The MacGuffin

It is not often that you are lucky enough to see when filmmakers really hit their stride. In my opinion, the Duplass brothers have done just that with their latest film, Jeff, Who Lives at Home. I have enjoyed their previous films, but everything finally comes together for me here.

Another Top 5 segment from The MacGuffin. This time Allen and Brandi share their top 5 cliched but awesome moments.

This segment is also available on Stitcher and iTunes. The audio version can be downloaded directly from here. After you’ve watched the video please vote in our poll and share which one you think is the best.

The Muppets: So, there’s a new Muppet movie. You may have heard of it; it’s called The Muppets. I LOVE The Muppet Show, but the only Muppet movie I have every really cared for is Muppets From Space. (I am fully aware that this is an unpopular choice for favorite Muppet movie. There are some who would like to forget this film was ever made. Pshaw, I say to them. It’s lovely.) My husband nagged me and nagged me to go to this, and since I force him to watch an unusually large number of Bob Hope movies, I graciously complied.

Maybe I should open this review with a disclaimer. I work in education. I’m not a classroom teacher, but my days for the last five years have revolved around teenagers, and goals for their “success,” and all that sort of thing. I work with a lot of people who really care about what they do—and so do I. Yet, if you’ve watched videos I’m in or read my articles on this site, it probably won’t surprise you to know that I’m not among the most…how should I say…sunny of the faculty at my school. So perhaps I went into Jake Kasdan’s Bad Teacher with a slightly different kind of anticipation than some people will. A female-driven comedy that aims to have some fun with the “inspirational educator” genre? Yes, I’ll have some of that.

Though I have nothing against the line-up of comic book films, big budget explosive sequels and such and the like coming along this year, most of the films I’m actively looking forward to in 2011 don’t fit that mold. Also, a lot of them don’t seem to be coming out until at least the second half of the year, if they have a release date yet at all. I will be spending many months waiting patiently for most the films I’m hoping will be the highlights of my movie year.

Judd Apatow had been the show runner for a couple of television shows before Freaks and Geeks, but most that are familiar with his work will agree that this was his true masterpiece.  Set in Detroit in the 1980’s, the show follows Lindsay and Sam Weir as they attempt to survive the reality of high school.  What Freaks and Geeks offers that other teen shows like Dawson’s Creek don’t is a look at the other side of high school as the tag line says so eloquently, “What high school was like for the rest of us.”  You get to see high school from the side of the “Freaks” (a.k.a. the druggies and burnouts) and the “Geeks,” which as some of you may know, will give you a completely different look at high school.  As a side note, this show is basically the flagship for “Before They Were Famous.”  It is almost inconceivable to look at the actors (and even some of the guest actors, including Ben Foster and a very young Shia LaBeouf) starring in this show and see where they went after this.