hour show on television, Louie is the brainchild of comedian Louie CK. Louie writes, directs, edits, produces, and stars in the show; it is one man’s uncompromised vision of what a sitcom can be. The show is hilarious and poignant, fantastical and very real. As in life, the tone shifts from episode to episode and sometimes within an episode, but every single show will stick with you. Some you won’t be able to get out of your head.
Be warned: Louie is not for everyone. Though Louie originally appears on basic cable, the show, like its creator, constantly pushes the boundaries of taste. Now go start watching. And tell your friends, because if this show gets cancelled, I swear to god…

THE MORNING AFTER

THE MORNING AFTER
Now Streaming on HULU
5/5 Stars

Are you the kind of geek who read the TV guide as a kid? Do you enjoy hilarious sarcastic commentary ala The Soup or The Daily Show? Do you need something to watch 5 days a week while you do your morning sit-ups? Or donuts. No judgment. If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, The Morning After on HULU may be exactly what you‘re looking for. With new episodes every Monday through Friday, this bite-size pop culture recap show is like an issue of Entertainment Weekly as summarized by your hilarious best friends.
As they say in their tagline, the makers of TMA watch everything, then let us in on all the highlights so we don’t have to. Hosts Brian Kimmet and Ginger Gonzaga (and a revolving door of guest hosts including The Sklar Brothers, Sean Gunn, and Josh Meyers) give us the lowdown on all things TV, movie, and music to keep us in the loop. Highlights include dubbing over movie trailers, best one-liner contests, and Brian’s speed-talking one-minute episode recaps of Glee and True Blood. And with a runtime consistently around 6 minutes or less, you won’t even get that gross “I’m watching entertainment news” feeling. You know, the one you can only shake by reading a little Voltaire? Or donuts. No judgment.

MILLENNIUM

MILLENNIUM
Now Streaming on Netflix
Science Fiction
3.5/5 Stars

In order to have fun or get scared watching a sci-fi movie, it is imperative that you suspend your disbelief. Science fiction masterpieces like Star Wars, Blade Runner, and Aliens hold your disbelief in zero gravity with their close attention to detail in both story and effects. Millennium is not a masterpiece.
Story-wise, Millennium skips over a few plot points, leaving  unanswered questions that could nag at some viewers. Otherwise the script, adapted by John Varley from his short story “Air Raid”, is quite clever, utilizing nonlinear storytelling and shifting perspectives to navigate a tale spanning 1000 years.
What makes it truly harrowing to suspend your disbelief while watching Millennium is its laughable effects. They are as low-budget as hard sci-fi gets (think “Red Dwarf” or old “Doctor Who“) and out-of-date even by 1989 standards, though they do have their own campy charm.
Millennium is far from unwatchable though. It has genuine mystery and a good sense of humor. It also has at least one thing in common with all science fiction masterpieces: an interesting, original premise.

NETWORK

NETWORK
Now Streaming on Netflix
Comedy/Drama
4/5 Stars

Network is a film that is ahead of its time in concept but not execution. The pace is less like a rollercoaster and more like a tunnel of love. Minus the love. The actors are very strong in the roles, but apart from Peter Finch’s brilliant turn as a news anchor turned mad prophet, none of the characters are likeable. The script is savage and savvy (it won Paddy Chayefsky the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay), but also has many longwinded tirades, trading pontification over conversation. I don’t want to say Network has a lot of monologuing, but I’m pretty sure even Aquaman would have had time to spoil its evil plot.
And speaking of evil plots, what a downer this turned out to be! I thought it was a fantasy about how one man with nothing to lose could make a difference. In truth the film is a nihilistic satire of network news and everything it could, and in many cases has, become. (Though the script’s prescience is somewhat undercut by references to “Kojak” and “The Bionic Woman”.) Instead of giving us the good fight against corruption, the film just gives us an exhibition of how greed destroys even the pure and idealistic. The film opts for brains over heart, which just might be its fatal flaw.