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⭐ 6/10 Ezra loved Cars, but didn't seem to care at all about Cars 2, so why not Planes? I read a couple quick reviews and was shocked to find that this movie is completely reviled! People were really angry about it, and while I didn't love it at all I didn't think it was terrible. Cars is excellent, and has a great premise, basically Emporer's New Groove for the arc of the main character. In this movie we have a crop duster who dreams of being a racer - cool! Also, he's afraid of heights! Great! I liked this as a setup, but the rest of the movie is pretty cookie cutter. Hits all the same beats as cars, all the same jokes (including lots of read-end humour, including vehicles ogling the tail ends of the female vehicles, which is kind of weird), even has a basically identical supporting cast. That might be where the hate came from, this is a lazy retread. Even the voice actor playing Dusty (Dane Cook!? Remember him!?) sounds a whole lot like Owen Wilson. But over a d...

     This is a very recent release that I was interested in primarily because of the great title and cover, and obviously I have a particular interest in China. The premise of a book that combines Chinese history and magical realism also intrigued me, and I thought this was a good book to challenge myself a bit with.      This book is made up primarily of 3 points of view in 3 different time periods.  We start in 2017, when Qianze receives word that her father, who left the family when she was 14, is looking for her. He's confused and haunted, and she gives in and houses him. Every day he rambles about his past and a family curse, but can't quite remember what he needs to tell her. Then we get sections from her father Weihong's pov of growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution, during which he discovers the violence he's capable of. Finally, we get the story of Weihong's mother Ming during the Japanese invasion, growing up as an unwanted daught...

⭐10/10 This is a movie that totally slipped under my radar and didn't seem to get a whole lot of traction in general. It seems like not a ton of people saw it and it never really garnered a ton of praise, having some positive but mostly middling reviews.  Well you know me! I won't be deterred by the throngs, but will call this movie what it is: an absolute masterpiece! And because this movie was written, directed, and led by women, you can call me an ally while you're at it.  Anyways, this movie is about Saoirse hitting rock bottom with addiction after moving to the big city, and so she moves back home to Orkney to try and heal and get away from temptation. I totally admit that this movie was made specifically for me. It is all sweeping shots of the most beautiful country in the world, moody close-ups as the waves crash over the shore, and a wonderful actress at the peak of her powers portraying a complex, often tortured person in recovery. It would be impossibl...

⭐N/A Moby Dick is now also my white whale, and like Captain Ahab my zeal for finishing this novel grew and grew but was ultimately left unfulfilled. Unlike Ahab, I have the power of an online blog where I can process my thoughts and thus leave my white whale in peace. I thought this would be the perfect book for me, with all the sea-faring qualities I loved from The Wager, combined with the literary adventure qualities I've come to love from books like Lonesome Dove. I pick up a classic now and then, and although this one is nearing 200 years old, I was initially sold. I found it pretty approachable and even entertaining, following the story of Ismael as he gets wrapped up in an epic revenge story.  Eventually, though, i had to admit to myself that I was no longer enjoying or really even comprehending this story. I know it's dumb to review a DNF, but i spent dozens of hours over three months trying to finish this novel and developed a lot of opinions. I would say th...

⭐6/10 Kinda forgot I watched this one. I was a true believer in the first movie, feeling that despite its flaws, the music was amazing and the emotional moments worked for me. I think this one was just a little worse in every way. I didn't really feel anything all movie, and then the music is all pretty forgettable. I also found the first one pretty funny, and I know this is supposed to be more serious but without the humor element I found this one a bit boring.  The costumes and sets all look fantastic again, though the CGI is pretty brutal. All that said, I would have forgiven much if this one paid off those bleak, tragic themes it hinted at in part 1. This movie was set up to be a heart-wrenching tragedy but instead it was a pretty tame fairytale ending in which I kinda just shrugged my shoulders and forgot all about during my drive home. Pretty disappointing follow up to a movie that really had it's moment the year before. 

⭐8/10 Won't take a ton of time to review this season, but it was an interesting and unique one because it introduced duos. I mean, it totally goes against the literal name of the game, but I thought it was a welcome addition. I loved seeing the dynamics of both people working towards the same goal, and it adds a level on energy and intrigue to the show when you see these people interacting. That said, the gimmick for this season didn't work. The pairs were forced to find each other through the bush, and while that might be a survival skill, it's not really what this show is about, and instead it eliminated half the teams before the survival element really started. There were multiple instances where people had to leave against their will for their partner and it was a bit of a bummer. Still, when the teams that made it were reunited, it made for some beautiful moments.  The teams were a mixed bag. It featured a couple, father & son duos, and brothers, with o...

⭐10/10 This is a classic Japanese samurai movie made in 1962, and these days is kinda best known for being the highest rated movie on Letterboxd and thus considered one of the best movies ever made. Obviously an old, foreign language classic movie is a bit intimidating and not something you want to jump into on a random Wednesday, but that's precisely what I did and I came out a believer.  The beautiful thing about this movie is that it begins with a very simple premise and is easily digestible and you get attached to characters very quickly. I was nervous to watch a movie about harakiri (samurai ritual suicide) because in other media, I've obviously had no ability to relate to this concept and have never found stories surrounding it to be compelling in the least. The same is not true here. In fact, I would say this is an anti-samurai movie in a lot of ways, a criticism of the code and an examination of shared humanity. The movie makes the stakes and expectations ve...

⭐6/10 My thoughts for this movie pretty much mirror my thoughts for the book. It's an interesting story that's probably a bit underbaked and yet also drags on at times. I thought the visuals added a lot, and you can certainly say this movie was faithful to the book.  I didn't love most of the casting choices. I thought some side characters were fantastic, with Viola Davis adding a ton in a unique role for her, and then Jason Schwartzmam being the clear MVP with some awesome lines that I wouldn't doubt were improvised. But as good as Rachel Zeglar is, she is probably too broadway for this role, and then I simply hated looking at Tom Blyth's face the whole time, and there's a lot of it.  This series still has a few fastballs like killing off Wovey in a way I knew would be a gut punch, and then the final sequence is still just as effective as the book. That alone is enough to carry this story, but overall this movie was, you know, just a fine YA movie. 

⭐ 10/10 A podcast I love was talking about this movie, and I had just watched True Grit, so why not rewatch the best Coen brothers movie? I have seen this one a handful of times, and every single time I love it. It is hilarious, and sharp, and basically 90 minutes long! They don't make them like they used to. The setting here is so bleak and cold, contrasted with the quirky characters with funny accents, just the perfect Coen fusion. We have a heist gone wrong, people accidentally getting killed, and an idiot in way over his head. Basically every single scene is funny, and loaded with storytelling firepower. There is a classic scene of our protagonist Marge meeting up with Mike, an old high school acquaintance, that feels like a random scene for laughs the first time you watch it, but is actually the catalyst that leads her to unlocking the case. Francis McDormand is amazing in this role, good natured but intelligent. She leads this simple life with seemingly simple people, but al...

⭐ 8.5/10 I'm sure all our readers are dying to know my Renate Reinsve take that Joe teased in his review. Well I won't keep you waiting - she's Dakota Johnson if she knew how to act! Anyways, Joe's review is very much in line with my thoughts on this movie. If I tell you this is about generational trauma and a family of actors/directors that sounds super pretentious, but this movie is very heartfelt. It doles out minor revelations that really expose the characters, making you rethink how you feel about them and some of their behaviour. Just really excellent writing, a tight movie where every scene and line serves a purpose. The best part of this movie to me is the opening couple minutes, a voiceover anthropomorphising a house that generations of this family have lived in. It is incredibly beautiful, and as you explore the house and the people in it throughout the movie you have this backstory in your head. Corny to say the house is a character, but the most painful par...

⭐ 9/10 When I started really watching movies, the Coens were the first filmmakers I went to. I saw Inside Llewyn Davis and thought, I should just watch every single one of their movies. My order was fairly random, but I watched most of them. A couple fell through the cracks for whatever reason, and for every single one that did I wish it hadn't. Burn After Reading is a memorable example of this, but I can't believe I let True Grit get by me. All it took was me reading the book to realize they were made to make this movie. I loved the book too, but it is sometimes hard for me to turn written humour into actual laughs. The Coen's understand this text and its tone and it is so perfectly in line with their own humour. The accents, the faces, every detail this movie uses is perfect. The score deserves its own paragraph, constant use of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms", subtly bringing faith into a movie that essentially never mentions it, but the book often cites Mat...

⭐ 8.5/10 This is a movie from a Canadian comedy duo that I know very little about, other than their Wii Shop Wednesday song that I listen to every day. This is an instant Canadian cult classic, and it was amazing to see this in a small packed local theatre with friends. Lots of laughs, and also that lovely feeling of knowing the exact place things are occurring. This is a buddy comedy that becomes a time travel comedy, and I thought it nailed all of it. The moment when they realize what year they are in is so amazing, using the moment they land in perfectly, with jokes that could fall flat in lesser hands. But this also has a bit of Nathan Fielder reality to it, filming real people on the street and getting genuine reactions. The guy working at the Canadian Tire who tells them buying wire cutters to cut the CN Tower Sky Walk wires is a bad idea was my favourite part of the whole movie, one of those moments where I can't imagine how happy the actors are internally as a random guy t...

⭐9/10 I squeezed this movie in right before the Oscars and of the nominees I watched (and I watched 8 of 10!), this might be my favorite? This was the kind of pretentious Oscar bait that I actually like!  This movie has the same director and essentially the same cast as Worst Person in the World, and it may as well be the sequel because they are all playing the same characters. I liked this movie a bit better in pretty much every way, just a little shaper, and then I think Stellan Skarsgard adds a ton of gravity. What a run for Skarsgard who I was never convinced was actually that good, but man, Andor into this has slapped that theory in the face.  After a month of watching best picture nominees, I wasn't sure I could endure another two hours of pure *humans-contain-multitudes* schtick, but I was totally won over. This movie did it best. Getting introduced to characters by their actions, not words, and then forming opinions only to have them altered the more you le...

⭐8/10 I won't deny that I had Tim's book review in my mind going in, his criticisms poisoning my mind like he's Worntongue whispering in my ear. The truth is that I'd probably agree with him when it comes to the book. The script of this movie stood on a knife's edge, ever teetering and in danger of falling into dreaded cringe . I think it successfully toes the line in the movie, and that is for one reason alone: my best friend Ryan Gosling.  I think this book was written with Ryan Reynolds in mind, and if he was the Ryan casted, this movie would have been 0/10. But as the saying goes, Ryan Gosling overcomes a multitude of sins, and so instead of being bad, I think this movie was good. Great in fact! I laughed a ton, Gosling making all of this work with his charm and good looks. This is a Ryan Gosling buffet, getting all you could want for 150 minutes straight: sad Ryan, funny Ryan, smart Ryan, dumb Ryan, all in cool outfits and about 6 different hair sty...

⭐7/10 I don't have a ton to say about this one. The idea for the original was pretty great, and this one builds on those ideas, but the novelty is gone a bit and this sorta felt like a repeat. Not bad at all, and there's still plenty of laughs to be had, but it's only been like 2 days and I don't remember a ton.  I love that they are willing to use this universe that's geared towards children to speak on some very important, mature subjects. They toe the line on these tricky dilemmas in a way that I'm still not sure I love, being vague enough to still be exploratory, and yet specific enough where you can't accuse them of shying away. And yet it all seems so bizarre to me, setting up a universe where, if consistent, would be asking some wild questions about race and values.  Maybe I did have lots to say because I also remember a special, pretty emotionally resonant moment that was sorta moving? And yet I just don't think I can give the movie a...

⭐6/10 The whole thrust of this movie is "spoiled" in any movie description you read, and it's pretty much impossible to talk about this movie otherwise, so yeah, I will dance around the major plot point a bit but discuss the major theme.  In this movie they may as well introduce us to a poor little puppy with only 1 leg that is bullied by his classmates, and finally when he finds love and acceptance he dies in a fire screaming an agony. I know and appreciate that there are tough realities in this world, and that it's not always emotional manipulation when they are portrayed on screen, but part of me felt like this movie was a little over indulgent with the sadness. It felt a little mean-spirited to have us know this sad moment was coming and then build up to it in the most tear-inducing ways. The portrayals of suffering are extended and claustrophobic, not allowing us to look away or have a break. If the characters must go through it then so must we.  The ...

⭐7/10 I loved Collins as a teenager but was pretty skeptical I'd still enjoy her writing given my advanced years and curmudgeonous nature. It didn't take me long to be convinced otherwise. I think she's pretty talented and creates compelling backdrops to tell interesting stories within her genre. I thought it was a pretty bold choice for a blockbuster YA writer to tell a story from the perspective of the villain, and I think it mostly paid off.  Most people say that this book was kinda average but the next one was better. After the first few chapters I was ready to come in hot and say that this was her best book. I thought the examination into the mind of an evil man was well done with consideration of his own trauma and insecurities. But midway through I kinda just stopped thinking that. This book was set up to be better than it was, never really exploring the ideas it sets up beyond some surface level observations. I'm not sure if it's a limiation of C...

⭐8/10 This is a movie based on a true story where Major League Baseball was suspended during WWII, and so to give the American people something to watch, they made a women's league. This primarily follows two sisters from rural Oregon as they join a team and travel the country.  I should first say that this movie is very funny. It's a 90s movie that parodies the sexism of the 40s, and while I think there are plenty of jokes that aren't funny to a modern audience, there are also some outrageous things coming out of people's mouths. I would say this movie is primarily a comedy, especially for the first half, and made me laugh a ton.  I also thought this movie had a deft touch when it came to these portrayals, not trying to portray these women as modern progressives, but what progressive women were like during that era. It's hard to say what this would look like if made today, but with how touchy all of this is, it wouldn't have looked like this. I appr...

⭐3/10 I can see this being okay if you go to the theatres with the homies and let yourself be swept up in loud noises and big visuals, but man, watching by yourself on a Thursday night? Absolute dud. A thought I often had was that this is The People We Meet on Vacation but for boys: a few nice things to look at, but horrendous writing with one cliche following another. There is not one original idea here and it's an embarrassment that this was nominated for Best Picture. The accusations that the Oscars are run by a cabal of white dads remains strong.  So in this movie, a failing F1 team needs to make a big move to save their season. Enter Brad Pitt, a driver who doesn't play by the rules, his old-school approach just what the team of book-following dweebazoids needed. Oh, he doesn't always get along with everyone, but he isn't here to make friends, he's here to win! And also the sole female character still sleeps with him because he really is that cool. ...