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⭐ 6.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) This movie is not good. But you know what? That's okay, and I had a great time watching it. Julia Roberts and George Clooney absolutely carry this movie, and the packed theatre was roaring with laughter in a way that warmed my heart and let me know that I gotta loosen up a bit. Your parents will love this movie, and you could too if you just opened your heart. This is the most predictable rom-com ever, as a divorced couple goes to Bali to convince their daughter to become a lawyer and call off her wedding to a local. They can't stand each other, but the teamwork required and the beautiful setting means they can tolerate each other. I wonder if that leads to anything else... George and Julia were actually very funny, and I found myself laughing quite a bit. When they are not on screen I wanted to crawl out of my skin. The writing is so cliche, and the daughter actress is so terrible, it was very hard to watch. I think the writing was b...

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) It is so good to have Thrones back in my life. The first episode put us right back in that familiar world, with conflicted feelings about our characters and ready to have our hearts broken again. I thought this show did have some flaws, but they are easy to overlook with the fantastic writing. There are a ton of time jumps, so I found that basically all the notable deaths didn't have any emotional weight for me. So much time passes that we don't see romances form or rivalries grow, which is a big part of the original series. Speaking of the original series, its hard to imagine this show existing without it, but I don't think that can take away from this show - if anything it should and does make this show more rich. I did get some late series Thrones vibes from a couple of the battle scenes, where the stars feel untouchable in a world that tries to tell us anyone can die, and with some illogical battle plans or reactions in tense mom...

⭐ 6.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) This is the movie that came out this year as an extension of the Pretador series. It got really great reviews, and was also talked about a lot as it takes place in pre-colonial North America and features a mostly indigenous cast. It didn't really work for me. It was mostly fine, but never good. I felt a lot of the things I really wanted to see were simply not present. I know this is based on a campy monster-chase series, but I love indigenous aesthetics in movies and I kinda just wanted an authentic indigenous story. But the costumes and settings all felt a little glossy, the characters all spoke as if they were millenials, and there were a lot of pretty forced themes of girl power and anti-colonialism that just kinda made it feel like a 21st century story done by people playing dress-up. I get that that's what a lot of people want to see, but I was rolling my eyes pretty often. There were also a lot of those cringey instances of the cha...

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) Ash is a gender-fluid kid at a new school who is still trying to figure out how they want to present to the world, while Julien is a sensitive boy trying to protect a dog from getting euthanized in secret. Eventually he enlists Ash's help, so they try to save Chewbarka while dealing with their own issues of self-acceptance. I think this was my first book in the POV of a gender-fluid person, so that was interesting, and especially as we're able to see what that means to them as they figure it out themself. Ash is female-presenting at the beginning and knows that Julien sees them as a girl, but how do they tell him that they're not always a girl, especially when girl clothes stop feeling right? And Julien is constantly being told that he needs to get ahold of his emotions and stop crying so much, so he's dealing with gender things too. I liked that it was not only these issues, but also saving a dog, which helps to move the plot ...

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) This is a perfectly watchable action comedy that actually made me laugh out loud several more times than I expected. I don't generally care about Channing Tatum, but I didn't mind him at all as a model who's a bit dim and not very good at much. The romance was dumb, but easy to ignore.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) I read the book this movie was based on way back in grade school, and was pleasantly surprised that they made it into a movie. It's a fun medieval comedy about a young girl whose parents are trying to force her to get married, but she's doing everything in her power to drive away suitors. The main actress is extremely charming, and the whole movie was a treat.

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Beans) I LOVED this show so much. Like a bad relationship that had hurt me in the past, this show was beckoning me and like a little boot licker I came crawling back because I know how good it can be! My one critique of this are the time jumps. They were a bit sloppy. But I did love growing up with a few of the characters. I would die for my queen Rhaenyra and I hate to admit it but I like Alicent a lot. I think she is broken. Hurt people hurt people. This show is just full of terrible people and so it feels like you can root for anyone and it’s ok but there’s obviously a right answer and that is team black! The characters are all mostly terrible but there is a lot of ambiguity too. The pacing and story are incredible, the visuals and setting are stunning and the dragons just make me so happy to see. The last two episodes we see them delve deep and focus on both teams individually and I loved it. The final scene made scream, but there were also a bunch ...

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) I watched this miniseries in England with my friend Sam, since I was out there looking at lots of boats. It's about a man with a troubled past who has taken a job as a doctor on a whaling boat in the Arctic, and a murder that takes place onboard, which sounds like everything a girl like me could want! But unfortunately it's really dark and depressing, with a completely psychopathic Colin Farrell as our main antagonist and a lot of death, some of it pretty brutal. I think it's probably a very good show for someone who isn't me. I did enjoy watching it, but mostly for the boat parts and the social aspect of watching it with a friend, not for the plot, which was a pretty big bummer. Can't a girl just enjoy a nice murder mystery on a boat?

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) Let me start off by saying that I don't think this is a perfect show despite the score. I think there are definitely a few issues. This one season covers some twenty years of time which is a tough task considering they want you to invest in characters, their motivations and day-to-day political happenings. There are a million characters, all who have similar names, and so in turn you never really spend as much time as you'd like with anyone. Yet with the characters you spend the most time with, their characteristics and motivations change so fast that it's hard to invest in their thinking. Daemon goes from psychopath to pretty normal guy in between episodes, and you don't really track why except that he's married now. There are other nitpicks. The actors changing definitely threw me for a loop. This show is genuinely humorless and lacks any attempt at charm. It also, you know, glorifies brutal killing, incest, and is overall ...

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) I thought this movie was delightful. It's a very tight 74 minutes which is perfect for an evening in October. I was in love with the art style, I thought there were plenty of charming, quirky and outright funny characters (shouts to Christopher Lee for lending his voice), and the ending was pretty touching! I didn't know it was kinda a musical so I was very pleased anytime they broke into song. I loved the Gothic Victorian era setting which always works for a spooky movie. The maggot in the Corpse Bride's ear was great. Stand out performance from Richard Grant as Lord Barkis. What else? I suppose that's it for now. If you haven't seen this one, make it a spooky season priority!!

⭐ 6.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) I got to watch this with a room full of kids which you would think is the best way to watch, but also this movie is over 2 hours and the kids were all on their phones by the end. It's an odd, campy horror movie for kids that I probably would have loved and been terrified from twenty years ago, but this movie doesn't reeeeally work for adults. I know the internet is in love with Brendan Fraser in this role, and he sure is rugged and handsome, but I'm not sure I can remember a single other character from this and I only watched 3 days ago. I love Egypt as a setting and totally dig the ancient Pharoah stuff. Honestly I was surprised when they left the ruins and stuff started leaking out into the city. I think I would have liked the movie more if it was a little more contained. I love the swashbuckler stuff like Indiana Jones and the early Uncharted games. But wait, do I? Maybe I like the idea of them more than the actual thing, because a...

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by Mathew) I'm just happy this makes Beans happy. The music is also nice to listen to in my ears. Lost 0.5 stars for not being 1989 (Deluxe Edition).

⭐ 6.5/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) I love to choose movies at random from Netflix when I'm home alone, what can I say. This one was a movie about surviving in the Arctic after a plane full of oil rig fellas crashes in a storm, which sounds right up my alley. I got more invested in this movie and the characters than I intended to, which was a bummer because the movie wasn't that good and it was more of a movie about dying than a movie about surviving. Plus the wolf CGI was just awful. But still, I keep catching myself thinking about a couple scenes. I hate it when mediocre movies are compelling! Also they really don't know what wolves are like.

⭐ 5.0/10 (Originally written by Beans) I didn’t want to watch this but my brothers were going out to see it and I wanted to hang out with them so I tagged along and my brother paid so Dwayne actually got no money from me. I actually think that The Rock makes enjoyable movies. They are never great, but they’re fun to watch. This movie is none of those things. I don’t even want a good DC movie, I just want a not bad one. DC made a cartoon a few years ago called Young Justice and it’s easily the best thing they’ve ever created. Just do more of that! I honestly feel like this review is already too long for how bad this movie is. Dr Fate and Hawkman were super cool, and I liked the whole Justice Society. Basically the only good part of the movie. The little kid is the worst and the dialogue is bad and just don’t watch it.

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) The hopes were high, and the result fell pretty flat. Its kind of annoying that House of the Dragon and Andor are on at the same time, because it makes this seem even more forgettable in comparison. I'll start with the good. Production quality here is top notch, I thought the actors were fine, and the music was great. However, if the story is trash does any of this matter? That is my main complaint, just that the story was not compelling. There were a couple arcs that had potential, and I think as a whole the main plot beats of the season would be good on paper, but in execution it just falls completely flat. I didn't feel emotionally connected to anyone, and even worse, I didn't feel a connection to the world. Middle Earth feels expansive and alive and distinct. This has all the sweeping landscapes and epic landscapes, and the prologue of the season felt like I was back in Tolkien's world. But somehow with all their budget this worl...

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) I have seen only 2 other Client Eastwood cowboy movies, and even with that small of a history lesson I could tell while watching this movie that it was rewriting the script on who he is as a person, as an actor, and how we portray heroes in our stories. This movie came out 30 years ago, and its funny to think at the time of how people viewed Clint as an old broken-down action hero, since that's still how we see him now! He plays a former-outlaw trying to be a changed man, but struggling with his past. He takes on a job to help some mistreated women, but gets in way too deep. I loved the way this movie balanced Hackman's sheriff character, who is trying to prevent reactionary violence in his town, with Eastwood's dashing cowboy who who wants to make some money and also get revenge on behalf of the women. He is staged as our hero, fighting for the downtrodden, and the sheriff gets in his way so we naturally are opposed to him, but its th...

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) This is a quirky little show that stars an indigenous cast living in rural Oklahoma. We are focused on a group of 4 scrappy teens struggling to adjust after the death of their friend, and trying to get enough money to leave their small town and head to California. The premise sounds dark, but this show is incredibly light and charming. The main talking point here is the inclusivity of this show, and it probably doesn't mean a ton coming from me but it is very cool to see a show set in a place like this written by and starring all people who are indigenous actors. I can't speak to what it might mean for indigenous viewers, but I found it truly unique and fresh. The show I would compare this most to is Atlanta. The vibes are very similar, especially with the viewpoint of an underrepresented group. More than that, this show is just totally unexpected. I have no idea what will happen every episode, and it randomly throws in flashbacks, dreams...

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) One's enjoyment of this movie kinda depends on the buildup towards the final twist, but unfortunately I had seen this movie years ago so I had a vague idea of where it was going. However, this movie actually has two twists! And I was totally blind on the second so it was great. Overall this is just a good old fashion Christopher Nolan movie and that guy is just so dang good at what he does. I've always thought that maybe his movies aren't brilliant, but they always at least make you feel brilliant while watching them which is a cool quality. I thought the final twist was maybe not completely satisfying, but everything up to that point was just expertly done and a ton of fun to experience.

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) I said in my last review that this show is a super consistent 8. Then the first episodes of this started to totally change my mind. It was done during 2020, which is kinda a tough spot to be in for a comedy about cops, but man this show was super not funny. It tried to address the issues with police, but it was all very preachy, very moralizing, and just super not funny. This felt like a show trying to appease the Twitter mob rather than make them laugh and just two years removed from all the police stuff, seems so dramatic and hammy. There were a couple of funny moments within those first episodes, like Boyle trying too hard to be an ally, but there were very few laughs to start. Luckily, this show got back on track in time for the finale. Not only was it cute and sentimental, but it was actually funny again! Very happy we got nice send-offs for almost everyone, including a great Doug Judy finale and a terrific final heist. I think it's hone...

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) This is one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen in my life. But Roald Dahl is a weird guy, so I guess it all tracks. It's a movie about a boy who one day learns that witches exist, and then right after that finds himself at a hotel that only witches are currently staying at. He walks in on a witch meeting and has to stop their plot of turning all the children to mice. That sounds like a pretty normal premise for a kids movie but trust me when I say there is nothing normal about this movie. That introduction I just summarized only concludes half way through to start. Then everything that happens after gets very zany, and the characters always have very weird reactions to those zany things. The cgi of the mice is terrible, but also half the time they use real mice. The child actors are terrible, the grandma seems like she's never acted before, and also Mr Bean is in this movie. I turned to Jess while we watched and said this feels like ...

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) Tolkien media is really the only media I think I hold truly sacred. I was excited for a high-profile adaptation, and yet I think from the beginning I knew nothing could live up to my expectations. I was worried they would try to game-of-thronesify Tolkien and make it mature and graphic. I was worried it would stray too far from source material. I was worried that without a single established superstar attached to this project, it would just be a bad show. What I didn't expect is that this show would kinda just be mediocre and that I wouldn't have super strong feelings either way. I think this show does a ton right, looks incredible, and essentially captures the spirit of Tolkien in a lot of ways. But I also think this show has a million problems that prevented me from ever getting too excited about it coming on. I'll start with the bad. Mostly, I think this is purely plain TV stuff. I just think the story was never super compelling an...

⭐ 5.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) Why why why do I keep thinking I might like an anime? I'll tell you why I tried this one: because it's based on a Westen IP and also because everyone is saying it's incredible and the greatest thing ever. And again, everyone is wrong and I am right to think it's bad. Like a lot of anime, there are a lot of really cool ideas here. It starts out with this guy losing literally everything and despairing, and as a result he puts on a machine that basically gives him super powers but essentially fries his brain. You can totally empathize with him and understand that decision and it really does hurt your soul when you see him using it way too much and see the toll it's taking. While we're on the subject of positives, I also thought that the finale was somewhat moving. At that point I was pretty committed to hating the show, so the fact that I felt a positive emotion speaks to the combination of emotional music, themes of love and...

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) This is a comedy filled with people I like, basically a spoof on the people who make another show I like in SNL. Like most network sitcoms this takes a while to heat up, with many of the characters being annoying and the dynamics feeling a bit off. Tina Fey is a solid lead though, and at least once an episode I would laugh out loud at a clever one-liner. By the end of the season I was more excited to watch episodes, and I am looking forward to future seasons. I would say this show is closer to Community, an all-time favourite of mine, than The Office or Modern Family, and it is refreshing to watch a funny show that isn't build around the mockumentary format.

⭐ 5.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) Every other book in this series is an 8, and my goodness does this one botch the landing. First off, it is way too long. The first 300 pages were such a drag, and I hardly remember what happened. The remaining 600 moved quickly, since it is kind of one massive battle to end the 5 book series, but basically every twist was hollow and unearned, and by the end I felt like I was skimming to get through it. I like the world Weeks has built up, with an interesting magic system and some very cool dynamics and twists. But he consistently writes twists on top of twists, basically undoing cool moments from earlier in the series. The final battle is such a mess I could barely understand it, against bad guys that were hardly explored using mechanics that didn't feel like meaningful results of our characters' strengths. To say there is a Deus Ex Machina to end this series is an understatement, and its upsetting that everything built up to this. He s...

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) This is a Netflix documentary on the US basketball team trying to reclaim gold at the 2008 Olympics. The setting is smack-dab in the middle of my peak love of basketball, where I idolized several members of this team and despised some others. It was interesting to see them all with a level head, and the nostalgia hit me really hard. Also, with Kobe's passing its hard not to watch this with that in mind, and the documentary really tries to elevate him to God status. They had me hook line and sinker. My main complaint is that it doesn't feature enough basketball. It tries so hard to be patriotic, with Coach K giving all these dumb speeches about brotherhood and freedom and other army things. At the same time, it was charming to see how these players interacted with each other. The way they are building up their own legends totally works on me. The coverage of the gold medal game is very good, and I found myself right back in my parents ba...

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) Watched this with a group of friends on a Friday night, where none of us had seen it before, and it was a hoot. The buddy cop formula works well here, with 2 very like-able actors and some hilarious line deliveries. As I was watching I expected it to fizzle out, but was happy to find that it remains a fun movie throughout. The 70s LA setting is done very well, and it is just absurd enough to keep you on your toes. Gosling really can do it all.

⭐ 6.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) This is a 1999 rom-com that is a modern re-telling of Taming of the Shrew. The funniest character is the principal who is literally in one scene at the beginning, so I thought this would actually be funny. It becomes a predictable rom-com with all the beats you are familiar with, along with a cringey 1990s punk aesthetic. I was charmed by a young Heath Ledger, and David Krumholtz (had to look up his name, Bernard from The Santa Claus if that means anything to you) was actually pretty hilarious and made me wish he was in more movies. Aside from that our edgy heroine is full of eye rolls, and the emotional monologue at the end made me want to crawl out of my skin. This movie ends with a live performance of "I Want You to Want Me" on the roof of the school, basically a 3 minute unbroken music video clearly filmed by helicopter, and I actually thought this was very cool, and was imagining how terrible it would look in a CGI-filled Netflix re...

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) The third book in this series just came out, so I decided to reread this, the second book, before I got to that one, since it has been four years and I love it. This book continues to follow many of the same characters as the last book, with a couple more thrown in. They are all residents of Beartown, which is still reeling in the aftermath of the trial of their beloved hockey star. The city council has decided to close down Beartown Hockey Club and give all their funding to the nearby city Hed, which sparks outrage and tension, and eventually violence. Backman continues to blow me away with how he can create so many disparate characters with backstories and complex inner lives, and you can't help but care about them all. Many of the characters are violent or selfish, but there is humanity in all of them, even if it's clear the narrator doesn't condone their behaviour. I was moved to tears over and over, and that doesn't happen...

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Beans) I have conflicted feelings about this movie. On the one hand, this was genuinely funny. I laughed constantly throughout the whole movie and had a really good time. On the other hand, it is extremely explicit and I can’t really recommend to very many people nor could I sit through it with many people. The humour is top notch. While a lot of it is pretty filthy with the classic sex jokes and low hanging fruit. But a lot of jokes were clever and well executed and thought out. It was cool to see a gay romcom, although I personally wouldn’t have casted the main lead. I think these movies are important and I’m glad it exists, but it is very over the top but not completely inaccurate unfortunately. I related to a lot of this so take what you will of that.

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) It's spooky season so it's time to break into one of my favorite genres: post-apocalyptic zombie movies! And where better to start than essentially the first one? This movie was made in 1968, but it was an indie movie made on a shoestring budget and so it honestly looks and feels like an early 50s movie. But this movie was massively influential on the horror genre and brought zombies to the big screen so I had to see it! This movie is important for history, but is it actually good today? Hard to say. It's certainly not too scary by modern standards, though some of the "gory" scenes are still a little disturbing. This movie was widely criticized for being too graphic and violent back then, and although it would be super tame today, it's still just a little yucky seeing zombies eat intestines and organs, even if they look super fake. Still, they build up suspense pretty well, always having the radio or tv going in the back...

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) Another great season of a great show. Agree with a lot of the other opinions here that Gina is dearly missed, and the Halloween heist also sucked (and also was very strange that 6 months passed and the pregnant Amy did not grow an inch? Whoopsie!). Boyle and his absolute reverence for Jake kills me at least once an episode, and Holt continues to be the foundation of this show. The baby part was very lame, though produced the most unintentionally funny bit when they casted a college undergrad as a newborn baby. Anyways. Stop trying to be serious! But still, I think how it's impressive that this show has gone 7 seasons with no real dip in quality at any point. This is the most consistent 8-9 show I've ever seen.

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) Felipe is a fat, gay, Brazilian boy, and he is not pleased to discover that during his spring break, his neighbour, whom he's had a crush on from afar for years, is spending it with him while his family is away. Felipe is super self-conscious and doesn't know how to act around Caio, but eventually they warm up to each other again. This is a good example of a book in translation that doesn't feel any different from what we're used to. It's just a really sweet romance between two boys, and about self-confidence and body positivity. The boys both have reasons to envy each other, and they learn that nobody's life is perfect. Although it's pretty standard fare for us, I assume it's fairly ground-breaking in Brazil. And even if it's normal for us now to see queer romance in YA books, this is really charming in and of itself, with the added international and fat representation aspects that made it stand out for me....

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) This was a wildly original and inventive novel with beautiful writing that I unfortunately never really connected with. Shizuka is a violin teacher who promised to sell seven souls to the devil to eventually save her own, and she's found her seventh student, a trans girl with no training. She also meets a doughnut shop lady who is an alien refugee.(?!) This book revolves around music and belonging, and the portrayal of the trans experience was poignant and heart-breaking. It was also just so weird, but I appreciate that in a book. The necessity of music and how it can change lives was really big in this book, and that's possibly why I never quite connected with it - I like music an average amount, but I'm in no way a musician and can't understand that need to create it and master it.

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) Another classic Kate Morton novel with a secret in the past that slowly gets unraveled and more complex until it all comes together at the end. I thought this was a perfect read for fall, since the gothic-inspired story and slow pace perfectly suits the weather. Edie tries to find out what really happened when her mom lived in a castle during the war, which still houses the three elderly spinster daughters of a famous author. Milderhurst Castle, which is unfortunately not real, plays a huge role in this story, and we slowly find out all its secrets. The final reveal is more of an exhale than a big shock, but it was still a great story of sisters and secrets and mistakes.

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) This is my second try with this movie because the first time I was just weirded out and ended up falling asleep by the end. I think going into it knowing this movie is weird as hell helped a bit. But also how does this movie have mass appeal outside of the shrooms consuming community? I find that so strange. Anyways, I think this time around, I could definitely appreciate how this movie feels more from an artistic side. It looks amazing, the music is incredible, and the atmosphere is unique, mysterious and unsettling. I really did love these aspects of this movie and I wanted to really like it. However the story is still nonsense. No scene logically follows the previous scene, there are no payoffs, the characters make no sense. The final climax, the main act of our hero, is her having a realization based on something from her childhood that is never hinted at at any point in the movie. It just makes no sense. There is no consistency and no rules...

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Beans) I succumbed to the societal pressure to watch this! After very closely following all of the drama surrounding this movie I had to go see what the fuss was about. And honestly, not bad! Pugh is unreal as per usual, and Olivia Wilde’s character was done really well. Chris Pine was mysterious and sexy and Harry Styles was there. I did think the end was a bit lacklustre and a bit of a cop out. I think they could’ve really done something cool but it fizzled out really quickly. Nothing great but I also enjoyed myself. Yelled in the theatre once out loud!