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⭐9.5/10 Now THIS is a movie made for me. I should first explain that this movie has two very distinct versions. The theatrical version released to bad reviews and kinda flopped at the theatres. The director's cut, on the other hand, is considered by most to be a different movie altogether. I can't comment on the original, but I agree that the director's cut is nearly a masterpiece in my books, and I have no idea how they cut an hour from it.  So this movie deals with the Crusades, which all of my adoring readers will remember I read a book on this winter. I've basically always been obsessed with the Middle Ages, but I don't think I've seen a movie quite like this. The commitment to realism really stands out to me, with not just the settings and costumes, but the habits of the characters, and their beliefs and attitudes. Obviously I have no idea, but this felt well-researched and realized.  This movie is also a true epic. This cut is super long, but t...

⭐ 7.5/10 This is now the third entry in White's Arthurian retelling (and another banger title). Rather than continuing the story of Arthur, this tells the story almost exclusively from Lancelot's perspective. This was totally the right choice, and I really loved most of this book.  This one is definitely less childish than the first, and far more interesting than the second. In this book, we have characters that are unique and have complex motivations and have to make difficult choices. I would still definitely call this a kid's book, but not one that modern kids would enjoy (nor are they probably super appropriate). It mostly deals with adult subject matter as the thrust of this book is the love affair between Lancelot and Guinevere. And it's actually pretty compelling! I think this relationship is painted in a pretty interesting way, not some shallow affair, but one with some substance and nuance.  Still, I can't say I actually loved this book. There a...

⭐ 10/10 I've been playing this game on and off since its release in May 2023, and I love it.  I am a sucker for Zelda games, hearing the music is enough to make me give it a 10/10 rating.  But I thought this game elevated Breath of the Wild in such a way that I don't think I could ever replay that one, which is kind of crazy. The way this game starts is genius, and then the world opens up in a spectacular way, one you are totally expecting, but when I dove off that sky island and saw the familiar-but-different world open up before me I couldn't wait to explore every corner. That's what this and BOTW nail - the world.  This game makes traversing it easier with all the things you can do in the air, and even after 100 hours I am enjoying poking around everything, looking for Koroks, just seeing what's over the next hill.  It's an experience very few games can match, constantly being distracted by something in the distance and being fulfilled by whatever you find. ...

⭐6.5/10 This movie was recommended during the end credits of Tron, and it's very clear why. Flimsy movies on their own, but both with incredible visuals and banger soundtracks. I fell asleep during the last twenty minutes of this movie and I still felt I got everything I wanted from it.  Still, unlike Tron, the story isn't half bad. It's definitely a little same-y, essentially your generic sci-fi, but while Tron was pure nonsense, this one starts very straightforward and gets more complex as you go along. I kinda liked it! And as far as acting goes, this one sure wasn't up for any Academy Awards, but Tom Cruise is obviously just going to beat out the lead from Tron.  Still, while Tron was incredibly unique from and aesthetic viewpoint, this was just standard sci-fi. I still liked it, but while Tron was astounding in that regard, this movie is merely good. I know I'm really just comparing these movies 1 to 1 which is silly, but there really are a lot of s...

⭐ 8.5/10 For sure the last season to get a good review, but this was great!  I remember where I was watching all these episodes the first time, the anticipation of knowing Michael is going to leave and who is going to replace him.  I think doing this mid-season is smart, and they do a great job in the episodes after he leaves with the new bosses.  Steve Carell and Will Ferrell at the bar the first time is so hilarious, I am convinced it is completely ad-libbed and they have amazing chemistry being funny together. Same with Ricky Gervais for that one scene, they sizzle playing the exact same person! That's definitely the take away from this season, Michael leaving.  Tough to see such an iconic character go, and he leaves a space behind that can never be filled. He manages some hilarious moments, but the heartfelt final couple episodes really bring a tear to my eye.  Seems like he left on good terms, and the show gives you time to say goodbye. Top 3 most iconic T...

⭐7/10 This is a movie very much not made for me. It's a sugar-sweet remake of Good Will Hunting made for my mom. It's about this super smart 7 year old who has to choose between having a normal life or the life of a tortured genius. It's super mushy, super earnest, and still a little charming. This was Jess's choice, of course, and although I would have never picked it, I still enjoyed it. It's definitely a little silly at times, and my biggest complaint is that a girl of 7 years, no matter how intelligent, just wouldn't have the time to build up that type of knowledge. Like seriously, where does she even find the time to learn about global policy, even if she was capable of understanding it? But anyways, if you meet it on its own terms, it's a cute movie.  And that's it. Were you expecting more words for a movie called "Gifted?" More than anything, this is a movie for people who find Chris Evans attractive. 

⭐7/10 This book (also called The Queen of Air and Darkness... But that's way worse) is book 2 of White's Arthurian retelling.  Honestly, not a ton to say here. It was very short, mostly a few stories about young Arthur going to war against the rebel Lords. It's got a few interesting themes about violence and might-is-right, but nothing too novel or groundbreaking. Again, it's funny, but not quite as funny as part 1.  There are also some lengthy stories about Gawain and his family, but I honestly had a very tough time following via audiobook. I don't necessarily think it's the books fault, because I often have a tough time with audiobooks, but where the first book was pretty simple, I found this one to be jumping around and tough to settle into.  So ya, maybe more of an "incomplete" grade. I still enjoyed aspects of it, and I have been enjoying part 3. Still not entirely sure how I feel about the book as a whole, despite having sunk some ser...

⭐8/10 My thoughts are nearly identical to Tim's on this one. It's a great movie with everything you could want. A believable romance, fun action scenes, a bit of drama.  I actually think all the commentary on stunt guys made the stunts feel very painful in this one, which I appreciated. Those poor, underappreciated souls. I would cringe seeing someone be blasted onto a mountainside every time, knowing that there is a real human enduring that for my viewing pleasure. In fact, the end credits is basically an ode to the actual stunt guys. There is also a post-credits commentary about how they wanted to make a real movie with real stunts, and I think the results speak for themselves. After being force-fed Marvel slop for two decades, I think the difference between the quality of action scenes is pretty visible in this movie. For that reason, it made me a little sad that this one didn't actually make that much money, and thus we won't be seeing it's like much...

⭐7/10 This is one of the best bad movies ever made, and I'm not joking. This movie is horrendous. The writing is awful, the plot is convoluted and a heap of techy nonsense, the acting -- particularly that of the main character -- is among the worst I've seen. Jeff Bridges also has his face aged down for some scenes which is a horrifying CGI jumpscare... Ya, this is a bad movie! And yet, I think this is one of the best audio/visual experiences out there. This is absolutely one where you take an edible, sit back in your couch, and let this movie make your brain happy. This movie is from 2010, but aside from the Bridges face-over, I can think of very few movies that look cooler than this one. I think sci-fi stuff is always more impressive, and they nail it. The motorcycles look sweet and sound amazing as they race down virtual highways, leaving that cool trail behind. There is that frisbee throwing gladiator tournament that somehow feels completely tangible. There'...

⭐ 9/10 I went into this one with almost no expectations, and thought I would tackle the first leg of a long flight with a classic.  This movie was awesome.  It starts with 2 guys robbing a bank, and you quickly realize they are buffoons, and a story with a serious premise gets humourous. This robbery completely fails and the rest of the story is about these guys stuck in the bank with hostages trying to figure out how they are going to get out of this mess.  It's such a genius story, apparently, based on a true story, that works so well as a movie.  We get to know some people outside the bank, as motivations are uncovered and we see the police strategies to try to get everyone out of the building safely.  Pacino is electric in this movie, completely on fire in a way I don't think I have really seen from him before (not that I have seen that may of his movies).  Godfather is subdued with occasional outbursts, and Heat was a bit unhinged, and this is a perfe...

⭐ 8.5/10 I strayed from my usual genre again, this time because I was going on vacation and wanted something a bit quicker and self contained. I heard about this book on a movie podcast, where one of the hosts called this the best book of the century! She was a classics major, so how could I not trust a recommendation like that?  Well, turns out this book is written by someone who was also a classics major, and is about a group of students who are studying classics, and paints them as mysterious tortured geniuses. Their professor is is demanding and eccentric but also loving in his own way, and I was instantly picking up some Dead Poet's Society vibes.  I didn't like where it was heading, but it didn't take long for the book to abandon this romanticized academia and spiral into something much more dark. The book starts by telling you there is a murder, who was murdered, and who did it.  The first half of the book follows our POV student who joins this elite class, become...

⭐ 8.5/10 I've been slowly trying to rewatch Villeneuve's movies, and I hadn't seen this one since it was in theatres. At the time it had already been announced that he would be making Dune, and I was hyped, and this movie convinced me it was going to be perfect (and it was). There is actually a lot of Dune in here, not just in the storyline but in the setting, score, and even a bunch of similar shots. A nice warmup before Zimmer and Villeneuve team up again for one of my favourite movies.  Its really cool how Villeneuve's style translates across these stories and makes him the best Sci-Fi director in the world right now. The movie is excellent, and I love the opening scene.  It does such a good job of building a world without dialogue.  Everything is tactile and tells a story, a little like how I felt watching Looper but on a bigger scale.  Ryan Gosling is wearing the coolest coat of all time. All these details are what make a story like this pop.  There a...

⭐ 7.5/10 Movie 3/3 on a long flight, I needed something mindless to take me on that stretch run.  Jess and I watched together, and it was pretty fun.  I didn't think any of the jokes were amazing, but Ryan Gosling is good (watching Blade Runner 2049 before this was perfect) and I like Emily Blunt.  Their chemistry is pretty fun, and he all I could think about was how insufferable a part like this would be if it was Ryan Reynolds or something like that.  He is believably cool as a stuntman, and she is believably witty and professional as a director. There are a lot of meta movie jokes in here that I thought were pretty lame, but I like that its a fresh story with a great cast.  No real shocks in here, and that's fine because the movie is well made.  Lots of care is taken in the stunts and it shows, with all the practical effects taking it to another level. I don't know, nothing to really hate in this movie but nothing that I loved. A perfect way to spend 2 ...

⭐7.5/10 This is a kids version of the Arthurian legend written by White in the late 1930s. It's the start of a 5 part series, better known as The Once and Future King. I really love old kids stuff, love Arthurian stuff, and this is about the same era as The Hobbit. So I was sold!  Initially, I had sorta mixed feelings. It is VERY funny in an old British sort of way. Lots of silly characters like King Pellanore, and the take on Merlyn is hilarious. His schtick is that he lives his life backwards, so he is only familiar with the future and doesn't remember things that just happened in the past. Obviously this makes no sense, and so the fact is only brought up when it's convenient, and by that, I mostly mean convenient for a joke. And it works! I laughed a lot.  Along these lines, I love how much freedom the author gives himself. Everything about this is silly, he breaks all the rules, nothing matters. This is not super faithfully Arthurian really at all, not even ...

⭐6.5/10 Let me tell you a story. We had some friends over who we sometimes watch movies with, and because they are Movie People, I convinced them to watch this movie that my trusted friend said was the best movie in history. We put it on, and after 45 minutes, I literally had to stop the movie and be like, I'm sorry guys, we can watch something good now. Still, I wanted to give this movie a fair shake, so I watched it while folding laundry the next day. A laundry movie!! So yeah, don't trust what Tim says. This is not a Whiplash, this is not a There Will be Blood. This is a Madmen!!! This is THREE HOURS of watching annoying, bad rich people do absolutely nothing. Yes, the sets are beautiful and meticulously designed, yes the costumes are impeccable, yes the acting is wonderful. But man, I was just begging these people to please pull out a gun and do a murder or something?? The opening scenes undoubtedly are a slog to get through, especially when you're with frie...

⭐8/10 The trend continues! I'm really enjoying books that go behind the scenes of my favorite TV shows and movies. This, clearly, had a totally different perspective. At first I didn't love it; these two obviously couldn't get into the nitty gritty that I wanted, like who was terrible to work with, and who got paid what. Give me the dirt! These two are also pretty clearly not writers. That's not to say they aren't good storytellers, but there was a lot of "oh yeah, and Ed Helms? He is literally the nicest person you will ever meet. And Brian Bumgarner? SO funny!" They tell a lot of jokes that are kinda lame inside jokes that are clearly between them and the other cast members.  All that said, I still adored this book. I think my biggest takeaway was just how normal these two seem. They came into the show as total unknowns, so Jenna talks about struggling to pay bills, and having to leave an awards show early because she only wanted to pay for t...

⭐6/10 This is the James Cameron movie about deep sea exploration. I actually learned during the submersible fiasco last year that Cameron is a researcher himself, has the record for the deepest manned dive, and spent like a million hours exploring the Titanic. A true Renaissance man! This movie is kinda sci-fi/ fantasy drama. I say kinda, because holy crap did this feel like 2 movies in the worst ways. On the one hand, this felt like an extremely tight, grounded exploration movie about a group of ragtag oil drillers called into a rescue mission. Cool! It is a 2 hour movie that was super solid, and if it ended there, I feel like this movie was an 8 or so. But then it also had the cheesiest, clumsiest final 40 minutes tacked on afterwards that you have to see to believe.   What happened to this movie?? One of the strangest pivots of all time.  So I'm pretty conflicted. This felt a lot like a Spielberg movie, and I feel like that's a high compliment. It was smart...

⭐6.5/10 This is a movie by the Lonley Island gang about Jake Peralta being a pop star and his desperate attempts to stay relevant when his second album bombs. It honestly felt very similar to Hot Rod, one of my favorite movies, but instead of wanting to be Evel Knievel, he wants to be Justin Bieber.  I'm not sure I would love Hot Rod if I watched for the first time today, and didn't love this. I laughed a lot at the start, but I think I kinda just wore out from the pop star jokes. There are a ton of celebrity cameos which were cool and novel, but lame by the end. It was also made in 2016, and while that's not that long ago, man, pop culture changes quick. The references felt pretty dated.  I shouldn't be so negative. This movie is pretty funny, but just didn't sustain it for me for the whole length. The part with the wolves killed me (but after watching What we do in the Shadows, I wanted that style!), and Jorma Taccone was awesome as the Boyle-style bes...

⭐ 9/10 My man David Grann! I knew with 100% certainty that I would adore this book. I have loved everything else he's written, and loved the movie. It's a super interesting story of one of America's ugliest times (and they have a LOT of ugly times). For those unaware, this book is about the Osage people in the 1920s, who were forced onto a reservation in Oklahoma, who then later discover they are on oil reserves, making them the richest people in America. Then suddenly a bunch of Osage people end up mysteriously murdered...  While the movie is very upfront about the criminals, the book plays out like a murder-mystery, which I think is a much cooler way to do it. Obviously I already knew who was behind the killings, but the way Grann plays up the mystery is terrific. There are just so few authors like him, able to tell true stories in such fascinating ways. A true master of his craft.  But the story in and of itself is completely wild. You would never believe it ...

I don't want to brag, but August was my best reading month so far in terms of number of books read. This is because I'm still on summer break, but I won't let that diminish my accomplishment. Here are my faves of the month! Another banger from Kingfisher! Cordelia is a young girl living with her evil mother, who manipulates people with sorcery. Her mother has her eyes set on a squire to marry and take his money, so she convinces him to invite them over. The squire's sister Hester doesn't have a good feeling about her though, and tries to find a way to keep everyone from her clutches. This book is kind of regency and fantasy, but with horror vibes in parts of the book. Kingfisher is just so good at creating interesting vibes. I also liked that the main characters in this one were a 14-year-old girl who's timid and awkward, and a 50-year-old woman who's no-nonsense and has a bad knee, but determined. Just not the usual 18-year-old chosen one girls we see so of...