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⭐ 8/10 This is a Coen movie I had seen before, and had fond memories of, but I didn't really remember most of it. With it being the summer of The Odyssey it felt like a good one to watch - the first frame literally says its based on it. But structurally these are very different stories, with a bunch of nods and allusions to things like the cylops and the sirens. 3 guys are on the run, and only later its revealed that the one is trying to get back to his wife and daughters. There are some really memorable scenes here, and I guess that's like The Odyssey too, set pieces on the journey. The most memorable is when they sing I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow, what a banger. But for the most part I think this movie is totally carried by Clooney's charisma. He is handsome and fast talking, and I love how elevated his vocabulary is. Fantastic writing for this character, while he was talking I felt my mind more engaged than during 90% of things I watch (excluding Jeopardy). A unique ch...

⭐ 8.5/10 This is a tournament between 6 all time Jeopardy greats, and it was a fun watch. I do think the episodes are too long, basically double episodes, but it still has the great pace. It did get tiring seeing the exact same people every episodes competing in different configurations, but that also meant you get to know a bunch of them really well. Shoutout to Paolo, who we had seen previously and both loved, and Andrew, who won our hearts. But Victoria, my goodness, I was not aware of your game! She is an absolute beast, and I was blown away watching her breadth of knowledge. Born to be a trivia genius, she dominated so many of these games. The real reason this gets a lower score is because the guy I didn't like won. Yogesh completed the title defense, but he is so uncharismatic and boring, and its annoying to see him spamming the buzzer when he is clearly to late, as if to say, I know this one too! Victoria totally choked in the final, with some Daily Double and Final Jeopard...

⭐ 8.5/10 CBC got me again with a true crime podcast teaser posted to the Frontburner feed on a holiday. Something about these being in small towns near places I know is super interesting. This one is about Dawson Creek AB and this long chain of murders going on there. Turns out its all drug related, but the interesting part of this one is the relationship the journalist makes with a local drug dealer. The guy is an arrogant idiot, but has some amazing clips that they use, speaking very openly about the violence and drug trade. He compares himself to The Sopranos or Corleones, but he's an absolute mess. There's a moment when is grown up daughter dies from an overdose on fentanyl, and its fascinating to hear him come to terms with himself being the bad guy, indirectly or directly causing the death of his own child. And then, spoilers, he is eventually killed for speaking out to these journalists! There is an interesting dynamic here, where everyone knows who the murderer is, but...

⭐9/10 Another history book about medieval England. I can't give them up! This was a bit of a unique one in that I heard this guy on a podcast I listen to and found him super entertaining and so I got his book. Didn't disappoint!  The thing that sets this book apart is that it's not a narrative history and doesn't focus in on any figures in particular, but rather is about what life would be like if you were transported to your average medieval English town. It goes over what you'd eat, drink, the work you'd do, entertainment you'd enjoy, and kinda just day to day lifestyle stuff. I eat this stuff up, and Mortimer is a wonderful writer with plenty of charm and humour.  Lots of super interesting insights and tidbits to go around. I think some of my biggest takeaways, which I knew some about, was the insane medical field and how death is always around the corner. He talks about having 7 kids in hopes that 4 survive, or that by 40 you're thinking ...

⭐8/10  This is a World War II movie made by my good friend Terrence Malick. I would actually not say we're good friends yet but the friendship is ever growing and I would say he movies really appeal to me, even if this one it wasn't exactly what I wanted. But in the two I've recently watched, there is that uncommon meeting of gritty realism with dreamy romanticism.  This is a gorgeous movie. It all takes place on an island where there was a big fight between Japan and the US, and man, what a looker. For a frantic war movie, it never lets you forget that this takes place in a beautiful setting. There are lots of high-octane moments, but they are often contrasted with sweeping shots of mountains and forests, lots of candid nature shots, all with wonderful orchestral music in the background.  So that's the best quality, but on the gritty side of things, this movie all takes place within a relatively short period, so the action is all personal and claustrophobic...

⭐9/10 I really can't say this movie differed from the first in any meaningful way. Again, absolutely awesome, and Tarantino at his best. I love the use of music in his movies, especially these, the music alone telling the story. It kinda makes you wonder why more filmmakers don't use this style. It's super reminiscent of spaghetti westerns where music is blaring while actors serve badass looks. This style is so effective! This movie has two incredible action sequences, one that is claustrophobic and uncomfortable, and another that electric and hilarious in how yucky it is. The movie uses a caricature of an ancient wisdom sensei, again a parody of the movies that have come before, and it pays off in funny and exciting ways. The third act, the long awaited confrontation, was a bit of a letdown to me, though I kinda get it. Still, I think there was room for one last long, sprawling melee in the vein of Obi-wan vs Anakin.  I don't have much to add. I believe tha...

⭐ 9/10 Well well well, what do we have here. This show is actually good now?? I thought this season was a massive step up in every aspect. We have a new big bad villain again, but now its Adrian Brody! The stakes this season felt way higher, and they actually killed a family member! I've been begging for them to do this, and even though its the inconsequential brother it still felt like a dramatic shift for the show. Sometimes I feel like the show has plot arcs that never really lead to everything, but here everything felt connected to the families survival. The fallout from last season helped, and while everything was patched up kind of quickly I felt like the damage that was done persisted. The characters all feel changed from that moment on, and especially early, seeing Polly going through a religious psychosis and Arthur failing to adapt to peaceful living, it was just very effective. I do think the season had two golden opportunities and fumbled them both. One is in a traitor...

⭐ 8/10 I am not sure I had seen this since it was in theatres, and breaking news, its pretty good! While I wish the back half had more songs, the songs here are almost all great. The animation is excellent, all the snow and ice and fog, and Olaf is still kind of funny to me. We did have to skip the scene where Elsa's castle is attacked, and I had a memory of this movie feeling a bit long, so that probably helped. I remember a lot being made of this not being a classic Disney movie where the prince saves the day, and it is nice that they lead up to a true-love's-kiss and then actively push away from that. But at the same time Anna does find her true love... so they have their cake and eat it too. Speaking of Anna, this is her movie! Elsa kind of has the lasting cultural impact, and rightfully so, Let It Go is a song my great grandchildren will be asking for in the car. You don't see many young girls at Halloween dressed up as Anna, yet she probably has 80% of the speaking i...

⭐ 9.5/10 This is everything I want in a video game. By the people who made Shovel Knight, a game I loved, its in the style of older games like Zelda Link to the Past. It has fantastic music and terrific art direction. Every screen you visit feels packed with detail and love. It features fun puzzles, excellent bosses, and a perfectly high difficult level. I think the story here is another great element, in that there is some darkness to this game that looks so innocent. When someone says something like that I think of Undertale, that goes for this cutesy humour, dark in attempt to get a laugh. I feel like this actually attempts to be serious, despite some funny moments, so it manages to feel like an adult game despite the old style. Kind of like older Final Fantasy, it manages to pull off a tone despite an art style that can feel childish, and I think that's really cool. There are two downsides to this game. One is that I got to the final boss' final form, lost, and then didn...

⭐9/10 This movie is a modern Letterboxd wet dream. This has to be every film bros favorite movie when trying to impress women, and every letterboxd girl's favorite movie directed by a man.  It's about Thelma and Louise as two average, working class women in the American south who go out on a girls trip and get into trouble, and their solutions to getting out of trouble sink them deeper and deeper. Great premise that leads to great payoffs.  This is one of those movies that seems to be movie craft at it's various highest levels. The writing (I should emphasize, written by a woman) is wonderful, giving these women loads of depth and complexity, which is then brought to screen with some wonderful performances.  There are some wide-ranging character arcs, but they are made perfectly believable on merit of the acting. It is directed by Ridley Scott at the height of his powers, and man, what a striking beauty this movie is. It also features a Hanz Zimmer score which...

⭐8.5/10 My sweet king Tim Robinson, he can do no wrong.  This is a 100 minute I Think You Should Leave Sketch where Tim Robinson is his typical weirdo character who is lonely because he is very weird. He makes a great friend in Paul Rudd, but Tim blows it! Being a cool friend is hard and not every bit works!  I loved this movie. It was kinda about male loneliness, but in an absurd way where it's hard to actually feel bad for him. The entire movie is completely stupid, and I think the movie didn't review especially well because it's hard to watch such a weird movie for so long. But I watched this movie in 30 movie segments, and had my movie-enhancing substance ingested and I think this movie is best watched that way.  Speaking of substances, the drug trip scene at the end was my favorite and is classic Tim. There's a ton of good one-offs here, just thinking of like, the Marvel spoilers, the drum-party scene, or the son kissing his mom on the lips. All just so...

⭐8.5/10 I really have no idea why I decided to pick this one up but randomly opened the front cover at a friend's house, read the intro, and thought, hey that's not bad! A few weeks later and I still think it's all pretty solid and a pretty perfect summer read.  It's about a girl in the bayou (not really, but basically) who's essentially abandoned when she's really young, so she learns to raise herself and goes on to have a fascinating life alone in the marsh. Interwoven in this is a bit of a murder mystery with some courtroom drama, and while I thought that this was the weaker element, I will say it added some intrigue and propulsion and didn't sour the experience for me.  I thought the writing was solid right through, most often serviceable but sometimes put on the burners and was quite effective. The setting was vivid and its best trait, and while I've heard that it's not actually an accurate depiction of the marshes of North Carolina,...

⭐ 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...

⭐ 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 ...

⭐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 ...

⭐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 ...

⭐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...

⭐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 ...

⭐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...