Good ol’ Neil Flynn. He’ll always be The Janitor from Scrubs to me.
No theme song on this one.
It’s difficult to settle on a rating for this limited series. I really dug so many things about it for so much of it: the acting, the extremely critical points made about social media and performative culture, the overall vibes . . . But as a whole, this didn’t feel like, well, a whole. I don’t think I would enjoy a rewatch of the series anywhere near as much as this initial viewing; all that’s left for me is recommending and/or rewatching very specific scenes and segments for various reasons. The Curse will stick with and perhaps even haunt me forever, though.
It’s difficult to settle on a rating for this limited series. I really dug so many things about it for so much of it: the acting, the extremely critical points made about social media and performative culture, the overall vibes . . . But as a whole, this didn’t feel like, well, a whole. I don’t think I would enjoy a rewatch of the series anywhere near as much as this initial viewing; all that’s left for me is recommending and/or rewatching very specific scenes and segments for various reasons. The Curse will stick with and perhaps even haunt me forever, though.
I love how they used Dean Cain’s character to display that even those who appear to be the “most vile” humans are actually still people and are more complex than our initial judgements give them credit for. I also love how the “ideal people” in the view of Emma Stone’s character always end up being the ones to let her down, as if to suggest that her image of an ideal person doesn’t exist and that life isn’t so black and white.
What a freaking good trilogy. What else can I say?
The theme song is back!
The second episode without a theme song. :(
The first episode without a theme song? I miss it.
In this episode, Kelso claims to be the only one to never have seen Donna’s boobs. This isn’t true, however. In a previous episode, the whole gang went skinny dipping, had their clothes stolen, and sat naked in Eric’s car together.
Sweet, warm, lovely, and long. I teared up on three separate occasions, if I recall correctly. This is the kind of film I might just play in the background for comfort during future holiday seasons.
It wasn’t a perfect movie, but it was exactly what I needed. Monk was THE television show of my childhood and will forever bring a smile to my face and warmth to my soul.
This was simple and grand and beautiful and ordinary. Sincere, sweet, and respectful. What a lovely film—and what a tenderly honest husband/wife pillow talk scene.
This sequel did everything right. I was not expecting that.
The first scene is the perfect beginning for a sequel to “Scream.” I cannot stress enough how perfectly this movie begins, and I love its overall premise. It’s also fantastic that the film-aware moments and comments have anything but diminished.
Oh, and that scene with the cop car was a horrifying situation. Bravo!
Every shot is gorgeous. I love the lighting and the colors and every little expression on Kaitlyn Dever‘s face. Maybe I’m basic and love a good alien invasion, or maybe I’m pretentious and love an artsy look at grief and emotional isolation. ¿Porque no los dos?
It’s difficult for me to settle on a rating for The Wolf of Wall Street. Of course, it was expertly crafted, and I enjoyed elements of how well-made it was. There was plenty of great acting, and one moment actually made me laugh (the car reveal). But for the most part, I just feel gross for having watched three hours of debauchery from absolutely unlikable characters for whom practically no just consequences occurred whatsoever.
And I get that that lack of justice may be a part of the point of the movie, but it just makes it unenjoyable to me. Most of the vibe of the film feels like it’s telling me to have fun and enjoy the debauchery rather than it feeling as if the film is telling me, “Look how shitty these people were. They really sucked, man. You should really hate these guys.”
So I guess I’ll give it my highest rating (due to Scorsese’s ever-present expert craftsmanship) for a film I dislike. But I have no judgement for those of you who actually like or even really like this film. I suppose it just isn’t for me.
If I had to show one movie to aliens in order to display the complexity of humanity, it may very well be this. I was not expecting this documentary to be about love, complex human emotions, and the intricacies of relationships from families to friends to romances. Brilliant. Beautiful. Absolutely unexpected.
A wild Larry David appears!
This might be my favorite episode of this entire show so far??
I think it could have been tidier thematically. It feels like it has two distinct themes (the beauty of being human and living and the importance of men and women treating each other with respect) that could have been one solid theme but just didn’t quite mesh in the most cohesive manner. So that felt a bit sloppy to me.
However, the story was unique and fun, the visuals were captivating and humorous, the music was perfect, and the casting and acting were spot on for a movie about dolls. It was an extremely fun, enjoyable movie.
I also appreciated the subtle points Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach wrote into this feminist film to rein it in and state that radical third wave feminism isn’t the answer and that men are also humans worthy of respect.
I don’t think it’s perfect, but all in all, I’d say it’s definitely worth a watch.
I just saw Asteroid City for the second time and had to raise my previous rating by half a star. I appreciated it on my first viewing and really, really liked it on my second. There are so many moments that really pay off on repeat viewings due to the nested nature of the narrative à la Inception and Synecdoche, New York. Although far more whimsical and comedic than those films—I laughed at so many points in each showing that I attended—Asteroid City feels more serious and personal to me than any of Wes Anderson’s other works. The film asks questions such as (but not limited to):
“Why am I here?
What is the meaning of it all?
Why do I do the things I find myself doing?
What is my role in life?
Am I playing my role correctly?
How do I know?”
And the film answers these questions with a soft:
“No one knows. Just keep trying and loving and creating.”
I have a major soft spot for narrative themes regarding the beauty of humanity and of simply enjoying life and people and the earth around us while we still can. And ironically, I think that’s the basic point of this alien movie. Forget about the aliens; don’t worry so much about what’s out there that you neglect what’s right in front of you.
Oof. I’ve lost people very close to me (my best friend after seventeen years of best-friendship, for example), but never have I experienced loss due to cancer. My best friend died instantly in a freak accident. That’s just so very different from Gary’s long, slow battle. Anyway, I’m rambling. My point is that I’ve not experienced closely knowing someone dying of cancer, so seeing Gary’s face in this episode really hit me hard—like it probably would in real life. Oof.
I’m going to miss this found family.
Wow. I almost forgot how amazing this show can be. What a beautiful, hilarious, deep episode.
I’m ten minutes into this episode, and several things are making me feel like I accidentally skipped the one prior. But I didn’t. There are a few plot points (like Charlie being in the US and Regina working with some random political lady to distribute free food) that seem to have never been introduced or explained before. I’m quite confused.
This was the first episode of the entire series to not make me tear up. The product placement was cringey, and there just wasn’t much going on.
Officially five seasons in and still not an episode has gone by without making me tear up. I love this show—despite its corniness and contrived plot lines—for its focus on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, grace, and friendship. :asterisk_symbol:A Million Little Things:asterisk_symbol: is the only show I know of that constantly reminds me how I want to live this life.
I loved the ending with one exception:
I wish Rachel had had the strength to actually leave Shane.
Larry David has looked like an old man for decades.
Gosh, this episode was beautiful.
It’s always strawberries. From Shakespeare to Firefly to The Last of Us.
