Emmy Nominations: The Good, The Bad, and The Snubbed

The Good:

- The Pitt is the best drama on television and it's not even close. I'm so happy for Noah Wyle (he better win!) and Katherine LaNasa. I'm confused as to why Shawn Hatosy is up for Guest Actor, but Sam Rockwell (for The White Lotus) had to go for Supporting??? They have about the same screen time and episode appearances, no? But whatever, I'm happy for both of them. 

- I love Slow Horses - I think it would be a much bigger hit if Apple tv+ actually advertised their shows better. I feel like they put all their money on pushing like 2 shows when they have a dozen every year that are the best tv has to offer. 

- WOW - they actually got the Comedy category right!! It matched my picks almost exactly, but I only put 7 shows on my list (I didn't put Only Murders, I think the last season was a mess). I do wish some more true sitcoms would get in (like Animal Control or St. Denis Medical), but overall, this is a great list in a very tough category. 

- Adolescence is great. I think it might be this year's Baby Reindeer and sweep. Which is a shame for The Penguin because that's a close call. I do still think Cristin Milioti will win (*crosses fingers*). 

- I'm not the biggest fan of The Last of Us. But, Joe Pantoliano blew me away with his episode. It's probably the only episode of the season I actually paid attention to. 

- I know it's mean, but I'm thrilled that The Handmaid's Tale & Elisabeth Moss were snubbed. That show should have ended at least 2 seasons ago and Moss is a terrible actress - nobody can convince me otherwise. 

- I never thought I would say this but Harrison Ford BETTER win! His performance in Shrinking is one of my favorites of the year. 

The Bad: 

- I like Severance just fine (it's good!), but 23 nominations is insane. 

- Paradise is a fun addictive drama, but it's not Emmy territory. Same for The Diplomat. 

- UGH...fucking Bowen Yang. I would rather be waterboarded than watch his SNL sketches.

- I knew Dying for Sex was well loved, but I thought the whole series was annoying and over-acted. Nominating Michelle Williams is a given (she's an awards darling), but the supporting cast too? Come ON. 

- I'm rolling my eyes hard at Black Mirror being nominated. That show hasn't been good in ages. 

- I'm not surprised at the love for The Studio (I love it too!), but LOL at that Guest Actor in a Comedy Series category. Martin Scorsese for an ACTING nomination? Playing a heightened version of himself? FUCK OFF. You just want Martin Scorsese to show up at the Emmys. Obvi. 

The Snubbed: 

- The entire supporting cast of The Pitt should be nominated - I'm shocked it didn't dominate the categories, but The White Lotus did. Taylor Dearden, Tracy Ifeachor, Isa Briones, Fiona Dourif, Gerran Howell, Supriya Ganesh. ALL OF THEM!

- If you're going to nominate shows like Paradise and The Diplomat, then at least pick the best one - and that's Black Doves. I think Kiera Knightley is deserving too. 

- I knew The White Lotus would dominate the supporting categories (I thought it would all be split between that and The Pitt actors), but my favorite one - Michelle Monaghan didn't get in and that makes me sad. It wasn't as showy as the others, but not all performances can be showy. 

- Kaitlyn Dever did score a nomination for The Last of Us, but she should have been nominated for Apple Cider Vinegar. She's so incredible on that series. 

- No Jack Lowden??! But he's so hot! Come on, Emmys!

Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Mickey 17 - I liked this more than I thought I would, but it's still a 3 star movie. For some reason, I thought I was going to hate it?! And I like Bong Joon Ho! I think I just got annoyed by all of the overwhelming praise for Parasite. I mean, it's a good movie. Great even. But it wasn't even in my top 3 films of 2019 and it's crazy that it's picked as the "best" film of the last 25 years (according to the people who voted in that NYT poll. Drive didn't even make the list out of 100 films, so that list is automatically null and void in my opinion). But as far as this movie goes - I wouldn't exactly call it a "good" movie, but I love the ideas and the ambition so it gets a solid thumbs up from me. It's just in need of some deep editing. It's so easy to pick out the 20 minutes of film that could have been cut to make the story more cohesive and interesting. Instead, it lingers way too long on every scene and has so many moments that are just unnecessary. I'm also not the biggest fan of these acting performances. I can take or leave Robert Pattinson - he's been good in some stuff, definitely, but the voice he does here is so annoying. It sounds like he's doing a Danny DeVito impression and it doesn't match his physical appearance. It's almost like his voice has been dubbed over with someone else's voice. And this is the third thing I've seen Naomi Ackie in, so I can confirm - she can't act. I rolled my eyes hard with that single tear drop she manages to squeeze out. Her acting just feels so forced. And what the fuck is Mark Ruffalo doing here??? A Trump impression? It's soooo hard to watch. Steven Yeun and Toni Collette are the saving graces, but barely. The little alien creatures are super cute though!! And the plot is fun and original. 

2. Cleaner - I want to like Daisy Ridley, I really do...but she's not often cast in things that I enjoy. I'm convinced I can be swayed to like her if she just got cast in better roles (she was fine in the Star Wars movies, but I'm talking about everything else she's been in). I didn't really even want to watch this, but there was literally no other new movies available on any of my streaming services (at the time! Now I'm overwhelmed with options. I'm back to being very behind on my movie watching and also these posts! I watched this like 3 weeks ago!). But I thought this could be fun, and it had an interesting idea behind it. But it's just very average, very predictable, and very stupid. I mean, she WAKES UP WITH EYE LINER ON. It's one of my biggest pet peeves in movies. There are some cool parts - first, being a high-rise window cleaner is actually a very cool job. I bet the views are spectacular and it probably pays very well. Second, I like the idea that it's basically a Jason Statham movie but starring a woman instead. And third, there is some great fight choreography. But the predictability of it is mind-numbing. The whole brother side-plot, the whole Clive Owen being a bad guy but not as bad as the "real" bad guys is just obvious from the get go. And the bad guys being more of a protest against the wealthy thing only works if YOU DON'T KILL people. If you kill innocent people, you're the bad guy - it's not that complicated. 

3. A Working Man - And speaking of Jason Statham....I was hoping this was a bit more fun than it turned out to be. It's a very expected film. It's like Taken and John Wick, but...not very good? I just thought with Jason Statham, directed by David Ayer (and co-written by Sylvester Stallone!?), that it would be, at the very least, a solid action film. But there's just nothing really to it. This "working man" construction guy who used to be ex-military gets caught up with the Russian mob because they kidnap his boss' daughter for human trafficking. And he spends the whole movie fighting ridiculous villains that lead to nowhere until the end. The end. There's a whole subplot about him fighting for custody of his daughter that is literally completely dropped (does he get it? I guess we'll never know? or assume this rescue of another person will help him in court somehow?). They underuse Michael Pena too - because he could have been funny (at least before his daughter is kidnapped?) to provide some lightness but he's just this very serious boss. Just cast someone else if that's what the role is. I also think it's just a bit ridiculous - the second they have her they would ship her off somewhere. They wouldn't torture her and explain what's happening to her. That's not how human trafficking works. Anyway, there are way better dumb Statham movies to watch - this one feels like a waste of time and energy. 

4. Snow White (2025) - I'm constantly amazed at how big movies like this turn out so awful - like, how did producers watch the dailies for this and not realize it before it was too late? There are SO many things wrong with this movie and Rachel Zegler is about the only thing that's not wrong and YET she took all the blame! The biggest problem is CLEARLY Gal Gadot. I admit, I fully loved Gal when she was cast as Wonder Woman. And I still think she's great in that role. But, she's proven over and over again that that was an anomaly. She can't act. And she DEFINITELY can't sing (seriously, I thought my ears were going to bleed during her song). Why would they have her sing? Are the producers deaf? At least dub over it with someone who can? It's so WEIRD. The next problem is the creepy-as-fuck CGI dwarves. Who made that decision? Who saw those creations and thought "perfect for a kid's movie!"? Next, what the fuck did they do to Zegler's hair? Once the teaser was released and everyone pointed out that she looked like Lord Farquaad from Shrek, I couldn't unsee it. The overall costume design is horrendous too - Gadot's crown looks like it came from a Burger King kids meal and painted metallic purple. I would appreciated more creativity in the costume and hair/makeup design instead of trying to reproduce the original animation. And my final big problem with this film is that the guy who plays the prince (who isn't a prince?) is very, very boring. They have zero chemistry. And I'm pretty sure he's not straight (which is fine - I don't care if gay actors play straight just like I don't care if straight actors play gay, but you should be able to come off as straight for it to work. He does not. Like, at all.). There are many, many, many more smaller issues with this film - but there is some good stuff. Rachel is perfect in the role - she sounds amazing, has this sweet, innocent whimsy to her that reads really well onscreen. I honestly think she's just had the shittiest luck with film roles (her West Side Story debut was rattled with controversy due to Ansel Egort, then the Shazam sequel bombed for a lot of reasons but mostly due to Zachary Levi turning out to be a total asshole). I know she's currently doing some London theater now (also plagued by controversy because she sings the big number to the street crowd, which I actually think is super, duper cool!), but she has nothing listed for upcoming film projects which is concerning. I hope she gets something else soon that can focus on her talent and not controversy. The song "Waiting on a Wish" is really pretty. And I just like the story of Snow White a lot - I always imagined that if I got lost in the woods all the wild animals and creatures would lead me to safety and be my friends. A bear would definitely not eat me. 

5. Echo Valley - I never even heard of this movie STARRING JULIANNE MOORE AND SYDNEY SWEENEY (!!!) until it showed up on Apple +. That's WILD to me. A film starring a 5 time Oscar nominee (and one time winner), and one of the hottest young actresses around...and it's just a blip on a streaming service? As soon as I saw it, I don't think I've ever hit the "play" button so fast! It's Julianne Moore AND Sydney Sweeney?! Hell YES. Unfortunately, it's not great. But the ending definitely saves it. There's a strong story, and a strong beginning, but once the whole "hostage" part happens it becomes very stupid and very boring. Overall, I think I liked it though (solid 3 stars), but I think it could have had a little more intensity and a slightly faster pace. And, another unfortunate aspect is that Sweeney isn't in it all that much. She's in the beginning and seems like a co-lead, but she all but disappears from the rest of the film. Domhnall Gleeson has a bigger role - and he's great as this super creepy scumbag (he's better at these roles than the romcom roles he tries to do). While I like that the story is about this woman who will do anything to protect her daughter, I also think there has to be a limit where you say "no more" - it's obvious that the beginning is a set-up, and I can see forgiving someone for that (maybe), but once it turns into physical violence and threatens my animal, I would be OUT. I did look up filming locations for this because that lake looked familiar, and YUP it's filmed in NJ! I do remember reading about Sydney being in NJ for filming so this must have been the film (there are a ton of things filmed by the town I work in so I don't even blink an eye about it anymore). I think it's funny that they couldn't even make that lake look appealing in a film. Lakes are so disgusting and I'm amazed at how many people swim in dirty, green, cloudy water that has no current or cleaning system. Just hundreds of gross people swimming in standing water. Fucking gross. Anyway, like I said, this has a fantastic ending - sort of a twist, but it's obvious that something is going to give. There's definitely a big "cat and mouse"/"who's playing who" climax that ends the film on a high note. 

Film Retrospective Part III: Thoughts on 10 Films (pre-1990)

1. From Here to Eternity - [blind spot] I know I've seen the iconic scene with them kissing on the beach before, but I definitely have not seen the whole film. I liked it a lot, but 8 Oscars seems very generous. Maybe the Donna Reed one was deserved, but the rest is a little melodramatic to be award-worthy. There's some great dialogue, but the drunk acting was off-the-charts. I like the epic romantic war story a lot though - and I like watching this all unfold knowing what's about to happen (it takes place in Pearl Harbor just before the attacks). I didn't realize how much the film Pearl Harbor was "inspired" by it (and I LOVE Pearl Harbor - although I haven't seen it in, like, 20 years?). I feel like it's a film that my grandfather probably loved - and maybe that's why I remember some of the scenes so clearly? Or maybe I watched parts of it in a film class (I'll never know). On a very random sidenote - aren't the bathing suits from the 50s SO MUCH better than modern ones? I love them so much. I hate feeling like I'm in public with NO CLOTHES ON and I don't really want to see everyone's ass cheeks while I'm trying to sunbathe and mind my business. I wish everyone would go back to this style for beachwear. 

2. The Hill (1965) - [blind spot] I was talking about iconic opening shots in film, and someone recommended this to me as having the "best", and, well, they're not wrong! It's gorgeous! But I didn't realize it was Sean Connery in this, and ew. I can't stand him for a lot of reasons. But I will admit that I don't think I've ever seen him in anything in which he actually tries to act like he does here? And he's really, really good. It's shocking! But WHATEVER I still hate him. But Sidney Lumet, though. Just one of the best directors ever - I consider 5 of his films to be among the greatest of all time (Dog Day Afternoon, Network, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Serpico, and, my favorite, 12 Angry Men). I loved this too, but it probably wouldn't make it to my list. Although - technically it's amazing, and very Lumet. Just incredible blocking, camera angles, and some shots are so spectacular so maybe in a few years, I will change my mind. The circular tracking shot in the prison when they are all chanting is also very memorable (I think I like it even more than the opening shot!). The sound was a little muffled - I'm not sure if that was just the version I watched being messed up (I watched it on TCM) or if it was intentional - a lot of background noises seemed very clear, which makes me thing it's kind of like how Nolan plays with sound a lot. The story is really good, but feels a little stretched out - it didn't need to be over 2 hours. But overall, it's great!

3. Shanghai Express - [blind spot] I was excited for this first-time watch because Marlene Dietrich is a LEGEND, but unfortunately I didn't love it. It's...fine. But I was very bored, and it feels way longer than 90 minutes. There's some gorgeous cinematography and costume design, though. Dietrich looks like she just killed her husband and got away with it with that face netting, feather boa, and those eyebrows! My god, she is stunning. But all of the other characters are boring and everyone is very under-developed. I had high hopes with the opening tracking shot and then the train halting for the cow on the tracks (lol). And there's some great dialogue (and a lot of dialogue about race, which I wasn't expecting. "I'm not proud of my white blood" is surprising dialogue for a film from the 30s). I just kind of lost interest about 30 minutes in, so that was unfortunate. 

4. Manhattan - [blind spot] I always get this confused with Annie Hall and mix up which one I've seen, so I honestly wasn't sure until I started this as to whether I had seen it or not. But I definitely haven't and FUCK, I love it so much. Feelings about Woody Allen aside, I really love a LOT of his films, especially his mid-2000s run with Match Point, Cassandra's Dream, and Vicky Christina Barcelona. And then Midnight in Paris is one of my favorite films of the last 15 years. I would love to say, especially considering the subject matter (Allen dates a 17 year old because OF COURSE HE DOES), that this movie is garbage, but with that opening monologue about NYC followed by the swell of the orchestra, I instantly fell in love. It's just so good. And Meryl Streep is so hot in this. She's always gorgeous, but she's like peak Meryl Streep in this. Plus, I love Diane Keaton (maybe one of the few celebrities that I was star-struck by seeing in real life - she sat next to me at a restaurant a few years ago). It's hard to believe that Allen is supposed to be younger than me in this?! He just always looks over 50! Obviously there is great dialogue because that's sort of what Allen is known for, but there are also some beautifully stunning shots (the shot of the spiral staircase with a young Mariel Hemingway reading under the floor lamp??? SUBLIME!). I think the story would have been stronger had the girl been at least 25? He didn't need to make it creepy. The story really isn't about them anyway - it turns into more of a love triangle between him, his married friend, and his friend's lover (an appropriately aged Keaton). And that would have been a strong enough story. Overall, though, I loved this - up there with top-tier Woody Allen. 

5. It Came from Outer Space - [blind spot] I know the behind-the-scenes story to this (it's technically written by Ray Bradbury!), but I've never actually seen the whole thing in one sitting (I've seen pieces of it, most likely). It's basically Invasion of the Body Snatchers but not as dark - the aliens are trying to be peaceful and just want time to figure their own shit out but humans are gonna human. It's a good sci-fi story. I laughed hard at all the screams - she screams so loud and wildly at...nothing. It's very funny (not sure if that's the intent, though). And I never noticed that the alien design is basically what Monsters Inc. copied. Overall, this is a great sci-fi movie that inspired countless other films. 

6. Lilies of the Field - [blind spot] Another film with Arizona as its location (It Came from Outer Space also takes place in AZ. Those cacti are very specific to AZ only - and I think some part of Mexico?). Anyway, this is another Sidney Poitier film that I haven't seen, and I really liked it. Sidney is so damn charming and funny - him trying to teach the nuns English is so funny. Him saying "I stands up, y'all" and then laughing is so hilarious. And him complementing them "you girls look nice" and they're all wearing their nuns outfits. LOL. He's just so charming and effortless. I don't think the film is anything special, but his performance really makes it interesting. 

7. She's Having a Baby - [rewatch] I always get this movie and the one where Molly Ringwald says "I'm pregnant, can you pass the turnips" confused (I just looked it up - it's called For Keeps and it's definitely what I thought I was watching until I saw Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern and NO Molly Ringwald. LOL). I have seen this movie before though, and it's good. I like the honest depiction of marriage - but I also think it's a bit depressing for young people to look at marriage like this and still go through with it *just* because of the social pressure. And most problems in a marriage can easily be solved if they just TALK TO EACH OTHER. Like with the scene where she makes dinner that he doesn't want to eat it and she gets all upset and dramatic about it and she says "I didn't know what you wanted and I didn't feel like guessing"....um...just ask him? Or you can just not care? I usually make dinner for my husband and I rarely ask him what he wants. If I'm cooking, I'm making what I want. He can eat it or make something else for himself. Done and done. (and for the record, my husband eats his whole plate and says "thank you" because he's not an asshole). But some couples, especially ones depicted in the media, have all these passive-aggressive arguments and constant bickering and it honestly makes the whole concept of marriage seem unappealing. There is a very telling line "yeah, you'll be happy, you just won't know it", which is very astute. And kind of crazy sad to think about. Anyway, the best part of this movie is the end credits. HOLY SHIT. I definitely have never seen them before. But it's basically EVERY SINGLE FAMOUS PERSON from the 80s giving ideas for baby names. Like everyone - John Candy, Dan Akroyd, Matthew Broderick, Belinda Carlisle, Woody Harrelson, Kirstie Alley, Magic Johnson, Penny Marshall, Annie Potts, Ally Sheedy. You name 'em - they are all there. It's very entertaining. 

8. Uncle Buck - [rewatch] One of my favorite 80s movies and definitely in my top 3 John Candy films (Once Upon a Crime and Planes, Trains & Automobiles are the other two. Home Alone doesn't really count, although I love his scene in it). Candy is so missed - my top three comedians growing up were John Candy, Robin Williams, and Phil Hartman and all three were gone way too soon. I definitely haven't seen this since I was a kid (I was 8 when it came out, so probably at least 30 years, so this will be an interesting watch). Macauley Culkin and Gabby Hoffman were so damn cute!! But, it's far more serious of a film than I remember? It's got some funny moments (like Candy walking through the crowd of teens dancing to "Bust a Move". SO FUNNY) and definitely some sexual innuendos that I didn't catch as a kid. I also didn't realize that the neighbor lady was played by Laurie Metcalf! How funny. Anyway, this was interesting! Far more grown up than I remember, but still cute. I love the relationship that forms between him and the older, rebellious teen daughter - I remember thinking she was so cool when I was a kid. Haha! A great, fun re-watch. 

9. The Running Man - [rewatch] Technically, this is a rewatch because I definitely watched this a while back while it was on tv, but I remember being really bored and I didn't pay that much attention to it (I couldn't even tell you the plot), so I decided to give it another go (especially since Edgar Wright is doing the remake this year (YAY), starring Glen Powell (hmmmmm...)), but...um...I was really bored again?! I like a lot about it though - like how it starts with Arnie saying "I'm not firing on helpless people". I wish more people in law enforcement (cops, border patrol, etc.) would say no, but instead "follow orders" (and then are confused when people call them nazis?? Make it make sense!). Anyway, unfortunately, the film is just too campy and ridiculous. And they don't get the "future" of 2019 right AT ALL. It still screams 80s movie - both aesthetically and from a fashion standpoint. And why is she wearing lingerie to work out?? Also, he says "I'll be back" in this too????!! That's amazing. 

10. Psycho (1960) - [rewatch] So, I had a really cool experience rewatching this because I got to see it in a theater! My first ever Hitchcock on a big screen, which is kind of crazy to think about considering how much of a fan I am. I literally own a majority of his films (even multiples of some). So, the Paris Theater (now owned by Netflix) did a Hitchcock retrospective and showed a ton of his films, along with some films inspired by Hitch. I wish I saw more, but it's not the easiest place to get to (not super difficult either - a 40 minute train ride, followed by a 30 minute walk or smelly/sweaty subway ride). I picked Psycho because it's one of his most iconic and the timing of it was right. And I think it was a great choice! It's not my favorite Hitch, but it's a classic for a reason. It was really fun seeing it with an audience. I was happy that everyone laughed at the right parts (it's very funny! like when the car is sinking and then just *stops* sinking). There are a few jump scares that got a few people in the audience too, which is always fun to see. I also noticed how *dumb* some of the plot points are - how he doesn't notice the weight of the newspaper that contains 40k?! But, overall, a close masterpiece - Janet Leigh and Vera Miles are great, but Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates is one of the best performances in film history. I know people have spoken about the resemblance before, but if they ever do a biopic on Perkins, Andrew Garfield is a dead ringer, and has the charm to boot! 

3 Thoughts on Materialists

*slight spoilers ahead*

1. Is this a romcom? - I mean, it's NOT, but that's apparently how it's advertised?! I went into it thinking it was a romantic drama similar to Celine Song's last film Past Lives, and that's what I got. But then I saw a lot of people complaining about certain plot points being included in a romcom and I thought "well, you're clearly an idiot because this is not supposed to be a romcom" but then I looked it up and it IS according to the marketing? WHAT THE FUCK. I would be super pissed too if I expected that and then was hit in the face with a sexual assault plot point. That's fucked. There can be funny moments in a drama! Why are these lines getting so blurred? This is *most definitely* a drama, with a few lighter moments and (some) funny dialogue. But it's not laugh-out-loud funny. And I feel like it deals with the difficulties of dating in a very dramatic way. There's this sense that this woman has to chose between love or money, which seems like an easy answer, but it's not always the realistic choice. I like the way it rewinds to show the actual relationship that happened with the "love" choice - they fought all the time! About money! And it shows nuance to both answers of "love" or "money". Which brings me to my next point...

2. Is this real life? - First, I don't think "matchmaker" is a viable career in 2025. None of this felt like real life. But I also think this film presents dating as a very black & white enterprise and I just don't believe that's true? At least I hope it's not true. Like, sure, everyone has their preferences but I think any sane person knows that it's not realistic to find someone by checking off a box of those preferences. I kind of appreciate that this film switches up the materialistic dating preferences to women's views on men because I feel like it's usually the opposite (they do show both genders in this, but a lot of the focus is on how women view men as dating options), because men do have some insane pressures too - like height and finances. I met my husband through a dating app but I definitely did not check boxes that he had to be over 6ft and make $300k a year. That's INSANE. I do tend to prefer tall men - and unfortunately, a lot of women do too. But it's not a deal-breaker? And it shouldn't be. And OF COURSE it's nice if you meet someone you like and they happen to make a lot of money, but again, it's INSANE to think that's realistic. There is a happy medium, of course. I feel like Johnson's choices in this are such opposite ends of the financial spectrum. But the REALITY is that you can probably find a nice guy that you're attracted to, who is financially secure (i.e can pay his bills and take you out to a nice dinner occasionally), and that's *usually* a sign of maturity and responsibility (I say usually because family wealth will most likely be a sign of the opposite - men who don't grow up because they don't have to). It's okay to care about materialist things, but I don't think anyone believes those things are the be all and end all in a relationship. And if they do, then they deserve to be miserably alone. 

3. Is this bad acting? - Well, yes AND no. Dakota Johnson is a delight and I love her. If she didn't star in this, it would be a 2 star film (I rated it 3 stars). But I think the other stars of the film - Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal are horrendous in this film. And one is simply bad acting. Evans is almost always bad. He was fine as Captain America, and I thought he was Hot in that movie with Anna Faris. But he's painfully bad in more than a few films. And you can add this one to the list. The problem is that the dialogue is a little clunky and sappy (especially the end), and a bad actor emphasizes this. Evans also SCREAMS Boston to me so to have him as a down-and-out New York actor is ridiculous! But in the case of Pedro Pascal - I think he was simply miscast, as he has been in several projects. Everyone wants to jump on the Pascal train (I GET IT!), but there's such a thing as an actor not being right for the role and I feel like casting directors forget about that when they have the chance to book someone big. This is the second role in a row that I've seen him in that just wasn't...right (Gladiator II is the other. I also don't think he's right for the new Fantastic 4 but I'm hoping I'm wrong). Like I said, I GET IT. I adore him - and have since Narcos. And he was the best part of the Kingsman sequel (and that's saying a lot coming from me). But he does not work well with this dialogue at all - it doesn't feel natural at all. My face was literally wincing through his scenes at the end because I felt bad for him. But the biggest problem of all is that none of them had any chemistry together. The whole time, I thought that neither of these men were right for her, so the whole exercise seems like a moot point. A different cast and this may have been another 4 star banger from Song, but with this cast it falls flat. 

Best Films of 2024 ***Updated***

2025 is flying by! It's already time for my *updated* Best Films of 2024 list! Here goes: 

1. The Substance

2. Kinds of Kindness

3. Anora

4. His Three Daughters

5. A Different Man

6. The Brutalist

7. I'm Still Here

8. The Wild Robot

9. Didi

10. Strange Darling

10.5 Better Man 

Only 5 films remain from my original ranking. And I think I've actually seen everything from last year that I wanted to see! Last year was a good year for movies - definitely way more movies that I ranked 4 stars than I normally do. Hopefully this year picks up some steam!