2. Super Pumped - This show feels very unnecessary. It's all just so uninteresting. Definitely not good enough for this cast (JGL, Kerry Bishe, Kyle Chandler, Elisabeth Shue). I will probably watch every project that Joseph Gordon-Levitt does, but this is not one of his best. He's good at playing an asshole, though. I'm not really a big Uber fan (I think I've used it 3 times total. But, I have a car and if I'm in a place where I'm not driving (mostly just NYC or AC), getting a cab is super easy - so I just don't understand its usefulness). But, I'm not really a fan of a lot of these major companies/apps that have seemingly taken over the world Amazon, Apple (although I use both streaming services), Airbnb, TikTok, Instagram. I just have no use for any of them (oh the one that kills me is Venmo - everyone I work with uses Venmo except for me, so anytime we buy stuff as a group for like a birthday or pizza for the team, I use cash and everyone is like "ok grandma". Which reminds me of a funny story that has nothing to do with anything but I'll write it down anyway. One of my very young co-workers (she was 22 at the time), lost her ATM card so she walked to the bank on her break to get a new one. She had to walk because her car was in the shop. She came back and was upset because they couldn't give her a new card right away; they told her they would send it to her. I was confused as to why she was so upset and she said that she couldn't get her car back because she didn't have her ATM card to pay them. So I asked "didn't you take out cash while you were at the bank?" and she was so confused. "what do you mean?", I said, "you can just take the cash out of your account and pay for your car...with cash". And it was like a fucking light went on. She didn't even think to do that. Yes, I make fun of her every chance I get about this). Okay, sorry, where was I??? This show is so boring. It's just him yelling and stomping around until he gets his way. It's interesting to watch this and compare it to The Dropout - they should, in theory, compliment each other (I believe Uber is even mentioned in an early episode of The Dropout), both being about CEOs of start-ups, even though they have no experience nor do they follow proper protocol. But The Dropout is superior in every way. This will be forgotten as soon as I watch the last episode (I think I have 2 more episodes left. Lord, help me!). It's turned into something I put on while I clean, or write, etc. It's told in a very Adam McKay kind of way with random weird scenes added for effect (the video game scene with fighting de Blasio is downright embarrassing). There's just not enough story there for all of these episodes.
3. The Girl from Plainville - First things first, I'm absolutely speechless at a huge part of this story that I did not know - Michelle Carter's obsession with Glee. In the first episode, there is a quick shot of her bedroom wall with posters of Lea Michele, but I thought that was just done for a timeline effect (and a lot of girls her age at that time were Gleeks). But then when the episode ends with the fucking creepy shot of her memorizing the speech that Rachel (Lea Michele) gives after Finn dies I was so fucking horrified (in case you live under a rock - the actor, Cory Monteith died in real life of a drug overdose. Lea Michele was his girlfriend on and off the show.). I, myself, was a huge Glee fan, but Monteith's death was so traumatic, there was NO WAY I could watch the show after he died. I've avoided all things Glee every since, so it was a huge punch to the gut watching this scene for a multitude of reasons, but it's also deeply sickening - that this young girl sought to have this "tragic love story" just like her idol, so much so that she basically fucking masterminded it. The series does a decent job of showing both sides of the story, but I'm not sure we really need to show her side? I'm not sympathetic or empathetic towards her at all, no matter how hard you try to convince me otherwise. If you know (or even *think*) someone is suicidal, you should try to help them, not encourage them. They are so lucky that a detective followed up on his suicide, and realized that there was something else going on. It could have easily just been labeled a suicide and everyone would have just believed that and moved on. I was also unaware of the fact that she was not actually his girlfriend. I do think you can have personal connections with people via texting, social media (obviously), but the fact that nobody even knew about their "relationship" until after he died was really surprising for me. I did know this was going to be a hard watch for me - for personal reasons (I know I overshare a lot on this blog, but some things are still off limits for me), although I wasn't expecting to also be attacked by all the Glee stuff. It just made me so depressed (Cory had so much potential. It's just so sad). Overall, I think the series is just okay. It's extremely repetitive, every episode has a ton of filler, and the timeline gets really confusing (I hate the scenes that are texts, but played out as if they are talking to each other. It's unnecessarily confusing). It did not have to be 8 episodes. In fact, it could have easily just been a 90 minute movie. But, Elle Fanning, is once again, fantastic. Chloe Sevigny is also always good (but really plays the same character in a lot of projects. Not necessarily a bad thing, she's found her niche and sticks to it).
4. The White Lotus - I know this isn't exactly "new", but it was only released last year and season two hasn't been released yet, so I'm considering it new (the rush to watch things RIGHT NOW is insane. I saw someone say "I know I'm late to the party, but Heartstopper is really good" a week after its release. A WEEK. And they are "late" in watching it. I just don't understand why everyone is in such a rush??). I didn't actually expect to like this - it seemed like the same show as Nine Perfect Strangers and I really didn't like that show - just a bunch of entitled white people acting like their lives are so fucking difficult. No Thanks (I deal with this on the daily at work because all of my customers are like this - and a lot of the clothes from my store are featured in this show...). But this is highly entertaining trash tv. It helps having Alexandra Daddario - I adore her, but I feel like this is the first time she's been given a chance to actually...act? I mean, there are also multiple shots of her in a bikini (as expected), but she's given a really good, realistic storyline - someone struggling with how she is going to keep her own identity within a new marriage (although...she probably should have thought of all this before marrying him??? And, to be clear even though I like her and her storyline, I don't actually agree with her nor do I feel any sympathy for her. NO, she should absolutely not even consider working during her honeymoon - I would be pissed if my partner even suggested it unless they were, like, saving a life. And she married a super wealthy guy, which will make her life considerably easier. Trust me. I *know* the saying of "money doesn't buy happiness" which is definitely true, but it's so much easier to navigate a depressive episode if you don't also have to worry about...money for food? or money at all). She showcases a lot of depth and emotion (I've also recently watched the Percy Jackson movies, which aren't good, obvi, but she's not overly sexualized because they are kids movies, and she's definitely the best part of both of them). Yes, I know that was a really, long thought with multiple run-on sentences that probably doesn't even make sense, but I don't feel like going back and editing it (deal with it!). I also really, really like Sydney Sweeney. I loathe her character in Euphoria (the first season, at least), but she is really great in the role (I've also really liked her in The Voyeurs and Nocturne - even though both of those movies aren't the greatest). She's actually really funny in this (her sarcastic "we all love Hillary Clinton" and when she keeps talking about her grandfather's sex life and she just keeps going. Oh and the books that her and her friend are reading, while on vacation in Hawaii. It's all really funny). And so is Connie Britton (her response to "mom, you look deranged": "I have a filter for that"). I definitely wasn't expecting it to be so funny. The rest of the cast is all great - Jennifer Coolidge, Jake Lacy, Molly Shannon, Steve Zahn. They are all given moments to shine. I look forward to season two!
5. Heartstopper - I absolutely, whole-heartedly love this show. It's just so lovely and full of joy. I watched 7 episodes in a row (which is very rare for me) and then watched the final episode the next day (this morning). It feels like the antithesis of Euphoria in every way, and it is exactly what I needed to watch. LGBTQ+ projects are often just so fucking depressing and bleak (and its not just specific to Euphoria, but also, having your trans character a teenager who seeks out adult men for anonymous sex, is not the best, in terms of representation). Heartstopper does something that is so rare - it features teens just...figuring shit out about themselves, but it features ZERO sex scenes, nor does it have any drug or alcohol abuse. And while I know that it's not exactly true to life, it feels somehow more realistic to me. It all feels like "normal" teenage angst instead of something that's trying to shock its audience. Although, I don't think any kid would google "am I gay?", but it's still really cute. I think it would be really hard to be a teenager right now (for SO.MANY.REASONS), for me, because I never had any inclination to define myself or my sexuality, and that is so much a part of being young nowadays - everyone has to identify as something (I'm still not sure why?). The cast is ADORABLE. The only reason this show was on my radar is because there's a lot of twitter talk about how "Kit Connor went to the Taron Egerton school of acting" (actual tweet from someone), which makes sense because he played the kid version of Elton John in Rocketman, but he does have this charm to him that is similar to Taron (that is obviously a compliment of the highest order coming from me). But everyone is really perfectly cast in this. Especially Olivia Colman as his supportive mom. I hope this gets a season two - it's based on some comics and I know there is more to their story and I WANT TO SEE IT.
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