The Comprehensive Sam Wieland Media Diary Idea He Stole From Director Steven Soderbergh-March 2015

Yeah, I know. It's May, and I never got this out in April. Gonna sue me?! No, because you don't even care all that much. You can also tell when I'm pretty motivated to write, because there are noticeably more hyperlinks, but half of those are clicked on anyways, so really just get to reading. April's (considerably) list will come soon. Or once school's over. Or never, because school will murder me
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March 2: The Last Man On Earth-I can't remember if I expressed just how impressive Will Forte in the previous month when I talked about the genius of MacGruber, though I'm confident I did (I checked-what I wrote is kind of pathetic). There's a great interview that Brian Koppleman did with Bill Hader and they talked about Forte briefly and just how insanely funny and unrelentless he is; if Forte thinks it's funny, then the audience be damned, because he's gonna do it, no matter how weird it might be (The Falconer Mortimer is still an all time great sketch). Last Man is very much the product of Forte in its darkness and creativity and life it's breathing into something that shouldn't work all that well. For instance, Phil Miller (Forte) may be our protagonist, but good God is he an asshole, but the show doesn't hide from that. Forte created, stars and show runs it (and even got his buddies to direct the first episode!) and no doubt works himself like a horse or Louis C.K. Kristen Schall continues to be a bright bulb of sunshine no matter what she's in or who she's playing. Mel Rodriguez of Running Wilde (yikes) and Enlisted (R.I.P.) fame brings a gentleness to foil Forte that works really well. And January Jones is as wooden as ever! (though less than Betty Francis probably because she doesn't have a little Bobby Draper to worry about in this world). Really happy that Last Man On Earth is the show that it is and excited to see what they'll do in the second season.

March 3: Greenberg-Really, really, really loved this Noah Baumbach movie. I'm not crazy about Squid And The Whale even though it has really good parts (it's like The Life Aquatic where there are more than enough working and great parts on paper, but just doesn't land for me; plus the whole marine biology thing in both titles), but Baumbach is responsible for helping write Fantastic Mr. Fox (and Madagascar 3!) and how can you fault that. Greenberg isn't anything particularly inspiring and is really concerned with white people problems, but it's the kind of humor that Ben Stiller (who plays our titular Greenberg) really excelled at Royal Tenenbaums. It'd be easy to draw comparisons to Wes Anderson, actually, because the characters feel like they were ones tossed out by him and Baumbach turned them into something. Everyone's self-absorbed and emotionally hollow (which is what makes them rich ((I don't deserve to write after that one, I'm sorry)). It plays like the best parts of an Apatow movie and the stuff Wes Anderson doesn't necessarily know how to work well with. Plus, oh my goodness, Greta friggin' Gerwig; I've got insane crush on her from this one and Frances Ha, but I'll save that raving for then. Except for I can't tell you how many times I've watched this scene, despite how awful the sound quality is. I should also say that James Murphy did the music for the movie and I'd like to pat myself on the back for not seeking this movie out because of that (but once I saw it in the opening credits it was game over and I knew I'd really love this movie).

March 5: CitizenFour-I watch on average probably 3 documentaries a year, so I guess I'm in a position where I could be easily impressed by anything, but this was really astounding. There was a lot of buzz around CitizenFour both when it came out and when it won Best Documentary at the Academy Awards and I was pretty excited knowing HBO had the rights to it. For the uninformed, Four is the documentary about Edward Snowden who's seen as a hero to some and the worst thing to happen to this country since Benedict Arnold. Snowden was an analyst for the NSA [hold for any jokes regarding the NSA reading this] and found some stuff that wasn't very complementary of our national security and surveillance groups so he thought it his duty to release this information to the public, much to the disapproval of the NSA. It's fascinating and shocking to watch even if you didn't think you had an opinion on the matter and plays faster than you'd expect from a documentary.

March 6: The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt-Fey and Carlock. NBC passed on the newest brain trust from these two, because they didn't have anywhere to put it on their schedule, which is a shame, because what those two are doing with this show is wonderful. Though, I won't lie, it does leave you in an awkward position when trying to describe it to someone when trying to get them to watch it. I've learned by now that that isn't the way to sell this show. Instead just know that Ellie Kemper (Erin from The Office, though hopefully now she'll shed that albatross) is the main character and if you know my friend Shelby Urban, than just say it's like if a fictionalized Shelby got her own show. Also say that it's coming from people who made 30 Rock, one of the last great shows that wrote jokes and executed them with flying colors. In the words of DC Pierson "Ain't no joke like a Fey/Carlock  joke because a Fey/Carlock joke is actually funny." This is the type of show I'd want to write for and I'm glad Netflix gave it the shot that NBC didn't; God bless you Netflix.

March 6: Full Metal Jacket-Had never seen this Kubrick, but I also haven't seen a ton of his movies (where my Barry Lyndon heads at!) either and isn't life just about getting those skins up on the wall? Will I ever watch it again? Nope, probably not. The first half is so iconic that you've essentially seen it if you've only heard or have an understanding of who R. Lee Ermey is. And the second half drags, like most Vietnam movies tend to do, because there's no way to make a movie like that not-political and be void of preaching. I would never call this an essential movie to watch, and we all know how important my word is on matters like this.

March 9: Into The Wild-Had to watch this for a class and wrote what I'd probably call one of the dumbest papers I've ever have to write in my life (and I've had to write about The House On Mango Street). And as easy as it is to hate Sean Penn, he did a really solid job with the first movie he directed. Chris McCandless is.....I dunno. He's definitely someone who's made me think a lot in the last couple month or so (partly because of writing a gah-danged paper) and I don't know where I fall on the guy. I know there are times where Emile Hirsch portrayed him in the movie and I wanted to be really annoyed with him, because he was like the poster boy for eye-rolling cultural studies major poster-boy that my professor clearly drools over, as did some of my fellow classmates. And then there were times of admiration, because I believe there's a small part in all of us who want to go off the grid, and he was able to accomplish that. I'd say it's a worth while, hold for like two pretty dumb eye-rolly parts (one half way through and the other at the end).

March 16: Frances Ha-I'm mad at myself for holding off on watching this for as long as I did. Do you know what love at first sight is? It's watching Frances Ha. And I've had to debate if this was falling in love with Greta Gerwig or Frances and it's probably both, don't judge me. While I was watching all I could think of was how similar to Scott Pilgrim it is; though to that point, when reading Scott Pilgrim you're wanting more for him to get over how selfish he is whereas you really want to see Frances succeed. Is Frances the embodiment of how mindlessly irresponsible we all are at this age (college/post-graduate)? I know I saw or wanted to see some of myself in Frances, the way I see myself in Scott or Llewyn Davis (Noel Murray at The Dissolve wrote a great piece about a Frances Ha  and Inside Llewyn Davis double feature-I'd wager that you could throw in reading Scott Pilgrim with those, or watch the movie, cus it's really good great too). I've been thinking about Frances Ha a lot and have been trying to figure out when I'll watch it again, because I can only guess that it will get better on multiple viewings. I just haven't indulged in that yet and I'm only robbing myself of a wonderful time by doing so. And David Bowie-God I could watch this on a loop for days.

March 17: Community-It's season six. Did anyone believe that it'd actually get this far? I still have memories of Ryan Fisher, this kid I went to high school with, who told me he saw the destruction of the set, because he's got an uncle that lives in LA or something. That was back in may of 2013, after the disastrous gas leak season. And here it is still kicking. Does it kick as hard as it used to? No, but that's asking a lot out of a show like Community, especially in its sixth season (which almost feels like fan service at this point). But it's on Yahoo! now, though if you hadn't previously watched it, I doubt any new viewers are going to seize that new frontier. My question is when is Rick And Morty coming back (a show I historically wasn't too crazy about, but have finally seen the light)?

March 17: The West Wing-So this podcast interview, like many Hollywood Prospectus things, was really the spark plug for me getting back on my much neglected West Wing train. It was collecting rust, dust and something else that collects over time that also rhymes with those two things (crust? no, definitely not). I didn't start in the big bad beginning (I mean that as a good thing and then not as a good thing), but where I had left off which was the beginning of season 4, Sorkin's last season. Season 3 is where The West Wing finally found out how to somehow produce 22 (roughly) episodes a season and Season 4 they did it in stride. The action of FIGJAM-ing is one I don't decree lightly, and I can say without a doubt that this season has many FIGJAM moments. And this is the season we had to endure Jean-Paul, people. Unfortunately, I'm now in the negative zone where it won't be great again until the Santos and Vinick election, but lets just take it one or two episodes at a time/sitting.

March 18: Jackass: The Movie-ScreenCrush released a list that I don't really take umbrage with, because it's a list of actual competence. Thought was put into it and while the ranking is off at times (Kingpin>There's Something About Mary; 40-Year-Old Virgin is ranked too high and if yr choosing an Apatow movie like that, give me Superbad in terms of being a funnier movie), I couldn't've been more happy to see Jackass on the list. In this age of Toshing around (that show's still on, right?) and youtube, the art of jackassary is a lost one. Sure, any buffoon can take their camera or their friend's camera and have Darwin spin in his grave, but the jackasses of Jackass are something special (except for Bam, by far the most pampered of the group). It's orchestrated chaos that ups the ante with each sketch and movie. When watching this movie, you're filled with the contradicting feelings of "it'd be a lot of fun being friends with those guys" and "oh God I can't imagine being friends with those guys." There's also, and I suppose I'm making a generalization here, no less-inviting well of comedy for the female out there, I don't think. All hail Knoxville, he is forever the greatest court jester.

March 19: Bent-This was a show that NBC decided to dump in three weeks with two episodes a night. I think it was on a Tuesday night too, to add insult to injury. Bent is a comedy starring the not "boy" in About A Boy (he also played that doctor that dated Jess back in season 2 of New Girl), David Walton and Amanda Peet. It was a priceless gem that surely doesn't reign in the credit it should (it's like the Jeffrey Tambor of comedies also, did I mention that Jeffrey Tambor is in Bent, cus Hank Kingsly, George Sr. he is and at one point calls Jesse Plemons "Ginger Judas"). I think the most accessible way to watch it is getting it off of iTunes, and I couldn't encourage it more. It's also the perfect run time for traveling from Chicago to Dallas and back again.

March 22: Rear Window-Saw this ol' classic at a theater, because I think Cinemark does this thing occasionally where they screen a series of movies, because people'll chalk up the bills to see things like Rear Window on something bigger than their TV. I don't know where Window falls in terms of favorite Hitchcock, but it's still impressively suspenseful; the heart drops every time Grace Kelly (who was just such a babe, oh my goodness) is in the apartment across the way. Also, James Stewart really shown as a curmudgeon and all around unpleasant guy to be around (I watched It's A Wonderful Life with my parents back in December and George Bailey.....he spends a lot of time complaining) as far as characters he portrayed. Nothing's ever good enough for his characters; everyone is his foil. Also, if you've seen "Bart Of Darkness" enough times in your life ("'Tis a fine barn, but sure 'tis no pool, English") then you know how hard it is not to try imitating the Ned Flanders scream when appropriate in the movie. Not that I did that, but I thought it (and may have whispered it to myself).

March 24: Point Break-I'm not proud that I'd never seen Point Break before, but I have now and that's all that matters. This is not a bad movie, in fact, it's incredibly charming. I used to feel differently about Patrick Swayze and now I know how wrong I was. How stupid I was. Bodhi forever. And Keanu, while incredibly wooden, is actually pretty good too, but the most pleasant surprise was Gary Busey and I mean that. Honest. Yer not too cool for Point Break, the same way yer not too cool for the Fast and Furious franchise (after all, the first one was just a Point Break remake, unofficially). It also gives weight to this, but I'm all for and will continue to be pro-Break till the day I die, not a controversial statement, but it's one I'd gladly ride or die by.

March 26: Meet The Parents-Go ahead. Mock me. This is a funny movie, not a hilarious one and not one that should've generated two sequels (*crosses self* the trilogy), but it is a funny movie. It might be De Niro's last good movie (I'm pretty luke-warm on Silver Linings Playbook) and you feel the weight of how good of an actor he really is. I love Casino and Goodfellas, they're probably my two favorite De Niro roles, but his extreme straight man to Stiller's trying to be a straight man is really funny. They bounce off each other really well, and there are some things that Owen Wilson just says things better than anyone else could. Same goes for the late great James Rebhorn (I love how Greg has to break apart the huddle to get in it). Maybe I'm just sick in the way that I like seeing a guy try his hardest and just getting kicked in the nuts, constantly because of it. It is also a movie filled with social bear-traps, and I'm a sucker for those. Or maybe Dave Franco's impression from Neighbors is what keeps pulling me back-you try saying no to that face.

March 27: Almost Famous-My love and adoration for this movie knows no bounds. It might just be perfect, because if you can find a flawed thing in it, I'd like to see it. Yer best case, in any other movie would be Kate Hudson, but oh guess what? She's great in it. The moment where she asks what kind of beer is played with such frustrating greatness, because it shows how capable she is. Billy Crudup not being nominated for a Best Actor is one of many injustices of history. Wait-shit. I just thought of one bad thing about it. Ugh, and she's even worse in the bootleg version (the better but just by a little bit version of the movie). Anna Paquin, but she's just the worst in everything (especially 25th Hour). Please excuse her, she must've just snuck on set and no one noticed that she got screen time, I will not blame Cameron Crowe for that. Not when he gave us 2 hrs and 42 minutes of near perfection.

March 28: Pee Wee's Big Adventure-Never saw it as a kid. In same category that Little Shop Of Horrors was in, as being too weird for the Wieland household. Hard logic to argue with, but I was pleasantly surprised watching Pee Wee's Big Adventure for the first time (all the way through) that one Saturday night I did so. But it was co-written by the great Phil Hartman, so how could it possibly not be good?

March 29: What We Do In The Shadows-Mocumentary on vampires living in New Zealand, starring Jemaine Clement. I don't think there could be any more of a niche movie. It's the Spinal Tap of vampire movies. If yer fortunate enough to have it running in yer city, please watch it.

March 29: Going Clear-The world of Scientology is a little less murky, and yet still totally baffling. this was HBO's crazy good documentary that delved deep into Scientology, exposing most of its troubling practices and all around lunacy. It went from "ha-ha, what a crazy person's (L. Ron Hubbard) pipe dream come to life!" to "oh God, this is really dangerous." It's a hefty two hours long, but exceptionally good. Until it gets to the Tom Cruise part, because as someone who really enjoys what that guy does in movies, there are few things more deflating than seeing him saluting a portrait of Hubbard at some rally thing they have once a year. Really, you could probably have a separate documentary on Cruise and Scientology, because it feels like only the surface was scratched there. You could say that about a lot of elements to it, you just want to learn more, I guess in trying to understand why so many people believe in it. I mean they didn't even talk about Beck or Jason Lee![*crickets chirp*] People (me) wanna know! Same for Elisabeth Moss-did that kidnapping to Zoey Bartlet hit closer to home than we could possibly imagine!?

March 30: Neighbors-Probably the best comedy that came out last year or at the very least last summer. I feel like there was Rogen-fatigue hitting the nation and I hate that. Rogen's one of the few Apatow-groomed talents that has really reached out and dipped into comedic waters with comedians with, admittedly, less exposure than what he has gained since hey day (2005-2008; 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Step-Brothers, Pineapple Express). That's crazy encouraging to see him work with Jerrod Carmichael, Jason Mantzoukas or Ike Barinholtz and while Neighbors is by no means some kind of experimental/absurdist comedy it is a really funny one. It's also a movie that doesn't discourage marriage; there's a sweetness that Nick Stoller is able to put in his movies that he knows how to hit without bashing it over your head like Apatow might. I mean, don't get me wrong: this movie's just as raunchy or grotesque as say Superbad, but it's done with that Stoller charm that makes something like Forgetting Sarah Marshall as great as it is.

March 31: Bottle Rocket-I only have one thing to say about the greatness of  Bottle Rocket: is it the funniest Wes Anderson movie? I feel like a debate could be made here like with how Mel Brooks' and how The Producers is the funniest plot, Young Frankenstein is the funniest movie and Blazing Saddles is the funniest script (or any variation of those things). Again, Owen Wilson just says things (or also in this case rides things) better than anyone else could.