Pop Machine

Created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The Office is a mockumentary about the day-to-day life of the employees of a paper company. Okay, the truth is, never heard of an original version until I got addicted with the American series. Knowing about it, at first, got me biased because, obviously, I was more attached to Michael, Dwight, Jim and so on. It was very difficult at first watch, honestly. The urge to ironically pinpoint and compare the two was hard to resist. From the characters to the jokes. Never got through the first episode and just stopped watching. In a nutshell, I was ill-prepared. Since the US version was gradually getting worse since, spoilers, Jim and Pam got together, I gave it another shot and never knew the sheer brilliance that was ahead. The mockumentary feels like an actual documentary. It blurs the lines of reality and fiction. The direction was so meticulous; it didn't go to far, it didn't go less. Gervais and Merchant knew what they were doing. The way they dwell into the mundanity and the agony was genius. The performances were so organic. You can actually imagine yourself bumping into these characters one day. There wasn't really a story and that was great because you'll never know what happens next. It was until the Christmas Specials when you actually feel that you have something to follow, get that sense of story arc, in which, payed off. One of the best finales in television history (opinion). David had the best quotes but Tim's sums up everything about this tedious, uneventful, repetitive grown-up life: "The people you work with are people you were just thrown together with. I mean, you don't know them, it wasn't your choice. And yet you spend more time with them than you do your friends or your family. But probably all you have in common is the fact that you walk around on the same bit of carpet for eight hours a day. And so, when you find someone you have a connection with. And, yeah, Dawn was a ray of sunshine in my life." My take on the debate: The other show's strength is not the other show's weakness since it had different visions. And both did excellent on executing those visions. It's just that the other one continued milking the program too far which is a different topic for a different time. For now, let's just be grateful that we have two shows to enjoy.

*SPOILERS & UNPOPULAR OPINION AHEAD* Went intentionally blind into this movie, regardless of the hype surrounding. Avoided the trailers, social media posts and even conversations with friends about it as much as possible. Just to get this sense of greater of excitement. Felt doing it since it prior movie, Infinity War, caught us off guard with its ending. It left us hanging without knowing what could happen next. So might as well see Endgame like everybody's not talking about it. The first half of the film was great. Again, the interactions between characters from different franchises was very entertaining to see. Examples include: Tony & Nebula playing paper football, the diner scene with Banner & Scott on their popularity as a superhero or that little moment when Rocket annoys Carol about her new haircut. These are the stuff we needed to see. As always, Marvel's humor is still on point. It has always been earned (though sometimes, it went too much especially with Scott, but that was tolerable anyway). The second half of the movie, the "time heist" thing was the best bit (at least for me). Maybe because the concept of time travel was refreshing enough to get us excited and yes, it was executed well. The actions scenes were action-packed (?). Like Infinity War, they chose the right peeps that would fit the character dynamics. All of our left behind heroes were utilized perfectly with the right amount of screen time and dialogue. Everyone was balanced except for two characters which will we get back to later. Huge praises for Nebula's writing, she had one of the best arcs which was kinda overlooked. Scott's character here is better than who he was in Ant-man & The Wasp. Thor stole every scene that he was in. Rhodes had his fair share of comedic moments as well, which was surprising. How the Russos rebranded Clint was one of things fans needed and it was satisfying to see it here. Almost everyone had well-realized motivations except for Carol and Okoye. Both were underutilized. There could've been at least a little more for them, especially for Captain Marvel since how they gave her that "big" build up. It was kinda dissapointing. Speaking of issues, the drama could've been heavier because it kinda gave me the impression that after what Thanos did, things got a little darker and our heroes are on their lowest point. With all the comedic interactions, I just craved for more deep, sympathetic, heartfelt connections between the left behind characters, despite their differences. They could've been the Breakfast Club, but with superpowers. Putting a little something in the center for this unexpected group. Just thought it can add more meaning(?) to the idea of crossing each other's paths. The reason why I look at it this way is because Infinity War left us with a refreshing, yet grim atmosphere that was so fascinating. It may sound like a cliche plot device, but a superhero movie like Endgame simply deserves it. One of the biggest praises here is that the Avengers in this saga, felt more human than ever. They were weak and expendable at this point that is why I hoped that they embraced this idea to some extent. Played with it more. They could've emphasized on how the tables have turned for the heroes. That they are now the underdogs and Thanos is still on the upper hand. That could've added motivation resulting in a much more satisfying conclusion. I really don't mind if this movie will take 5 hours or more just to get that sense (heck it didn't even like it was 3 hours). Overall, the flow of the story hits hard with unexpected elements, great action sequences and self-aware humor(?). The endings chosen for the major roles (Tony, Cap and Nat) were great calls. It's just my subjective perspective hoping that they could've found a heart to this unusual ensemble.