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elijahhandley
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The Simpsons: Lisa the Vegetarian (1995)
One of the best episodes that teaches lessons that some people really need to learn.
'Lisa the Vegetarian' is easily one of the best episodes in the history of The Simpsons. In the episode, the family take a trip to a children's amusement park where they visit a petting zoo. A cute, baby lamb that Lisa pets later comes back to her in her mind when Marge serves lamb chops for dinner, and Lisa realises she can no longer eat any kind of meat. Her newfound vegetarian beliefs are mocked by her family members, especially Homer and even including Marge. She is also ostracised by her teachers and classmates at school, which drives Lisa to try and force her newfound beliefs on all the residents of Springfield at a barbecue hosted by Homer. After receiving advice from Apu (the only notable town resident who is also vegetarian) and fellow vegetarians Paul McCartney and the late Linda McCartney (voiced by themselves), Lisa realises she was wrong to try and force her beliefs. She apologises to her dad for this, who in turn apologises for mocking Lisa.
What makes this such a great episode? For starters, it's an episode that focuses on Homer and Lisa's relationship, which is always a good start as it ensures an episode packed with heart as well as humour. But the real magical thing about LTV is that it teaches two very important lessons that everyone could really do with learning. First of all, the obvious one - it is wrong to unjustly criticise and ostracise someone just because they have beliefs that are different from your own. It Homer who learns this at the end of the episode when he realises how hurt Lisa is when she is driven to run away from home. But not just that, the episode also teaches that it is equally wrong for the 'victim' to attempt to force their beliefs onto other people who don't share them. Lisa is taught this by Apu and the McCartneys when it is revealed that Lisa and Apu's beliefs are actually different - Lisa is vegetarian whilst Apu is technically vegan, and despite this Apu does not force his view on Lisa.
Put simply, this is a wonderful episode in the middle of one of the Simpsons's strongest seasons, with plenty of humour and drama. Lisa gets a lot of hate because she has certain beliefs - this episode is essentially addressing this as it rightfully explains that hating on someone for believing in something you don't is a very wrong thing to do.
Inside Out (2015)
Forget Pixar, forget animated films - this is simply one of the most outstanding movies ever made
I almost never go out of my way to review a film I just saw but I just couldn't resist here. I am a huge, huge fan of Disney/Pixar's work, and for a solid 12 years my favourite was 2003's Finding Nemo. I did not expect anything to replace it considering I am an adult now and I was a child in 2003. But Inside Out is quite simply something else entirely.
First of all, the concept of the film is something so delightfully original that I knew from the start I would at least be partly impressed by the movie. Cars, for example, is a nice enough film with a good message and funny characters, but at the end of the day, it's just an animated movie about talking cars. Inside Out, however, is set primarily in the mind of an eleven year old girl, Riley. Specifically, the main characters are representatives of her five basic emotions: namely Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Anger and Fear. These five, de facto led by Joy, influence Riley's actions, decisions and feelings from 'Headquarters' inside her conscious mind, and together they store Riley's lifetime memories as either being happy memories, angry memories etc.
This brings me on to another important point - the characters. Sometimes, even some of the best films have main/supporting characters that really don't need to be there. Not so with this one. All five of the emotions are important to the film - they all provide solid humour in their own unique ways. The same goes for other supporting characters in the film who I will not mention here, as you may want this to be a surprise if you haven't seen the film yet.
Another excellent point is the key aspect of any film - the plot. I will not spoil anything from the film, don't worry. But the plot of the film essentially sees Riley's emotions struggle to cope with a troubling event that badly impacts Riley's life. The event is not a huge deal by Pixar's standards - there's no death involved like with Finding Nemo or Up, but the way in which the film presents this simple event is part of what makes the film a triumph. Inside Out somehow manages to be perhaps the simplest, and yet the most complex, Pixar film to date, meaning it can be enjoyed immensely by small children, older children, teenagers and adults (parents with children or simply adults who love an animation). This film is easily capable of making you cry with both joy and sadness, which in itself is a key aspect of the film.
Inside Out is not as simple for children to understand as a film like Cars or Toy Story is. But, at least in this reviewer's opinion, Pixar have outdone themselves with their most outstanding release to date. A lot of critics have noted that animation has been in a bit of a funk lately - with Toy Story 3, Cars 2 and Monsters University, as well as Finding Dory, Cars 3, Toy Story 4 and The Incredibles 2 on the horizon, Pixar have started to rely far too much on making sequels and prequels to their films rather than creating new material. So I wouldn't be surprised if you were sceptical about going to see Inside Out. But if you are a classic Pixar fan, I HUGELY recommend that you give Inside Out a try. You will be very glad you did.
The Mighty Boosh (2003)
Not at all a conventional sitcom, but excellent nevertheless
The Mighty Boosh has always been one of my favourite programmes, sitcoms and beyond. It is nothing like the traditional sitcom - it is far more surreal and outlandish (in a positive sense), with plenty of strange characters that are a lot of fun.
The plots for each episode are almost highly unbelievable and silly, but that just adds to how lovable the series is. There are only 20 episodes at the current time, with no signs of another series being produced anytime soon, but each episode differs completely in terms of the plot with new characters introduced in pretty much every episode - be it a green-skinned hitchhiker with a Polo sweet for an eyepatch, a half-fish deep sea transsexual, or the legendary Yeti on heat, you never really know what to expect in any episode.
If you have a strict sense of humour, requiring the jokes and comical situations to be direct, rather than subtle, the chances are you will not like Boosh. There is no laughter track and the jokes/gags are generally deadpan, or at least low key. This is why the series often puts off American audiences. What they may not realise is that one character (as well as a variety of minor characters portrayed by the same actor), Bob Fossil, usually defies this sense of humour. Fossil, incidentally, is portrayed by an American (Rich Fulcher). He tends to be very direct with his humour, rather than the subtleness as depicted, by the main characters, Howard and Vince, as well as recurring supporting character Naboo the Enigma.
This is definitely a TV show you must not judge based on one viewing. It may take a few episodes to get used to the humour. And in all seriousness, you will often start with the first episode, 'Killeroo', which is the weakest episode of the whole 20 in my opinion. There is no explaining this to my beloved girlfriend who hated the show when I showed her the first episode. On reflection from this, I'd suggest starting with an episode like the 'Nanageddon' episode, one of the best of the bunch. This episode features an army of Satanic old ladies killing people across London using weapons such as OAP free bus passes and knitting material. No, seriously.
It's not to everyone's tastes, but I advise giving it a try. For me, it's a perfect 10. I imagine this show is like Marmite - love or hate. I don't know anyone who thinks the show is "all right", "okay", or "pretty good". It's either "brilliant" or "a load of rubbish/trash/garbage. Give it a try.
22 Jump Street (2014)
A sequel that is greater than the original - quite uncommon
When I saw that this film was announced, I had the same mixed feelings as I always do when a sequel to a film I really loved is announced. Mixed feelings of excitement (as the original film was excellent) and fear (that the sequel will disappoint). 21 Jump Street I found was an excellent film - very funny and showcased marvellous chemistry between a pair of actors that previously I certainly would have never imagined would fit together in a film. So when 22 Jump Street came out, naturally I experienced these same emotions. It's great that Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are reuniting as Officer Schmidt (alias Doug) and Officer Jenko (alias Brad) - but surely the new film couldn't improve on the original?
I am delighted to announce that I was completely wrong. 22 Jump Street simply improves the fantastic chemistry between Hill and Tatum. The brilliantly awkward moments the two characters find themselves are somehow even more awkward than the ones experienced in 21 Jump Street, whilst still offering a strong story to boot. In my opinion, the supporting characters in this film were generally stronger and offered more comical lines, so there is less over-emphasis on Hill and Tatum. Sceptics may suggest that the sequel is simply the original film set in a college rather than a high school. This is not the case at all - with just as many twists as the original that shape the plot in unexpected ways, it is just wrong to claim that the films are the same story in a different setting.
No film is perfect and 22 Jump Street is no exception, but the problems are few and far between. For example, as is often the case with films of this genre, some of the 'solutions' to problems Schmidt and Jenko arrive at are rather far-fetched, more so than 21 Jump Street. In all honesty though, I can't fault the film for much else, and off the top of my head, I can find no more issues with the film. If you enjoyed 21 Jump Street, and are worried the sequel will disappoint, don't worry. You will love 22 Jump Street, I guarantee it.
Mrs. Brown's Boys (2011)
A disgrace to British comedy
I'm not really sure where to begin here. This 'comedy' somehow has managed to attain a 7.7 rating on this site as of the time of writing. All that infuriates me more than that is the fact that supporters of this rubbish compare it to the legendary 'Father Ted', one of the classic British comedies and amongst the funniest sitcoms ever produced. 'Mrs. Brown's Boys' is NOT a classic British comedy and it is certainly not amongst the funniest sitcoms ever produced.
Anyone reading this who has watched Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's 'Extras' will know what I mean when I say this. In Extras, Gervais's character reluctantly stars in a 'shitcom' (as Merchant's character describes it as) called 'When the Whistle Blows'. In this 'shitcom', the main character runs around shouting an irritating catchphrase ("You havin' a laugh? Is he havin' a laugh?"), falling over and bumping into things, and the like. This is very similar to Mrs. Brown's Boys. The key difference is that WtWB does not feature a man in drag (a terribly dated gag).
From this, it is safe to say that Mrs. Brown's Boys is, without a shadow of a doubt, a shitcom. It is actually worse than a fake TV programme Ricky Gervais wrote with the intention of being bad. I have given the show a chance (if I hadn't seen it I wouldn't be reviewing it) but if anything my initial negative view of the show has now dropped even further down. Comfortably the worst sitcom, and possibly TV series, I have ever seen.
The Simpsons (1989)
A brilliant show originally, but is gradually getting worse...
The Simpsons, which first broadcast as a half-an-hour TV show over twenty years ago, was at first a TV show everyone loved (though i can't say that with true honesty since I wasn't born then, but I have seen the older episodes and they're amazing, and my mum and dad loved it back then). Almost all of the jokes were 100% original and it was the funniest show on air (according to my dad). But the newer ones... are just painful to watch. Groening is rapidly running out of ideas, and now it's showing.
I have the seasons 1-13 at home, and have watched seasons 20+ on the TV. I love every single episode from seasons 1-11, but when I first watched the twelfth on DVD, I was thoroughly disappointed. I only enjoyed a few of them. In hope, I bought season 13 on DVD, but that proved to be worse. I haven't bought one since. I didn't want to pay for something that isn't worth watching. I watched an episode on Sky, which I believed was season 23. I didn't even crack a smile. This is why the series - originally awesome - gets only a slightly respectable 8, rather than the 10+ the original episodes deserve
I don't know when & how the series will end, but I hope it happens soon before even the long-time/die-hard fans start to realise the series is going no-where