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Pop Culture Jeopardy (Season 2)

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⭐ 10/10 A joy to see this back! All the same things as last season, a fun quiz show to watch with your partner, with a much higher probability of knowing the answers than true Jeopardy. A huge improvement here is that they went with teams of 2 instead of 3, so you still get a sense of the friend dynamics. Jess and I have been watching Jeopardy almost every night, and that show is a masterpiece, as mechanically perfected as any show could be. 20 minute episodes with skippable commercials baked in, so probably actually 18 minutes. It is down to a science, the pace is so perfect, and its so easy to just crush 3 in a row and feel like you even learned something! That's where going back to Pop Culture was difficult - these games are too long! Like 40 minutes, and Colin Jost is funny, but having to interact with 6 people, as well as little jokes between some of the questions, I was just really missing the pace. Then came the final, which they spread over 2 games, with a cumulative score...
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Obsession

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⭐ 7.5/10 This movie definitely isn't for me. "But it's like Get Out, a thriller with some horror elements". Nope this is pure horror. A guy wishes a girl would love him, and she becomes possessed with an obsessed demon. I wasn't completely terrified, but I watched the last 30 minutes through my fingers. I do think the acting here is incredible, and Inde being cast as my girl Rogue made me decide I had to check her out. Her and Michael Johnston were incredible in their own ways, and probably the reason this movie has been so insanely successful. She is freaky and weird with crazy facial control, and he is a down right loser. I will say he's maybe a slight bit too good looking to be this big of a loser, but the incel energy is crazy strong here. In the era of "male loneliness" this might be showing why some guys should actually be alone. There is this incredible scene where the real Nikki shows up (happens a couple times, always to great effect), and ...
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End of Oak Street

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⭐3/10 I kinda knew this movie would be bad, but I am willing to give a bad movie a shot if it either features dinosaurs, or features Ewan McGregor. This movie has both!  This movie was terrible. I can't really speak to anything I thought it did well. This is the type of movie that typically goes straight to Netflix, and has that horrendous quality where all the characters are constantly narrating what's going on so that you can have it on while you scroll your phone. The child actors are terrible, and while Hathaway tries to overcome the writing with an honest effort, McGregor just mails it in. The plot is beyond stupid, but not in the fun way because it tries to be so earnest.  The tone is all over the place and I'm not sure who this movie is for. It's too ridiculous for adults, but too violent for kids, and the music always had me wondering what a scene is even going for. I would also say the pacing was bewildering, just ripping through plot and character ...
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Alone (Season 7)

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⭐8/10 This was going to be the season where I was going to say that's enough, I can take a break now. It took a long while to get through because my heart wasn't into it in the same way. It was a repeat location from the previous season, and it became clear pretty quickly that the winner would be a guy that's pretty insufferable.  Still, by the end the show had it's hooks back in! First off, I'll begrudgingly admit that the winner was one of the best contestants in the show's history, everything he touched turning to gold. His total lack of empathy and true caveman mindset propelled him, and he did some gnarly things to survive that I have to respect in some ways. But what intrigued me more is that he spent his final weeks on his own constantly reflecting on this, basically coming to terms with the fact that he's not likeable and has huge regrets with the way he treated his loved ones. I love this aspect of the show so much, that people spend so ...
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day

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⭐7.5/10 Fresh slop made to order! Here I was being convinced that this was something new. Let me be clear about one thing: this is your standard issue Marvel slop. Sure, it's a little better than the recycled trash that's come out on screens big and small since Endgame, but this is slop in it's purest form. And that's mostly fine! I just wouldn't go in expecting a change to the Marvel formula.  In terms of the good, I would say my favorite thing about this movie is that the action is awesome. I've heard there is lot more practical stunts and I think that shows. Simple things like swinging through the city is the best it has been in years, and the fights are pretty inspired with a cool Crouching Tiger fight at the end. I would say it's the coolest looking action Marvel has had since Shang-Chi.  I also did think the premise was cool and has its moments. Peter being lonely and having to choose between love or duty is a nice theme, but I actually tho...
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The Sheep Detectives

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⭐6/10 It breaks my heart to give this movie a low score because it's so sweet and loveable, but it's surely going for an audience that is a lot younger than I was expecting. It's got a lot of Paddington which I usually enjoy, and I'm not sure what it was but it was probably just too syrupy sweet for me. Probably it was that stupid winter lamb. Kill that thing and get it on the grill pronto.  It's a fun murder mystery with a few laughs, though I'll say the solve in the mystery was outrageous and not something someone could have guessed in a million years. It was kinda bringing out all the clues at the end and didn't really make sense in a satisfying way. Also Cousin Greg is the detective and he has a terrible British accent. Just make him American! He's good for the role but I couldn't get his accent out of my head.  Probably a better watch if you're with kids, though it's a little dark and scary. I loved Bryan Cranston's take ...
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House of the Dragon (Season 3)

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⭐9/10 I have been blissfully unaware of the discourse around this show this time around, but I still get the impression that not everyone is happy with this season.  I think staying away from the discourse helps because while I admit that this show has some flaws, I think it's held to an impossibility high standard and for a modern fantasy TV show, I think it's still essentially unmatched (it's only competition being others in this universe). The action looks absolutely incredible with lots of dragons and gritty sword fights, still plenty of court intrigue, deep, complex characters, well-written dialogue and great costumes. I think this is the gold standard of fantasy TV, and if it came out before Thrones I think it would be a revelation. I was hard on season 2, but I think this season fixes most of those mistakes and I also think I have a sunnier view of that season in retrospect.  This season starts with one of the series's best episodes and has a crazy ru...
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The Drama

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⭐8.5/10 A really great movie that I hated watching. It's a classic A24 movie in every way, being smart and funny and well-acted, but also true to life in a way that can make me pretty uncomfortable.  Tim wrote the spoiler-free premise to this movie on this very site, so I won't repeat it, but yeah, it asks a really good question! Love a movie that makes you think a bit, and this is among all-time movies for conversations that start during the end credits. For me, Zendeya's confession is a non-issue, but then again I like my women a little feisty anyways...  Aside from the big question, I thought the other elements of this movie were great. I'm a bit of a skepitc of both Pattinson and Zendeya, but I thought they were both phenomenal in these roles, especially Zendeya who I really hadn't seen in a real role I don't think? She's fabulous here and captured the complex emotions that go into a truly complex idea, and Pattinson is great across from here...
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day

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⭐ 8.5/10 Best Marvel movie since Endgame? I really enjoyed this movie in a way I didn't think I would, in that it made me feel like a kid seeing the first Spiderman in theatres! Opposite of the Odyssey, I was pretty closed off going in, but the charisma of Tom Holland (is this the same guy in the Odyssey!?) and Zendaya and the rest of the cast won me over. There are still a bunch of the classic beats here, and I hate when a villain is converted through the power of love after battling their trauma. But without spoiling anything, I loved the villain! It's a character I have a lot of invested time in, and it really got me excited for the future of the MCU! Who would have thought I would ever say that. In general this just felt young and fresh, a total opposite to the constant retreads we have been feeling. Maybe it helps that Spiderman is the best character they have, and even though Holland is aging up this was right in the sweet spot. I thought the last movie was atrocious fan...
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House of the Dragon (Season 3)

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⭐ 8.5/10 Despite my weirdly high score for the first season, I think this has been the best season so far. There are a bunch of flaws and I am constantly thinking of all my nits, but this season had a good balance of action, on-the-road hijinks, and character progression. The MVP of the season is Rhaenyra, specifically Emma D'Arcy, who I thought was fantastic. Episode 3 was the standout here, and while I always want this show to step outside the Red Keep, three was claustrophobic in all the best ways. Right down to the sound design, it made leadership feel like a heavy burden, one only complicated by her gender and what people expect from her. It's the type of episode Daenerys needed so badly. That episode coming off a two-episode battle is probably the best stretch of the season to date, even if there are parts of the battle I didn't like. My main complaint with the battles is that we have spent so little time with the important people in this battle. The woman leader in ...
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Peaky Blinders (Season 3)

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⭐ 8/10 Probably the best season yet, I love that it started with a time jump. New setting, our characters have all progressed a bunch, its something that I think is important in these longer shows. No longer in the slums and living a luxurious life, that also means the villains get bigger (from mob leaders to politicians), and the stales get higher. There is a death early here that kind of propels the whole season, and I thought it was done well, even if that relationship never really worked for me. The new villain is Paddy Considine as an evil priest, which was cool, but I found his motivation and ultimate demise really lacking. That was my fear in season two, we keep just getting one season villains who have an unceremonious end. Sam Neill is missed, and I think there would have been a ton of room for him this season. The finale was exciting, definitely one of the best episodes of the series, and I thought the final note was very effective, kind of Tommy's Godfather moment, fami...
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Rilla of Ingleside - L.M. Montgomery

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⭐9/10 She did it! Montgomery wrote a different kind of book! This was (almost) the type of book I've been dying to read from her. Anne and co. have coasted on SEVEN books of small-town hijinks, enjoying simple pleasures and funny conversations, and I have enjoyed reading them all. The plot is secondary to the feeling, and the feeling is taken from this beautiful writing and insight into simple, rural living. But that all must change as the world does, and in this one we see Anne and this cast of characters I am now SO incredibly familiar with have to reckon with evil they can't ignore. World War 1 breaks out, and they can no longer close their eyes to the lands beyond PEI.  In my original Green Gables review, I compared the book to Lord of the Rings if the ring never happened and Bilbo and Frodo just lived their simple, innocent lives. Well, Rilla of Ingleside feels more like Lord of the Rings but if it was told from the perspective of those who stayed in the Shire ...
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Kill Bill: Volume 1

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⭐9/10 I have been all over the map in my ratings for Tarantino movies but this one puts him back in my good books. I said in my Hollywood review that Tarantino violence usually works because he builds up the most insidious of villains and so the audience is okay with whatever violence is done against them. Hollywood didn't work for me because the villains were just young hippies, whereas in Django they are slave owners, in Basterds they are Nazis, and in Kill Bill they are rapists. So yeah! Slice all you want!  But on a more practical level, the absurd amounts of violence work here because it is so silly and over-the-top that one is never actually really grossed out or squeamish. This movie is an ode to classic Samurai and Western movies and is the perfect movie to itch that 12 year old brain that's still very much alive in me. It's a super simple premise where Uma Thurman has been wronged, and so she wants revenge on all those involved. She sets up the confront...
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Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender

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⭐8/10 I am pretty much always skeptical when a beloved IP gets some sort of universe expansion, and ATLA has one of the worst track records outside of Korra. I hadn't even planned to watch this, but was pleasantly surprised when it reviewed pretty well.  I will say I don't think this movie really adds much to the universe. It's a lot of fan service, and the story is a little bit of a nothing story. It felt like an arc that would fit comfortably within any season of the main show in an episode or two, and the characters and universe aren't developed in a way that's interesting enough to explore some years in the future. I had the distinct feeling that I will remember this like I remembered El Camino, which is to say not at all, but I enjoyed while watching it and it was cool to see some loose ends tied up.  All those negatives aside, I do think this show had a lot of merit mostly in the form of looking amazing and featuring some of the coolest action sequ...
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River of Doubt - Candice Millard

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⭐9/10 This book is about Teddy Roosevelt's trip to the Amazon Rainforest in the 1910s. It kinda checks every box for me, being an interesting survival/ exploration story with a super unique setting and a compelling main character. I didn't know really anything about Roosevelt, and this actually takes place after his Presidential terms. Roosevelt, like any US president, is a complicated figure, full of admirable and less admirable traits, but it is undeniable that he was one of the most interesting people to ever live, treating his life like a series of wild side-quests that spanned the globe and changed the world.  This was pretty well his final side-quest where he wanted to map an uncharted river that runs through the middle of the Amazon Rainforest (The River of Doubt, no Ri Roosevelt River). I read Gran's Lost City of Z last year, and that book mentions this expedition. I already knew a bit about the rainforest from that book, but I wonder if this book would ...
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Speed

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⭐8/10 Absolute classic of a 90s action flick. Keanu is a cop who has a run-in with a Batman supervillain who rigs a city bus to explode if it ever drops below 50mph and so they have to disable it on the fly. Really, really stupid premise and at no point in this movie would anyone ever believe they would make it out alive. The dialogue is all pretty cheesy, the romance is very 90s hero-and-damsel, and there is a stunt in here that is ridiculous... and they do it twice!  It's a mindless action movie, but I couldn't help but be endeared by it. This is a movie that knows what it is, which is always very important, but unlike today's modern action movies, it's all insane stunts rather than a green screen CGI fest. There is an explosion that is so big that one simply cannot fathom the joker-level insanity to light a pile of money on fire like that. I had a big grin on my face for most of this movie, and it reminded me of watching Fall Guy recently. They just don...
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Hoppers

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⭐4/10 Another dud for Disney Pixar! I thought this movie kinda sucked. It lacked that original or interesting idea that has been the hallmark of older Pixar movies, and really just wasn't very funny. It tries to make up for a lack of humour with that frantic energy that some animated movies have used to better effect, but it didn't work for me. It reminded me a lot of Turning Red which I also thought wasn't any good.  Obviously this movie isn't for me, but I'd be pretty disappointed if I was a parent and had to sit through this. I think Pixar's best quality was always that it has appealed to adults as much as kids, and it's a shame that hasn't been the case in a while. There is a laugh here and there, and the movie has a nice enough message, and one I'm passionate about, but couldn't be bothered to care about in this case. Yeah, I'm having a hard time coming up with any other positives so I think that speaks for itself. 
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The Odyssey

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⭐ 7/10 I think we need to have a conversation about expectations, but at this point in his career every Nolan movie is an event. This has been true for a long time now, but since Oppenheimer he now has the critics on his side, so every movie now needs to be a masterpiece. In my mind this isn't even close to that, and while its a great movie my own expectations make me think about it worse because of the overwhelming praise for something that I thought was just good. I don't think that's being a contrarian, I wanted to love this movie and did everything in my power to see it as early as possible. But there's no denying that not loving the movie turns into not liking it in the face of such undisputed passion from the rest of the world. Nolan can make some beautiful images, and in this grand epic I really only thought there is one portion that will stick with me, and that's the Trojan horse. Its scattered throughout the movie, but every time that horse was in frame I ...
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Enemy

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⭐ 7.5/10 This was a bit of a slow burn, but by the end of it my mind was racing. It's a pretty simple premise, a guy gets obsessed with finding an actor that looks identical to him, and when they finally meet they are actually identical. His life is already unravelling, but once they actually meet things accelerate and get very weird. It's a hard movie to describe, or even to understand. I'll start by saying its cool seeing movies filmed in places that look familiar, here its Toronto and Mississauga. But he throws this hazy tint on everything, and its impossible not to see Blade Runner 2049 or Dune, Villeneuve's later movies. The only thing I could think of the whole movie was David Lynch, and the feeling of watching someone's nightmare. And then at some point Isabella Rossellini shows up for a single scene, one of Lynch's former partners and muses, so the Lynch thing seems intentional. There are confusing setups that don't come back until the end, odd refe...
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The Meg

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⭐6/10 Watched this when I had my nephew and niece sleeping over which is the only time one can justify watching The Meg. And you know what? In those circumstances I thought it was a lot of fun! This movie knows exactly what it is, the action is exciting enough, the CGI looks totally passable, and I thought the final confrontation was pretty cool. I won't mention the acting or writing because I'm in a charitable mood. But the AC was turned low and the snacks were good and that's the important part here. 
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