Josh Brener – Way Too Indie http://waytooindie.com Independent film and music reviews Fri, 02 Dec 2016 17:34:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Way Too Indiecast is the official podcast of WayTooIndie.com. Our film critics grip and gush about the latest indie movies and sometimes even mainstream ones. Find all of our reviews, podcasts, news, at www.waytooindie.com Josh Brener – Way Too Indie yes Josh Brener – Way Too Indie dustin@waytooindie.com dustin@waytooindie.com (Josh Brener – Way Too Indie) The Official Podcast of Way Too Indie Josh Brener – Way Too Indie http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/waytooindie/podcast-album-art.jpg http://waytooindie.com 11 Best Moments From Silicon Valley Season 2 http://waytooindie.com/features/11-best-moments-from-silicon-valley-season-2/ http://waytooindie.com/features/11-best-moments-from-silicon-valley-season-2/#respond Wed, 17 Jun 2015 04:29:57 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=37043 The best moments from 'Silicon Valley' season two included SWOT boards, Russ Hanneman, condor egg stream, and Erlich's bizarre negotiation tactics.]]>

Topping the first season’s elaborate dick equation would be nearly impossible to do, but season two of Silicon Valley had plenty of funny moments of its own. Although director Mike Judge stretched the plotline thin throughout the season, there were so many great comedic line in each episode that it was barely noticeable. Below we’ve gathered the 11 best moments from Silicon Valley season two, let us know your favorite in the comments.

11 Best Moments From Silicon Valley Season 2

#1. Dinesh and Gilfoyle use a SWOT board on whether to inform a stunt driver of his flawed velocity calculations.

Silicon Valley SWOT board
Gilfoyle: “If Blaine dies on our live-stream it could be good for us. I mean, we’d get a lot more traffic.”
Dinesh: “Well, and it would probably lead the cause for regulations in the stunt industry. So, in the long term, we’re saving lives.”
Dinesh: “Obviously his incessant suffering will be a strength.”
Gilfoyle: “But our ability to enjoy it is an opportunity.”

#2. Introducing the worst man in America: Russ Hanneman.

Russ Hanneman animated gif
Russ: “I’ve got three nannies suing me. One of them for no reason.”
Russ: “All of a sudden, I’m 22 years young, and I’m worth $1.2 billion. Now a couple decades later, I’m worth $1.4. You do the math.”
Russ: “Synergy, bitches!”

#3. Pied Piper freaks out about being hacked, but turns out Russ accidentally set his tequila bottle (“Tres Commas”) on the Delete key.

Tres Commas tequila delete key
Richard: “Had Endframe accidentally put a tequila bottle on their Delete key, I guarantee they would have struggled to delete half of the amount of files that we did. At best. Or worst.”

#4. Erlich spots the Winklevoss twins.

Winklevoss twins on Silicon Valley
Erlich: “Look at them. They’re like two genetically enhanced Ken dolls. Do you know how much Bitcoin they’re worth?”
Erlich: “Oh shit, they’re splitting up. Cameron’s the left dominant one, right? I’m gonna come at him from the right side, try and herd them back together without spooking them.”

#5. The messaging app we’ve all been waiting for…Bro

Silicon Valley Bro app
Dinesh: “It’s a messaging app that lets you send the word ‘bro’ to everyone else who has the app.”
Gilfoyle: “So it’s exactly like the Yo app.”
Dinesh: “Exactly, but less original.”

#6. Pied Piper team finds the sales pitch at the San Francisco Giants stadium to be very underwhelming.

Silicon Valley Martin Starr Zach Woods
Richard: “It’s starting to feel weird letting all these firms suck up to us.”
Erlich: “If you can’t enjoy this many people kissing our ass at this level, then I feel sorry for you. I mean, we’re getting our dicks sucked at the AT&T park.”
Dinesh: “We’re standing on the field of the World Series champions!”
Gilfoyle: “It’s totally lost on me.”
Dinesh: “Yeah, I don’t give a shit either.”

#7. People miss the amazing knockout punch in the UFC title match because the Nucleus stream freezes.

Silicon Valley gif
Gilfoyle: “The picture is so blocky, it looks like Minecraft.”
Announcer: “Unbelievable! I have never, in all my years of watching fights, have seen a finishing combination more furious.”
Erlich: “Gavin Belson just shit everyone’s pants.”

#8. Nucleus fails. “Is this Windows Vista bad? It’s not iPhone 4 bad, is it? Fuck. Don’t tell me, tell me this isn’t Zune bad.” “It’s Apple Maps bad.”

Gavin Belson Silicon Valley
Gavin: “I don’t want to live in a world where someone makes the world a better place better than we do.”

#9. Richard suffers from night sweats, and possibly sweats from his urethra.

Russ Hanneman animated gif
Jared: “Do you think maybe you sweat from your urethra?”
Jared: “Can you put a dollar value on not wetting your bed?”

#10. Pied Piper’s condor egg live-stream skyrockets when a man falls and gets trapped with the camera.

Silicon Valley condor egg stream
Dinesh: “This guy falling off the cliff is the first good luck we’ve had.”
Gilfoyle: “Even when his sobbing shakes the camera, there’s no blocking it all. The quality is great.”
Dinesh: “This guy is going to drink his own piss? That’s too good. We’re going to fail by succeeding.”

#11. Erlich’s insulting negotiation tactics, ending with his junk on the table.

Erlich Silicon Valley negotiation
Erlich: “One of you is the least attractive person I’ve ever seen. I won’t say who. *Glances at the man on the right*
Erlich: “Here’s my concern: Who the hell picked out that shirt for you?….Then you married poorly.”
Erlich: “There is a linear correlation between how intolerable I was and the height of valuation.”
Gilfoyle: “He put his balls on the table?”
Dinesh: “On purpose?”
Richard: “I don’t see how it could be by accident.”

]]>
http://waytooindie.com/features/11-best-moments-from-silicon-valley-season-2/feed/ 0
Welcome to Happiness (Dances With Films Review) http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/welcome-to-happiness/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/welcome-to-happiness/#respond Mon, 08 Jun 2015 17:06:41 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=36750 The secret to happiness lies in one man's closet in this charming comedic fantasy from Oliver Thompson.]]>

It seems to be quite a difficult task to create a film that features an intrinsically upbeat message without feeling tawdry or mind-numbingly sugarcoated. There’s a reason most films of the aforementioned nature appeal only to toddlers, and it’s because anyone past pre-school age knows that life is never perfect. There are always going to be obstacles, and finding happiness will never be as easy as it seems. In Welcome to Happiness, writer-director Oliver Thompson invites viewers into a world where genuine happiness is obtainable, but only to those who are all too familiar with the inherent difficulties of life.

Kyle Gallner stars as Woody Ward, a children’s book author whose closet features a mysterious door that allows special, troubled people to enter through in order to find happiness. Despite serving as a pseudo gatekeeper of the door, Woody has no idea what lies on the other side, though he is incredibly curious. After he meets Trudy (Olivia Thirlby), a charming young woman with whom he shares an apartment complex, Woody’s life begins to change, resulting in his desire to uncover the truth behind the door to a happier life.

Welcome to Happiness is an extremely “quirky,” Wes Anderson-style adventure comedy with an incredible ensemble cast and a dozens of wacky characters. Make no mistake, though, the film is completely comfortable venturing into very dark places. In order to stress the importance of happiness, Thompson opts to show many of the characters at their lowest. However, these moments of bleakness are never held for too long, and there is always a powerful sense of hopefulness throughout.

While the bizarre plot is reason enough to buy a ticket to Welcome to Happiness, the film’s star-studded cast secures the film’s success. At this point in her career, it seems almost impossible for Olivia Thirlby to not be violently charming, but she outdoes herself here, as one of the most absurdly adorable girls next door to appear onscreen in years. Her chemistry with Gallner is honest and sweet, and ultimately, very realistic. On the complete opposite end of the performance spectrum, the always-hilarious Keegan-Michael Key is absolutely fantastic as a peculiar baseball card collector named Procter, and appears to be having the time of his life in the role. With supporting roles from Nick Offerman, Brendan Sexton III, Josh Brener, and Molly C. Quinn, among others, the film has the feel of a big-budget Hollywood production, but the homey charm of an indie flick.

Thompson (who also edited the film) chooses to use a few strange editing choices throughout. Songs fade in and out somewhat jarringly, and some of the cuts are a bit peculiar. It fits fairly well with the storybook style of the film, but it is still noticeably weird at times. Perhaps that’s part of what makes the film so lovely, though. Welcome to Happiness feels like this strange children’s story but darker and for adults. There’s this universally relatable nature about it, because everyone desires to find happiness in life, but we’ve all experienced hardships that constantly seem to get in the way; and pasts that we can never seem to fully shake.

As a debut, Welcome to Happiness proves to be a pretty remarkable arrival for Oliver Thompson, who quickly stakes his claim as a filmmaker to watch. Despite a few moments that seem out of place in the grand scheme of the story, there’s so much to enjoy about this film that it’s really an easy recommendation. It’s a feel-good tale that manages to remain mature and, most importantly, honest. It’s the ideal two-hour road trip to happiness.

]]>
http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/welcome-to-happiness/feed/ 0