Bill Burr: You People Are All The Same
Yep, I'm now on the Netflix bandwagon and the watch list is already bulging at the seams (yes, Stranger Things is on the list  and I'll get to it soon). Anyway, as such I've been able to get access to a whole load of comedy specials that I've been lining up. Jim Norton, Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Tom Segura.
Anyway, this particular one is from 2012, so it's a while ago now but it's interesting to see his take on certain things like having kids (now that he does actually have a kid), and the little tangents he goes off on, these little vignettes of arguments etc are so well constructed. It's also wonderful to see how he sets up a controversial premise and then absolutely nail the topic with clarity of thought and a boatload of laughs. He teases the audience and it's like he's fishing, trying to land a big mofo, reeling the audience in, letting them get away a bit, reeling them back in again, and then BAM!
 Originally Posted by EvilNed
Wow, Dana Carvey? Must be running on fumes.
Quite the opposite, there's a broad range of guests on from those just rising to stardom all the way through to senior masters of comedy. Plus, Dana Carvey is still touring on the stand-up circuit. He's been out and about a lot recently. I heard him on Conan O'Brien's podcast and he was friggin' hilarious, had me creased up with laughter throughout.
Originally Posted by bassman
I’ve enjoyed all episodes of Seinfeld’s show on some level. Cool cars, relaxed atmosphere, and some decent chuckles? Can’t go wrong with that, in my book.
Indeed. It's a great 'hang out' type of show. I enjoy how he picks cars to suit his guest's personality/vibe, and how they meander about doing different things outside of getting coffee, and you get an interesting look inside the mind of comedians but also how the world of comedy works on a more practical level - how they think these things up. The Zach Galifianakis episode from this latest season was really good in that regard. 
- - - Updated - - -
Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
A superb four-part crime documentary about the notorious serial killer. The presentation is excellent, from the visual and aural vibe of the show (the stuff with the tapes, the soundtrack) to the use of stock footage. I really liked how they were able to set the tone of the time, so you got a better idea of what places looked like, what the people were like etc etc, you felt situated within that timeframe. Other docs obviously don't have the budget that this did, so you often see recreations shot in the present day in a completely different location (e.g. a series like The World's Most Evil Killers, a UK series which seems kinda low budget with its limited number of talking heads, scant availability of stock material such as photographs and video, and recreations that do the basic job required of them but nevertheless put a layer, a barrier of sorts, between the viewer and the subject at hand) ... ... anyway, The Ted Bundy Tapes does a great job of putting the viewer into the timeframe, but not only that, you get a glimpse into the mindset of the time and Bundy himself.
The juxtaposition of how Bundy thought of himself - and presented himself circa 1980 when the main tapes were recorded - is fascinating as his psychopathy, sociopathy, and narcissism are writ large. The use of news bulletins and court videos of the time are also the perfect way to transport the viewer into the time and place - e.g. the bizarre but absolutely real thing whereby women came from all over America to witness court hearings in Florida. Seeing the vox pops with them afterwards made it all the more strange as their mix of fascination, fear, and even attraction spill forth as they talked. That alone speaks volumes about how Bundy used charisma and his outward persona that he manufactured and wielded like a weapon in itself. That was his whole shtick - disarming other people so he could strike, whether that be killing his victims or exploiting lax security to escape custody twice. And even after all that there he is in court getting the journalists and onlookers laughing uproariously.
It's all the more fascinating, then, when you see him lose control of his manufactured senses. The times when he snaps and you see the monster peek out from behind the blue eyes and handsome looks, or the times when he can't resist himself (e.g. those barely contained smirks, or when he gets a detective to describe a crime scene in explicit detail). All these moments he simply couldn't resist and they flew in the face of all his intentions and big talk about beating the system and being smarter.
So yeah, an absolutely fascinating documentary series, even though I already knew a fair bit about Bundy from books, docs, and even that fairly lurid movie from the early 2000s (originally called "Bundy" then re-titled "Ted Bundy") during that little heyday of serial killer movies (Ed Gein, The Hillside Strangler, Gacy, Dahmer etc). The sense of context to it all is about the best I've seen, except it would have been good to get a little more of a look inside Bundy's early life (we only get brief glimpses - e.g. his illegitimacy, his speech impediment, his lack of social skills, that he was initially raised by his Grandparents who told him they were his Parents, the rumours and mystery surrounding his biological father). I see that Netflix have obtained the distribution rights to the Zac Efron movie "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile" (the reference to the Florida Judge's reckoning of Bundy's crimes makes sense, but geeeeeez what a clunky title!!!) ... so I'll be very interested to see that as it's directed by the same guy who directed The Ted Bundy Tapes.
Tom Segura: Disgraceful
Yep, making my way through some Netflix comedy specials. Similar to Burr, Segura treads into some spicy territory, but he does it in a completely different way and style, but still with the same result - well crafted bits, intelligence, and most importantly of all: hilarity.
|
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks