Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-21)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine almost ended three years ago before it was revived by NBC. At the time, there was a grassroots campaign to bring it back on the air; and with good reason, it was a funny show with a high laughs per minute ratio. It's a lot of Andy Samberg though and he's not everybody's cup of tea. At the same time, shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine presented cops (the NYPD specifically) in a benign, playful light. It's a cast of goofy, rather memorable, characters. They're going to catch the baddie and just have fun doing it. The show recognized that this is problematic in our culture, quite troubling really that these are the quirky buffoons that are supposed to be protecting us. In its final season, the only one following the killing of George Floyd, it directly addressed police reform, the police union and police brutality, rather deftly for a network sitcom.  Anyways, while I enjoyed the show, it's probably for the best.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)

My biggest criticism of this film is also its greatest asset. That is Andy Samberg. I can handle an SNL Digital Short for five minutes. I like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which is basically the Andy Samberg show. I can handle twenty minutes of him, but a full-length feature is just too much. His stupid jokes are funny for a little bit, but you get tired of them. He just lingers on them for too long and turns the dial up too high. He plays his usual man boy character. There are a plethora of celebrity cameos from singers and other music industry heavyweights. How did they get all of them? And did they know the movie would be so bad? They each only have a few seconds, a single line. And their appearance is actually so ridiculous in this movie that it makes you laugh. The movie is in a mockumentary format. Taking a page out of 7 Days from Hell, Andy Samberg really likes making fake documentaries. The Lonely Island isn't meant for long form comedy.

My Emmy Picks 2015

It has been a great year in television, which makes choosing awards all the more difficult. SNL alum Andy Samberg is hosting the Emmys telecast.

Comedy:

Comedy: I'm going to pick Amazon's Transparent to become the first streaming show to win the big award.  The first season came out a while ago at this point, but it is as relevant as ever in our ever changing society that has put Caitlyn Jenner in the public eye.  Transparent will have to fend off five-time defending champ Modern Family which is chasing a historic sixth win, but based on its lack of nominations in directing and writing and just two supporting actors, it seems that love for Modern Family is waning.

Actor: Jeffrey Tambor hands down for Transparent.

Actress: You should never bet against Julia Louis-Dreyfus, but I'm pulling for Amy Poehler to win for the final season of Parks and Recreation.  The perennial bridesmaid, Poehler deserves to finally win for playing the neurotic Leslie Knope.  The other Amy, Amy Schumer, is also having a phenomenal year--but I think the nomination for sketch comedy show is the win.

Supporting Actor: Tituss Burgess in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is hilarious and he should hold off two-time winner Ty Burrell.

Supporting Actress: Allison Janney wins all the time, and with the popularity of Modern Family declining, I do not think Julie Bowen will beat her.

Directing: Transparent

Writing: Transparent

Drama:
Drama: This is Mad Men's year to win it all back.  Going out with a phenomenal final season and an extremely well received finale, I can't imagine it losing.  Mad Men going for a fifth win should break the tie for most wins in this category.

Actor: Jon Hamm's Don Draper has never won in this category, though he is always nominated. This is the year it'll finally happen.

Actress: This is probably the hardest category to predict.  Tatiana Maslany finally broke through for her roles in Orphan Black. Robin Wright took a front seat this season in House of Cards. And Elisabeth Moss has never won for her role in Mad Men.  But I think this year we will see the first African-American to win this award.  Viola Davis is carrying the torch for Shondaland, but my pick is Taraji P. Henson leading the way for her highly acclaimed but Emmy-snubbed show Empire.

Supporting Actor: Jonathan Banks for Better Call Saul gets more screen time than he used to in Breaking Bad, but I think Peter Dinklage will take home his second Emmy for Game of Thrones.

Supporting Actress: I think Lena Headey will win for Game of Thrones so long as Emilia Clarke (also Game of Thrones) doesn't split the vote.  In which case, Uzo Aduba will win in the supporting category after winning last year as a guest actress (albeit in a "comedy").

Directing: Mad Men (Person to Person-- the finale)

Writing: Game of Thrones (Mother's Mercy--the finale)

Movie/Mini:
Limited Series: Olive Kitteridge (HBO's category to lose)

Actor: Mark Rylance for Wolf Hall, though David Oyelowo could pull off a win after being snubbed last year for Selma

Actress: Frances McDormand for Oliver Kitteridge

Supporting Actor: Bill Murray for Olive Kitteridge

Supporting Actress: MoNique for Bessie because the three American Horror Story actresses will cancel each other out.

Directing: Olive Kitteridge

Writing: Olive Kitteridge

Reality Competition: Amazing Race is always favored to win and it always should

Variety Sketch: SNL finally has a category that it will dominate year after year, but this year belongs to Inside Amy Schumer. Key & Peele in its final season will have to settle for the nomination. SNL already received numerous awards for its 40th anniversary special, so voters will not feel obligated to award SNL in an anniversary year here.

Variety Talk: This is the other impossible category to predict. Three of these shows are no longer on the air. And two of their hosts are no longer on TV.  I don't think Jon Stewart will win because Colbert has been on a streak lately. But I think David Letterman will take home the trophy for his triumphal last season in a storied career. And John Oliver always has next year when the competition will be a little thinner.

Update: A measly 13/24. This was HBO's night, with a clean sweep in comedy, drama and limited series. Game of Thrones triumphed over Mad Men (also for writing), so the tie still stands at 4 for most Emmys for best drama. Game of Thrones with 12 wins has the record for most wins in a single year for a series.  Jon Hamm finally won his first Emmy rightfully, marking the first and only acting Emmy for Mad Men. Uzo Aduba won for a second year in a row for the same role, though this time as a dramatic actress. Viola Davis becomes the first African American to win Best Actress in a Drama. Veep triumphed over Modern Family, so the tie still stands at 5 for most Emmys for best comedy. Allison Janney is now tied with Ed Asner for most performance Emmy wins. Amazing Race fell to The Voice. And Jon Stewart went out on top.

7 Days in Hell (2015)

In the vein of This is Spinal Tap, this mockumentary details a legendary match at Wimbledon that never happened.  Kit Harrington and Andy Samberg (in a role that just screams Andy Samberg) play two rival tennis players in a ridiculous match that lasts for seven days.  The documentary features clips from the "match," a voice-of-God narrator, "home footage" and talking head interviews with tennis stars and comedians, like a real genuine documentary.  Andy Samberg plays the adopted brother of Venus and Serena Williams in a "reverse blindside"--that is the most brilliant moment in the whole short movie.  Overall, it is so funny because the premise of this match is so preposterous. So long as you don't question anything too much, it is quite enjoyable. And who knew Kit Harrington and all these athletes could do comedy?

Emmy Nominations 2015

Wow. So the Emmy nominations did a lot of things right, and also sprung a bunch of surprises (some good, some strange, some bad, as usual).  Game of Thrones leads the way with a whopping 24 nominations.  Now let's break down the notables by category:

Lead Actor in a Drama

Jon Hamm is still going for his first Emmy after seven previous nominations for playing Don Draper. Now for the final season of Mad Men, I think this will be his year. Missing from this category (and many others) is Empire's leading man Terrence Howard. So we ended up with no diversity here.

Lead Actress in a Drama

Tatiana Maslany has finally garnered some recognition for her roles in Orphan Black after years of internet protests.  But her inclusion meant Juliana Margulies was left out after another fantastic season of the Good Wife.  In any case, the race probably comes down to two new powerhouses in Taraji P. Henson for Empire's lone major nomination, and Viola Davis for How to Get Away with Murder.  Either would become the first African-American to win this award.

Lead Actor in a Comedy

This category features seven actors, and yet somehow excludes perennial favorite and reigning champ Jim Parsons from Big Bang Theory. Jeffrey Tambor leads the way in a highly unique role as a transgender father.  The surprise nominee here is Anthony Anderson for black-ish.

Lead Actress in a Comedy

Lisa Kudrow is back, making two former Friends with nominations (the other is Matt LeBlanc for Episodes). Lily Tomlin edged out her costar Jane Fonda for Grace and Frankie. And Amy Schumer rightfully broke through for her groundbreaking Inside Amy Schumer. This category features no diversity, leaving out noteworthy performances from Gina Rodriguez for Jane the Virgin, Tracy Ellis Ross for black-ish, and Constance Wu for Fresh Off the Boat.  And though the Emmys showed her show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt some love, Ellie Kemper did not pick up a nomination.

Lead Actor/Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

No huge surprises here. But a big kudos to Emma Thompson for earning a nomination for her role in the New York Philharmonic's production of Sweeney Todd, broadcast on Live From Lincoln Center. I didn't even know she qualified for the category. 

Supporting Actor/Actress in a Drama

Downton Abbey picks up two nominations, but none for the Dowager Countess Maggie Smith. Game of Thrones earns three nominations, much deserved for Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey, but none for crowd favorite Kit Harrington's Jon Snow. The Good Wife got two acting nominations as consolation, but none for Matt Czuchry, who is just as good as Alan Cumming.  Orange is the New Black gets just one nomination, now that the actresses are competing in the supporting category instead of the guest category. And for Mad Men's final season, Jon Slattery misses out, but Christina Hendricks gets her due.

Supporting Actor/Actress in a Comedy

You can tell love for Modern Family is waning because it only got two acting nominations here for Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen. Keegan-Michael Key broke through for his sketch comedy Key & Peele, taking the slot that I thought might go to Fred Armisen for another sketch comedy Portlandia. Nominations for Tituss Burgess and Jane Krakowski kind of make up for the snub of Ellie Kemper for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.  The actress category has a whopping 8 nominees, including surprise nominee Niecy Nash for Getting On. Kate McKinnon is representing for SNL.  

Guest Actor/Actress in a Drama

The Good Wife gets just one nomination for Michael J. Fox, leaving the likes of David Hyde Pierce, Carrie Preston, Dylan Baker, Ed Asner, and Oliver Platt. Honestly, they could've filled the whole category with just actors from The Good Wife. Robert Morse failed to earn a nomination for Mad Men's final season.  Cicely Tyson is nominated for How To Get Away With Murder a day after it was announced she would be receiving a Kennedy Center Honor. Allison Janney for Masters of Sex proves her capabilities with acting nominations in drama and comedy.

Guest Actor/Actress in a Comedy

Two SNL hosts Bill Hader and Louis CK earned nominations. Christine Baranski for The Big Bang Theory and Jon Hamm for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt earn second nominations in comedy to go with their drama nominations. Comedy legend Mel Brooks is nominated for The Comedians. 

Outstanding Reality Competition/Host

Again, Survivor and Jeff Probst are inexplicably left in the dark. 

Outstanding Variety Talk Show

This is a huge category. All the nominees are heavyweights, and it even left out some very deserving shows like Conan and Real Time with Bill Maher and The Late Late Show with James Corden. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver broke into the category with a phenomenal and important first season.  David Letterman is nominated for his final season after a storied career, and could even beat Comedy Central stalwarts Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart both also ending their runs.

Outstanding Variety Sketch Show

This was a much needed addition to the crowded Variety category. Now deserving shows Key & Peele, Portlandia, and Inside Amy Schumer join the ranks alongside SNL coming off of its 40th season.

Outstanding Limited Series or Movie

Neither of these categories are very surprising, and compared to the quality of TV series these days, these categories are a little disappointing. The critically panned Grace of Monaco even earned a nomination for Lifetime. And what about 24: Live Another Day?

Outstanding Comedy

Modern Family is going for a history-making six-peat, but it earned considerably less love this year than in previous years, landing just two acting nominations and no writing or directing nominations (not even for the episode entirely on Claire's laptop). Parks and Recreation picked up Big Bang Theory's slot for its final season.  Tina Fey returns to the category with her hilarious Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. And streaming service Amazon joined the ranks of Netflix, earning a nomination (and maybe even a win) for Transparent.

Outstanding Drama

Orange is the New Black successfully made the changeover to the drama side, giving Netflix 2 of the 7 nominations.  The Emmys continues its infatuation with Downton Abbey, otherwise leaving the networks with nothing. Even the highest rated drama Empire could not break into the category. The Good Wife is snubbed again.  And Vince Gilligan's Better Call Saul picks up where Breaking Bad left off.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)

I'm a sucker for puns and this movie is just chock full of them, one after another.  The food that once rained down from the skies comes to life, each as a different appropriately named animal.  It's kind of like the animated food/animal version of Jurassic Park.  They create their own ecosystem and of course we can leave it to the evil corporations to destroy it.  There are some funny jokes but as far as animated flicks go, it does not have the emotion that you'd find in a Pixar movie or even in its predecessor.  The original was...well, original (though based on a book).  The sequel was less so, and not really necessary.