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⭐ 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. ...

⭐ 9.5/10 This is everything good TV should be. 30 minute episodes, week to week, beautiful to look at, fun, full of great characters and dialog and action and emotion. From the first 5 minutes I was in love, as it literally takes a dump on the stoicism I associate with what Game of Thrones became (mainly House of the Dragon). It embraces the nastiness of Westeros, all from the view of an actually good person! They are so so rare in this world, and it is refreshing to have one, and that they didn't warp this story to try to squeeze it into the contours of the other shows. We have all the classic medieval story beats, a tourney with jousting, but also conspiracy, royals misbehaving. Aside from that we also have a lone wolf and cub story, a trope that has been used a million times in things I love but is done so well here. Dunk is loveable and kind and noble, Egg is fun and sweet but also has a secret. The Targs are pathetic and annoying except the one who isn't. The guy running ...

⭐ 9/10 First off, check out that cover art. Amazing. Secondly, 3 book reviews in a row, look at me go! Amazing what a vacation affords you time to do. I have reviewed this book before, probably on the old spreadsheet, and I have no idea what I gave it there, but I loved this. I could not put it down, and read it in two days, completely absorbed. I have a memory of it being a bit of a slog, at the very least less exciting than Dune, so I loved getting a chance to look at this one with fresh eyes. It's a tired take to say Paul Atreides is "not actually the good guy", but this book brings this fully into view. I would have read this the first time probably 10 years ago, and while I shockingly remembered many scenes, my reaction to them was very different. This book is basically about a conspiracy or 3 factions, representing 3 groups, plotting against Paul, who has become the emperor of the galaxy, whose followers are enacting a religious war across that galaxy. I would have...

⭐ 9/10 An odd score for something I have no complaints about. I flew through this pleasantly short book in about 2 days, and loved every moment. We are in the perspective of a young girl trying to avenge the death of her father, following her as she gets herself in danger but has no fear or filter. She is witty, intelligent, and I had the thought that finally I am seeing a precocious youngster I don't hate! She is defined by a sense of righteous justice, and she refuses to even acknowledge her age, always haggling with adults and getting her way. The caveat is that this book is actually told by Mattie Ross in the future, but still, her voice is very fresh, especially compared to the cookie-cutter manic-pixie-dream-girls of another author I read too much of. The plot is simple, the main three characters are memorable, and the charm is unavoidable. When danger comes you can really feel the vulnerability of Mattie, despite her defiance all book long, and the safety of these tougher m...

⭐8/10 I have given basically every book of Red Rising the same score, and while I think this is maybe the best one it also took me 6 months to read. It is massive, it is dense, and when I finally got some momentum on it earlier this year I finally finished it. This is book 5, the second book of the second trilogy, and it is very much the Empire Strikes Back of this second arc. Things are indeed dark, and it goes out of its way to be as gnarly as possible. But let me take a step back. The first third of this book is a siege of a planet told from two perspectives. It is pretty incredible, the scale is massive, but even 5 books in I can barely keep track of going on. I've read these books over too long of a span, and when character names are mentioned I know they are significant but I can't remember why, or what their allegiance currently is. There are a million moments in this book that I'm sure would hit harder on re-read, but the universe is so big, the names so weirdly ob...

⭐9/10 This is the game that I first found in the clearance bin at the Superstore when I was a kid that set me down this path, and is also the first non-Pokemon game that I was obsessed with. It's typically considered the best in the series (though I'm not sure I agree with that) as it is the perfect balance of adding some new, interesting mechanics, while still sticking to the main formula.  Again, I cannot express just how much I have genuinely loved replaying these. I was obsessed all over again, especially when I got to the end game, spending some four hours at a time grinding bosses, staying up way later than I should have. These are awesome games! They are flawed, especially with my modern sensibilities, and yet I'm not sure many games today can match these timeless, classic features. If they made this game today, I'm not sure they could do much better.  I agree this game was the best I've played so far. I was skeptical to start, especially as it se...

⭐ 9/10 My 3 season binge meant that I got to watch this fourth season weekly for most of it, and I forgot how exciting it is to have ongoing shows to look forward to every week, specifically Sunday night. This and Knight of the Seven Kingdoms were such a treat. With this show specifically I forgot how much I love a multi-season show. If I have to pick between movies or TV I will go movies 90% of the time, but with something like this you are really rewarded for the tens of hours you spend with these characters. Seeing how they evolve, and even how the show evolves over time, is something that is basically impossible to do in movies. Speaking of evolution, this show continues to amaze. The first season is a bunch of kids at an internship trying to score this soul-sucking job. Season two we move higher up in the company, the rot on the trading floor trickling down from the board rooms above it. Season 3 we keep going up, the upper-upper class and their relationship with the media and fi...

⭐7.5/10 This is a movie that's up for best picture this month, and kinda falls into my wheelhouse as it's a quirky dramedy led by my favorites Jesse Plemmons and Emma Stone. It's a fantastic premise where Plemmons, a conspiracy theorist, kidnaps Stone, a CEO he thinks is an alien, and, ya know, hijinks ensue.  I get why people love this movie. I think this is a good movie and I wanted to love it more. I don't have much to offer for critiques, but I kinda just wished I was moved by the characters more, or more into the plot, or I wished I laughed more at the jokes. I almost wish they leaned more into the silliness, made this more of a comedy, because this plays out more as a representation of weird people that actually exist. That's fine, I just didn't find it super compelling.  There's also some really cool ideas being explored here. I loved this idea of misplaced suspicion, stuff we see all the time. There is hurt, but rather than seeking to und...

⭐9.5/10 Our latest offering from the Thronesverse, and while the dialogue around Westeros has been pretty negative for pretty much the last decade, I was pretty optimistic about this show. I loved the short story collection they are based on and thought it would offer some levity and charm to a series that has been a little over-serious and grim for most people's tastes.  I will still admit I didn't expect to love this show quite as much as I did. I think it was pretty much perfect. It was funnier than the books, going for some pretty outrageous visual gags, but otherwise it was pretty true to the source. The writing, as in most Thrones adaptations, was consistently sublime, getting the voice of the universe just right. I think this is the result of closely following a wonderful writer with a strong voice, and if a story sticks close to George, it usually succeeds.  Dunk is a character in this universe that we all need, someone who is just and kind and easy to chee...

    KJ Charles never misses, and this is another great mix of historical, mystery, and romance, which is one of my favourite combos.  Zeb tries to stay away from his family, because they're all horrible and consider him a failure because he can't hold down a job. But a distant uncle convinces him to come for a stay in the family faux-Gothic manor in Dartmoor, and to his horror, all of his terrible relatives are there, and so is his ex-lover who hates him for losing him his job. The uncle declares that he will choose which of the men will be marrying his ward and get the inheritance. Zeb isn't interested, but he's stuck there because of the mist, and tensions rise between the family members, especially when they start seeing ghosts and messages appear on the walls.      I love what KJ Charles did with the setting here. It's set in the early 1900s, but the manor was built to resemble a Gothic manor. It's also set in the moors with an unpredictable fog, ...