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Sons of Anarchy (2008)
Entertaining Show, But Not Award Worthy
Let me preface this by saying that Sons of Anarchy is a very solid show and the acting is often impeccable. Maggie Siff, (Tara), and Katie Segal (Gemma) bring their "A" game almost every episode.
However, this show relies heavily on violence and typical TV tropes. Violence is used to get a response so often that that while it is going for "shock value" its hard to be shocked when violence is the norm.
Episodes regularly follow the same patterns (particularly in season premiers and finales. Music montage depicting normal activity, reintroduce us to characters, insert conflict, action and resolution, music montage. That is a pretty typical set up.
While this show is solid and enjoyable, it is by no means of the quality showrunner Kurt Sutter believes it to be. He regularly goes after critics and award committees, but if one watches the dramas that show up come awards season it will come of no surprise to sees SoA left out.
While nowhere near the best drama out there, Sons of Anarchy is a highly entertaining, soap opera of show that will keep you coming back episode after episode.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
A Galaxy of Fun
While by no means a "Star Wars for today's generation", Guardians of the Galaxy is extremely fun and entertaining the entire way through. With constant laughs, though some forced, and an incredible cast you are sure to leave with a smile on your face.
The plot begins to move when Peter Quill/Star Lord (Chris Pratt), who was taken from Earth as a boy, discovers a mysterious sphere, that he comes to find is called an Infinity Stone, that soon gives him some unwanted attention. A trio of characters attempt to steal the sphere from Star Lord, but after thwarting their efforts they decide to team up and find a buyer for the mysterious object. These new companions: Rocket (Bradley Cooper),a wise-cracking, hyper-intelligent raccoon; Groot (Vin Diesel), some kind of sentient tree alien; and Gamora (Zoe Saldana), an assassin who is the step-daughter of the evil Thanos; find themselves in prison after public brawl where they join up with Drax (Dave Bautista), a warrior who family was killed by Thanos). Together, they make up the Guardians of the Galaxy and seek to keep the Infinity Stone from the clutches of evil.
The film never lulls, keeping the audience engaged and excited throughout, and the 70's (from Star Lord's Walkman) music is worked in wonderfully. As good as the movie was, don't expect to see it win any major awards outside of visual effects or sound. The plot is riddled with issues (i.e. an object that can destroy planets is guarder by no security yet it is fairly easy to find, Gamora ship get pulverized but she has no physical injuries, why would anti-gravity stop the prison guards from shooting )and the villain has no depth of character. Of course, the good greatly outweighs the bad, and Guardians of the Galaxy is exactly what it sets out to be; a ton of fun.
8/10
Utopia (2013)
One of the best shows you've never heard of
Utopia is a brilliantly shot conspiracy thriller that will draw you in from the opening scene. The cinematography and music are as good as it gets. The vibrant colors and the framing of shots are second to none. The story is based around a cult graphic novel from the 1980's that was written by an allegedly insane man. The graphic novel supposedly predicted several world disasters and events. Now, a sequel has appeared, but only in its original manuscript. Four fans of the graphic novel come across the manuscript on a forum and find themselves in the midst of a race for the manuscript with a powerful secret agency, leaving a wake of bodies in their trail.
The Office (2005)
One of the All-Time Greats
The Office is one of those shows that will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you fall in love with each and every character along the way. From Michael Scott (Steve Carell), the complicated, attention-craving, naive manager to Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), the tenacious, sci-fi watching, beet farming, top salesman to the timeless love story that Jim and Pam (John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer) share, there is no limit to the magic this show has created.
The Office takes one of the most common places, the workplace, and transforms it into a melting pot of a show that everyone can find a way to relate to. The way the characters grow and their relationships evolve is the core of the series. Much of that can be attributed to fantastic writing throughout the series. The acting is also superb, led by Steve Carell as Michael Scott. The brilliance of the show is that you are able to see yourself in every character.
Chef (2014)
Solid But Directionless
Overall a solid film, surely worthy of a watch. Fairly predictable along the way with a cast of well known actors, Chef is the story of middle-aged chef who is stifled creatively at work and doesn't get to spend as much time with his son as he'd like. After having a meltdown due to a bad review, He ends up running a food truck he takes from Miami across country back home to Southern California. This allows him to grow closer to his son while also being able to express himself more creatively in his work, bringing him closer to his family and experiencing a happiness he had been searching for.
However, the film did seem to lack some direction and trudges on rather slowly. It didn't seem to want to commit to the bonding with the family narrative, the redemption of a fallen chef story, or the cross country travel mischief, leaving me feeling slightly empty about each of the under-explored and underdeveloped themes presented.
My other main complaint with the film is the overuse of Twitter. At times, it felt like I was watching the longest commercial I'd ever seen.