Thoughts on 5 Films

1. I Wanna Dance with Somebody - Ugh, this is a very forgettable biopic about one unforgettable star. Whitney Houston is definitely one of the best vocal artists of all-time, and she served hit after hit in the 80s & 90s. If there is one song that will automatically get me on the dance floor at a wedding, it's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" (and I sing it very loudly in my car on my way to work). She also gave, hands down, the best and most iconic performance of the national anthem ever. It's sad that her life turned into a joke and instead of getting the help she desperately needed, her audience turned on her and she became a tabloid fixation (this is obviously a common thing - I feel like Britney has gone down the same path). Her "crack is wack" interview is one of those seminal moments in pop history that I vividly remember everyone talking about. I think this film got bogged down with all of these weird moments in her history instead of focusing on her story. It desperately needed a focal point. Also, I feel bad for Naomi Ackie, because this was just a poor casting choice to begin with. It was setting her up to fail - so I'm not going to blame her. She just looks nothing like Whitney, nor does she embody her spirit at all. And, my God, the actor they got to play Bobby Brown, just embarrassing levels of bad acting. I'm never really a fan of biopics that are so straight-forward like this, nor do I really find the whole recreating performances that interesting. I will say one positive thing - I love that they embraced her sexuality. I actually never realized that her relationship with her best fried was ever confirmed. I thought it remained a rumor until her death. That is a huge part of her story, and a strong indication as to why she was so depressed and fell into addiction. Some other thoughts: Is Clive Davis like the ONLY good music producer? By good, I mean like a decent human being? I feel like this sort of character is always represented as the height of greed and toxicity, but I don't think I've ever heard anything bad about Davis? Also, I laughed real hard when she picks The Bodyguard script back up when he says "Kevin Costner". 

2. Plane - As far as big dumb action movies go, I think this is successful. It is exactly what I was expecting it to be, and it was exactly what I was in the mood to watch, so I was highly entertained. I also just really love Gerard Butler. I don't think he gets enough credit as a really reliable action star. He always puts full effort into these roles, but it never feels overdone. And he gets to keep his super sexy Scottish accent in this!!! It's a win for everyone, really. I also really like Mike Colter (I recently started watching Evil. It's okay, but the cast excels it). It's obviously a little unrealistic that crash landing a plane is not the worst part of ones day, but still, the story is interesting and rightfully intense. I was also a little annoyed at the passengers constant complaining - I mean, I would be a LOT nicer to a pilot who just landed a plane that was struck by lightning. And, I would try to help? It's weird that they just rely on him as the leader, as if any of it is his fault or responsibility. I kind of made me want all of the entitled, whiny passengers to die, and I doubt that was the intent. I also think that they do a really good job of creating this suspicion around Colter's character until the very end - it kept me invested in the plot instead of relying on constant action sequences and fight scenes. 

3. Bones and All - Hmmmm....maybe I'm just not a fan of Luca Guadagnino? I'm pretty indifferent on everything I've seen of his (this, Call Me By Your Name, the Suspiria remake), and for some reason, I expected to be blown away by each. A big part of why I'm not blown away by this is Timothee Chalamet (Chamalet? I still refuse to look up which one is correct). I just don't really understand his appeal. He's so skinny and frail looking - and he can't act??? And I don't believe for second that his character listens to KISS or that he didn't buy those jeans pre-ripped. Just nothing about his character seems genuine, at all - and I fully blame his whole persona on that. BUT, I LOVE Taylor Russell. She was in that Netflix Lost in Space reboot and she was my favorite character on that show, and she was in one of my favorite movies of 2019 (Waves. Highly recommended if you haven't seen it). She is stunning in this. I didn't realize that it was, like, actually about cannibalism. I find it highly entertaining that Luca's last film starred Armie Hammer (and also Timmy), and then he decided to make a film about cannibalism?? There has to be a story there, right? Anyway, I think it can obviously be interpreted in different ways, but I think it's an allegory for people with mental illness trying to make their way in the world, seeking love and compassion from another human. I also think it's trying to "mystify" cannibalism into the same realm as vampires, werewolves, etc, which is sort of interesting. I really like how it starts out - the way that being poor is depicted, her heartbreak when realizing that the one person who vowed to take care of her has abandoned her - it's all really effective. But I think it lost me the moment that Mark Rylance shows up. The entire section of the film is really, really boring and I didn't really see it as being important to the story (it is). Then Timothee shows up, and it remains really boring until the ending, which I also really liked (when she says something like "Let's just be people", it's really sweet). I also wasn't expecting it to be so gruesome. I actually had to look away from the screen a few times, and I don't get grossed out very easily. 

4. A Man Called Otto - Just a lovely little movie. I wasn't expecting to get as emotional as I did, but Hanks gives an incredibly effective performance, and the story just hits all the right notes. It's a remake of Swedish movie called A Man Called Ove (which was adapted from a novel of the same name), but I have not seen it nor have I read it, so again, I had no expectations of what it was. I'm surprised Hanks wasn't talked about more for this during Oscar season? He definitely should have been in the conversation (and it's weird that he also gave one of the worst performances of last year with Elvis). It's about this seemingly grumpy man who is a stickler for the rules, but once we see behind the curtains, we realize how depressed he is. In sort of an odd way, it's similar to Bones and All, because it's about having compassion for people, even ones who seem like assholes. Sometimes we get those people at my place of work, and I just love to kill them with kindness, because I feel like they must live very miserable lives. In this case, we learn that the love of his life has died, and he's so miserable without her that he plans to kill himself, but each time he tries, he is interrupted by something that gives him an excuse to live for a little longer. And then this lovely family moves in across the street and they decide to become a part of his life, whether he likes it or not. I do think there are a lot of cynics that will see this story as this woman did this on purpose because she saw that he had no-one else (*major spoiler* he leaves everything to her when he dies), but I see it as a bit of karma for her being a good person. There is this weird moment in the film, when I questioned how his wife died, and thought that maybe she died by suicide, which would have been somehow more depressing - given how loved she was. I just fell in love with their love story - the way that he doesn't order an entrée on their first date so that he can afford to pay for her to order what she wants. I literally almost cried. And then it shows how he adjusted their whole house so that she could navigate everything in her wheelchair. Ugh... it just really hit me right in the heart. Anyway, there is just no way that she would have wanted him to be so miserable without her, and it's heartwarming to watch him come to that conclusion. ALSO, PSA: please don't kill yourself by jumping in front of a train. Or really anywhere where there are innocent people trying to go about their day - you will traumatize complete strangers for the rest of their lives (a few years ago, I had someone stop their car on the train tracks in front of me, and it took me a minute to realize what he was doing, it was one of the worst moments of my life. Me and another bystander got out of cars and started screaming at him to not do it. The other bystander looked at me, pleading, and said..."I can't go, I have kids" meaning that I should go and try to pull him out of the car before the fucking train hits. Luckily, he sped away, and then the train came separating us. We called the police, but neither of us thought to get his license plate - we were just in too much of a panic to think straight. They did say that they might still be able to find him with cameras around the area, so I hope that's true and I hope he got some help. But, he also traumatized me, a complete stranger, for life). 

5. Air - It's a 3 star movie, but definitely on the higher end of the 3 star movie spectrum. There's a lot to like about it. First, Matt Damon is always good. Him and Affleck, in a movie together, is just magical. It moves pretty quickly for an almost 2 hour drama. It's also just a really strong story - and the history behind it is interesting and relevant, especially with the ongoing writer's strike. It's the perfect story for Ben to tell, too, because him and Damon have been doing some interesting things within the film community to spread profit (look it up! They are actively trying to change things from within). It's fascinating how much a celebrity endorsement can make or break a brand (I would love to say that I can't be swayed like that, but I just spent a ridiculous amount of money on sunglasses because Taron Egerton wears them and swears by them. And I do love them and now I want 30 more pairs in every color). I don't really know much about Michael Jordan, other than him being the greatest basketball player of all-time, so I think I would have appreciated more of his story (although that would be a different movie). I just think it's a little weird that he's not actually in the movie, at all. The actor playing him is seen from the back or side profile and he has like 2 lines off-camera. I also think that Affleck had a field day picking out the music for this. Is there such a thing as too many needle drops?? Because this is way too many. Also, the beginning montage? WE GET IT, IT'S THE 80s!! How stupid do you think your audience is, Ben? Also, why does he insist on being in movies in which he wears weird wigs and facial hair? It never looks natural on him. My only other gripe is the unnecessary and awkwardly placed circular tracking shots - he did this in Live By Night, too. It's weird because I feel like he's almost regressing as a filmmaker, but I still love him. I realize that everything I just said here is mostly negative, but I did like it - it's just not something I'll really remember, and there really isn't that much to talk about. 

Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Cocaine Bear - I'm actually surprised that I didn't like this. I know it looked ridiculous and silly, but I thought I would find it fun and entertaining. But it's....actively a terrible movie. I think it's super cool that Elizabeth Banks is directing films, but...uhhhhh...she's not very good at it, is she? I have nothing good to say about this - it's poorly acted even though most of the cast are established good actors (when this happens, I immediately blame the director), the editing is so jarring, the CGI bear is absolutely ridiculous looking, and the tone is all over the place. I think, as far as the acting goes, there was no clear direction of what kind of movie this was supposed to be. Is it a trashy comedy? Is it a suspenseful horror? A gangster thriller? Every actor is doing a different genre, truly. And I don't know who the actor is who plays the character called "kid", but he is not a teenager (that guy is at least 35 years old). I just rooted for them all to die - even the kids. I appreciate that some of the kills are way over-the-top, and very funny, but the rest of the movie is too awful to really enjoy any of it. This just has to end up on my Worst of 2023 list. It just has to. Also, it's weird that the poster is a direct copy of Sin City, right? What was the point of that? 

2. Ghosted - What the fuck happened here? Like, for real, I'm being serious...how do you fuck up a film this badly? There has to be a bigger story here - there were rumors that the two stars, Chris Evans & Ana de Armas, were not on set together for most of the shoot, but that's simply not true because I saw a whole behind the scenes/blooper video on some Ana de Armas fan account and they clearly filmed together (and looked like they were having a ton of fun!). And then there's that interview that circulated with Dexter Fletcher talking about the differences in making a film specifically for streaming compared to theaters, essentially trying to make an excuse as to why it's SO BAD, but there have been plenty of films made for streaming that are not even close to being THIS bad. I think I'm most disappointed in Dexter, because Chris Evans has made plenty of bad movies (and he'll continue to because he's not a good actor. He was fine as Captain America, but now that it's over, I think people will start to realize that he can't do much else. Still hot, though.) and Armas saves what little there is to save here. But Fletcher's last movie was Rocketman - aka my favorite movie of the last decade. There seems to be a general consensus that Taron was a huge Oscar snub for his performance, but I think Fletcher directed the Hell out of it (and the costumes should have probably won...). I just don't understand how you go from something that creative, bold and fun....to this? Just the blandest action romance I've ever witnessed. So, here's everything that went wrong: First, Evans is completely miscast - he can certainly do the whole all-American farm boy thing very well, but uh...he looks like THAT, so I hardly believe he has a hard time getting any girl - even someone as hot as Armas. They do have a solid chemistry (it's weird that this is the 3rd movie they've done together in just 4 years time), but they show this chemistry by...bickering. Bickering is not flirting. Bickering is bickering and it's annoying as fuck; not cute. And he gets so mad at her for no reason??? He's upset that she might kill a plant, but why didn't he offer her a succulent or cacti in a nice way instead of being an asshole? Second, why the wig? I don't understand? Ana has beautiful hair. Was she filming something else that she had to keep a certain hairstyle for that they didn't like? We need an explanation. Third, TATE DONOVAN is playing Chris Evans' DAD??? Tate Donovan, who previously dated hot women like Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Aniston, is now playing a dad to a mid-30 year old? How/when did this happen? I do not accept it. Fourth, why is Burn Gorman playing a taxi driver with a horrendously fake British accent for like 3 minutes of the movie??? I thought this was going to be addressed later in the plot, but no? So fucking weird. Fourth, I can't believe the plot is that he literally stalks her? Who approved that? Those tracker things are fucking terrifying for women, and this shows everyone exactly why. And last, those Marvel cameos are so awful - it all felt so forced because I think at this point they realized they had a bad movie and they needed to spice things up. BUT, as I said, Armas is the saving grace - not the best acting (not her fault - the dialogue felt so unnatural), but she's great in these roles where she kicks ass. There aren't many women who I find believable in these type of roles (Charlize Theron, yes. Angelina Jolie, yes. Jessica Chastain, nope.), but she's great - and you know she's gonna show up in a sexy dress and fight (and this doesn't disappoint). 

3. Till - Well, this is definitely better than the previous two movies above, but I was still a little disappointed with this. It's just very average. It's one of those stories that I think would be hard to make a bad movie out of. The story is already there - heartbreaking, powerful, and infuriating; it's automatically going to invoke emotion from an audience, but there is just nothing, cinematically speaking, that makes it special. Nothing that elevates it from being just a powerful story. It's just a very straight-forward linear story, which is always disinteresting to me. However, it's important to keep telling these stories within the film/television medium because, somehow, there are people who don't learn about these stories in school (my mom had not heard about Emmett Till and I was stunned to learn this. We saw the trailer for it in the theater and she literally gasped when he dies and was like "oh that's so awful". Like, for real mom? Are you being serious right now - you didn't know what was going to happen to him as soon as they said his name was Emmett Till????). Daniel Deadwyler gives a fantastic performance, but the Best Actress category was so strong this past year - I can see why she was snubbed. She absolutely deserved to be in the conversation, but I don't think she would have made my choice for the category either. It's not a bad movie, solid 3 stars, but it also just did nothing for me. It did cause me to go into a deep google search about the woman who accused him of making sexual advances; I was very curious to find out what happened to her (seems like nothing, but I hope she lived with that guilt every single second of every single day) - even weirder that she died like 10 days after I watched this. 

4. Jerry & Marge Go Large - This is a cute little indie drama. It reminds me of that movie about the extreme coupon lady with Kristen Bell, but sweeter. The story is based on a true tale about a man who found a flaw in the lottery system, enabling him to win millions of dollars - but the "sweet" part is that he gets his whole small town community involved in the winnings and they use the money to help revive businesses and fix up the surroundings. I like that he's not this greedy asshole who just like buys himself a mansion and other unnecessary things. I also like the cast - Bryan Cranston, Annette Benning, Jake McDorman and Rainn Wilson, can't go wrong! And there are a few genuinely funny moments too ("Look at you! It's like Up!" made me laugh HARD). I do think it's a little sad that this couple seem so miserable in the beginning - it's kind of hard to root for them to stay together. I know they've been together for an eternity so the "steam" is expectedly lost, but the fact that they don't just enjoy each other's company and they don't have anything to talk about is just really depressing. It does start to get more hopeful once they start spending time together and the excitement of winning seems to reboot things - and they realize that the enjoyment comes from doing something together and not necessarily the winning part. 

5. Scream VI - I love the Scream franchise. The first Scream is probably in my Top 50 favorite movies of all-time. I think my age is a big part of that (it came out in theaters when I was 15 years old and became a big part of my teenage years). Even the 2nd and 3rd film were big "event" theater experiences. The only one that I didn't like is the 4th one. I would definitely need to do a re-watch (maybe this year?), but I think my ranking would be:

Scream

Scream 2

Scream VI

Scream (2022)

Scream 3

Scream (TV series)

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Scre4m

I like that this one acknowledges the "franchise" aspect - and continues to tell its story with that concept in mind. However, I think this is the first time that I guessed who Ghostface was within the first 20 minutes (more on this in a minute). It didn't really effect my enjoyment of it, but it still felt a little weird not being surprised or having my guess be second-guessed (does that make sense? I mean, I kinda knew who it was in the last one too, but I feel like they did a good job throwing the audience off the scent so we weren't fully sure until the reveal. Where as this one is very obvious - and the scenes trying to throw you off are even more obvious). Anyway, I love Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera (it's weird that I saw a few reviews that cite Barrera as the weak link, acting-wise, and I whole-heartedly disagree. I think she's a terrific actress). And I always welcome an appearance by Miss Gale Weathers. But I truly screamed out-loud when I realized who the first kill was. HOW PERFECT! The rest of the cast is...ok - I think I was expecting some bigger names to appear in order to make up for the absence of Sidney (and also, I do think Neve Campbell had every right to ask for more money, but unfortunately for her, the franchise is bigger than her - it's going to be successful with or without her, so her withdrawal from the series is a little pointless - it's not like she's a big movie star fielding tons of other offers? I feel like she came out on the losing side of this one). I do also really like Liana Liberto (I don't think I've seen her in anything since Trust, but I LOVED her in that). I'm not the biggest fan of Hayden Panattiere and I've sort of blocked out Scre4m, so I couldn't remember a single thing about her character. The biggest success, though, is moving the story to NYC. It sets up for some seriously amazing scenes (the bodega scene from the trailer is fucking stellar, as is the subway scene). So onto the Ghostface reveal - *SPOILERS OBVIOUSLY* - I instantly *knew* that Liana's character was the killer for 2 reasons: As soon as she said that her brother died I connected who her brother was. And considering that this is the 3rd film of the "rebooted" series, it's going to follow in the original trilogies 3rd film which had family members of a previous Ghostface as the new Ghostface. So, it's very obvious that it's her and her dad - even after she "dies" because you don't really see her dead, and then her dad is the one at the scene so he could easily cover it up. I guess the reveal of the 3rd Ghostface was a little bit of a surprise, but he felt like a last minute add-on to keep something surprising. Like I said, it was a weird feeling to guess it so quickly and to have my guess never waiver, but I still really liked this - it's fun, has really strong kill scenes, likeable characters, etc. 

Thoughts on 5 New TV Shows

1. Liaison - This show was sort of a slog to get through, but parts of it are really good. Plus, it's Eva Green and Vincent Cassel! They have great chemistry together. I kept watching it for them alone (it does have a great supporting cast too, of a bunch of people who look familiar but I don't know their names). There's also a scene in episode 4 or maybe 5 in which a plane has gone rogue over the city of London and it's really intense. Other than that, though, the plot is overly complicated, the series doesn't really offer anything new or fresh, and I found my thoughts drifting when Eva isn't on screen. There's somehow too much stuff within these 6 episodes, but any more episodes would feel too long (and I definitely will not be interested in a season 2). It's definitely a disappointment considering it's Apple TV+, because most of their shows have been bangers. I don't really have much else to say about it, which tells you everything you need to know, I guess!

2. That '90s Show - I like That '70s Show a lot, but I was never that invested in it or the characters. But, it's my husband's favorite sitcom so when we first met we would watch it a lot (and I made him watch Friends, which he now loves). He watched two episodes of this, and then said "nope, I'm out". I continued to watch because I think it's cute (and the next generation doesn't bother me as much because I work with teenagers so I'm used to them a bit more than he is). I just really like seeing the older characters back together (minus the one who is on trial for rape...also I try to pretend like Laura Pepron is not a Scientologist because it's so disturbing). Unfortunately, the one on trial for rape played my favorite character - Hyde. His sarcasm was the BEST. But after that I love Kelso and and Jackie (and it's cute that they are married in real life now). I think it's hilarious that in this new series (focused on Eric & Donna's teenager daughter and her friends) they named their daughter Leia Tatooine (I literally spit out my water when he said her name). It's a cute show to just throw on while I'm cleaning or writing. I wish that the kid actors were stronger actors, but I don't think the original cast are very strong actors either so it sort of works. 

3. Swarm - I like this miniseries quite a bit. Some episodes are far better than others, but overall I like what it's trying do - and I really think Donald Glover is a genius. There are definitely elements in this that felt like Atlanta, with the genre jumping and the focus on side plots. There is a very clear indictment of "stan" culture and how dangerous it's become - that is the main theme, with the focus on a pop diva that is very obviously supposed to be Beyonce (and her "Beyhive"; hence the "Swarm"). I think we were fundamentally heading in the wrong direction as soon as we started calling it "stan" (like, we've listened to the song, yes? It's about someone so obsessed with a celebrity that they kill themselves). I get being a super fan of someone, and as a teenager/young adult I definitely was obsessed with *NSYNC and Justin Timberlake. But there is a line that's being crossed now, due mostly to social media and our ability to find out everything about everyone, that is really scary. When I was in college I was really interested in music videos (they were big back in 2002) and I secured internships at multiple record companies, one of which was Jive Records (*NSYNC's record label). This was when Justin Timberlake was releasing his solo album and doing a ton of promotion for it - and I was in the Video Promotion department. At one point my boss handed me a printed calendar and asked me to distribute a physical copy to every department. I looked down at it and it was literally Justin's schedule - where he was staying, his scheduled interviews, his restaurant reservations. I could have easily stalked him. But I'M NOT A CRAZY PERSON, so I didn't. And so many people thought I was the weird one for not stalking someone. This also reminds me that I am a bit obsessed with Taron Egerton now (SHOCKING, I know) and sometimes I'll search twitter for updates on him (like his projects & interviews and such, not his personal life) and there is this one girl who literally stalks him and she posts videos of meeting him (it has to be upwards of 25 times now) and he is always extremely nice to her and knows her name and says hi, gives her a hug etc., and she's, like, proud of this. And in my mind, I think he's probably fucking terrified of her??? Like, she's a crazy person, clearly? Anyway, I've gone off-topic a little. Well, not really, I'm just giving examples of how crazy people are and this is what this show depicts - these crazy fans who will do anything for their idol (I mean, I don't think most people are murderers, but crazy nonetheless). I said this when I saw her in Project Power, but Dominique Fishback is a STAR. She's incredible in this - like, Emmy worthy incredible. There's a lot of other famous people in small roles that got more attention than they deserved, I think, like Billie Eilish (who is...fine...but also in the most boring episode of the series) and Paris Jackson (although inspired casting with the "half black" character arc), but Fishback's performance will go down as among the best of the year. 

4. Up Here - Super-duper cute and sweet with a cherry on top. I love it so much. It's been a while since there has been a good musical tv show (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was sooo good until it wasn't). I absolutely adore Mae Whitman in every project (also, my mom always says that she reminds her of me which I think is weird because she also says that about Drew Barrymore. Like she thinks that I give off Drew Barrymore vibes and I think Whitman has that same presence. But I don't think I have that presence). But I'm really, really surprised by Carlos Valdes because I couldn't stand him on The Flash, but he is SO GOOD in this (and the haircut suits him so much better). I think he was just miscast on The Flash because I'm pretty sure we were supposed to like his character but I found him so annoying and obnoxious. But this is such a different role for him and he nails it! I like that it takes place in NYC in 1999 (which is a very different place than NYC post 2001) because it reminds me of my early college years (I went to college in Westchester NY, which is right outside NYC, from 1999 through 2003). The see-through phone really got me (and, remember talking on the phone??? What a concept.). I really like the musical numbers - they both have such surprisingly strong voices and they sound great together. I think the "So Many Ways" musical number is my favorite so far (those lyrics!). I'm surprised that the musical theater people aren't screaming about this from the rooftops??? Or are they still all obsessed with Hamilton (*groans*)? 

5. Shrinking - I was hesitant about watching this because I'm just so tired of Harrison Ford's grumpy curmudgeon act that he's been doing for 30+ years, but the great reviews reeled me in. And I'm glad they did, because I'm really enjoying this. I've only watched the first two episodes, but it feels sort of like an American version of After Life (the Ricky Gervais Netflix show - it's amazing). I don't have very much to say about it just yet (because, again, I've only watched two episodeds), but so far it is very funny. I love every character - especially Gaby, portrayed by Jessica Williams. She is so fucking funny and I love her gigantic water bottle (and Ford's deadpan response "that's too much water"). I've liked Jason Segel in a few things, but he's really strong here and he does a fantastic Harrison Ford impression. Also, I don't think I've ever actually seen Michael Urie in anything before and he is also hilarious (his "I think you're very rude and I deserve better" scene is really poignant too. Never allow people to treat you like shit, even if they are going through their own shit). Anyway, I like that this feels very much in the real world - I think (hope?) it's widely known that therapists are the fucking craziest people out there (it was always a joke in my college - like the people studying psychology and human behavior are just trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with themselves), and this doesn't shy away from that. His solutions aren't exactly ethical, but if they actually work and help people then....maybe it's the right way to go? Although it feels like he's going more towards a Life Coach career (which I know seems ridiculous, but I would be a terrific Life Coach). I'm excited to watch more of this, and it feels like it might be an easy show to binge, but I'm going to try and savor it.