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⭐7/10 This is number 6 in the Anneverse and while I've delightedly flipped through these for 2 years now, this is certainly the first where I was losing steam. I've heard Montgomery was kinda sick of Anne at this point but contractually obligated to keep the train rolling. I think it started to show... Anne is now middle-aged and the mother of SIX children. Middle-aged women are not typically the subject of children's novels, and that is certainly true here. Anne is hardly in this book, and it is rather a book about her kids, each one having a mini arc. So this is actually 6 short stories, I would say. The kids are fine, and there are some funny stories, but they are certainly less interesting than Anne ever was and can't carry a book on their own. They are younger, so that checks out, but they are also perfect and moral and have the perfect mother to help them sort out their issues.  Anne is also unfortunately not very interesting. I think it kinda follows ...

⭐7/10 Glicked is here, and so now it's time to watch the movie that was made with my demographic in mind! I liked the first but didn't love it, so I can't say I'm especially loyal to this series, and I can confidently say now that this movie didn't really need to exist. I don't think they really had a great idea for this movie, and so similar to Star Wars or other big franchises, it felt a little slapped together in the name of a billion dollars.  I think there were definitely some good qualities. I loved this depiction of ancient Rome. I'm not quite the variety of white guy that thinks about Rome daily, but maybe I will become one! There's clearly a ton to explore here, and it kinda made me sad that all we really get to see is a highly sensationalized or fictionalized fighting. Maybe we'll get a true Roman Assassin's Creed?? Anyways, now in 2024 with a big budget, we get this beautiful, realized Rome, even if it is silly and not accu...

⭐ 7.5/10 Mike Schur show, Ted Danson, what's not to love! A lot actually, but I'll get there. This is an 8 episode show about an older man who goes into a retirement home as a secret agent to try finding someone who has been stealing jewelry.  Great concept! However, this show has a Netflix sheen I can't really describe.  It has a high budget as they hop around San Francisco, but something about the home looks so stagy and spotless and weird. Its something I got over eventually, but it took me a bit.  Even the house his daughter lives in is spotless and perfect, not to mention his own home which is straight out of an AD youtube video. The daughter is the real turd in the punchbowl here - she can't act! There are these scenes with her and her family and they are so cringy, trying to be relevant modern parents.  The way the mom and dad talk is so unbelievable, it makes me think Schur was given no notes and just got a fat cheque to go off and make this show in isolatio...

⭐ 8.5/10 I think if I had seen this when it came out it would have been incredible inappropriate (there are around 500 F words and I was 3), but it also would have been disappointing.  This movie is so similar to Goodfellas, down two of the leads, but with more wall to wall music and debauchery. I mean, its similar to Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Departed, Wolf of Wall Street, even Killers of the Flower Moon - the man loves stories of corrupt people trying to get rich, and so do I. I did think this movie was awesome.  The first hour is basically a montage with non stop pop music as De Niro and Pesci make it big in Vegas. It is complicated and detailed, and does a good job showing you the excess when you know it is all going to crumble.  I thought Sharon Stone was excellent as the femme fatale, given more to do than many wives in other movies like this. Her complete unraveling is believable, and you also kind of get why De Niro falls for her in the first place. Him and Pesci ...

⭐ 7.5/10 Look at this embarrassing cover art.  How am I supposed to champion these books when they look like this? This is the second book in the final trilogy of The Realm of the Elderlings. I thought last book was the worst of all of them, and this is a close second, which is painful. I love this world, and I love a lot of things about these 2 books, but they are both so long!  They could have easily been combined.  We spend so much time in the thoughts of the main character, who I have basically 8 books of first person experience with. The ending of the last book was explosive and unexpected and set the stage well for this one, but then this book twiddles its thumbs for 400 pages before embarking on the mission.  Crazy stuff, considering how brisk the book is once our protagonist is out doing stuff.  But until then its managing emotions, caring for all the sick old people in his life that we have known forever, and deciding whether or not to break the rules....

⭐ 8/10 I have a brief memory of watching this movie in school, and I remember being terrified. Seeing it as an adult with fresh eyes, there is a reason this is a classic. Heartfelt movie with some good tension and fun character design.  I love the user of Star Wars as a cultural touchstone throughout, and it makes perfect sense for kids of this era to draw on that reference. The kids themselves are all solid actors, and I found all their interactions believable and touching. I had no memory of the back half of this movie - when I saw sick ET all white and nasty I probably had to leave the room. It gets super intense with this quarantine surgery thing going on, and the relationship between ET and Elliot has this physical bond I didn't remember at all. I don't think it all makes a ton of sense, but its an easy movie to turn your brain off and let it carry you away. This watch was inspired by the John Williams movie, and his score is really incredible.  I think the theme is a bi...

⭐8/10 Nothing new to say, don't really know why I review these. I'm certainly amazed that this show is still good, and I will admit that this one had some great, memorable moments. Mitchell stuffing the gay high school bully into a locker is one that keeps coming to mind and... Well, I actually just googled the episode summaries to see if anything else stood out and not really. But I remember I commented to Jess that this season was pretty good, so must be true.  I think Manny has come back to what I thought was funny about him to start. Phil remains awesome, and especially compared to all the Dunpheys (who are all mostly selfish assholes) his wholesomeness is great. I think Luke has remained unfunny and dangerously close to a sexual predator, and I think they still have yet to give Claire a funny part. I think Lilly's emergence as a somewhat funny character is a nice little suprise. Cam remains a force in every scene he's in... What else do I have...? Joe i...

⭐9/10 Jess bought tickets to this movie without me knowing, and I really had no interest in it. It's definitely not the type of movie I'm usually into, and I was certainly skeptical... But you know what? It won me over!  A weird comparison for this movie that I kept thinking about was Across the Spiderverse. It was clearly a passion project for theatre kids, too long at times, and trying too hard at others... But the sheer beauty just overwhelms you by the end and if you aren't moved, you have not the love of art within you.  The movie is pretty funny. I have not interacted with a single piece of artistic output from Ariana Grande, and kinda forgot that she ever acted, but she is pretty good here. She's funny! I got the sense that she is kinda playing herself but I thought her arc was actually pretty cool. There are some other pretty good performances, like Jonathan Bailey being charming and Jeff Goldblum coming in and stealing the show. Grande's cronies...

⭐7/10 Along with Tim, I hadn't seen this movie in a clean 20 years despite watching the crap out of it as a kid. I loved it then, and was curious how it would hold up after seeing Tim and Jess say it was pretty solid.  Meh, sure, it's solid. I don't really have any strong opinions. It's okay for a Christmas movie, and I agree that there are a few elements that are a bit better as an adult. I'm not a huge fan of fellow Mennonite Tim Dick, and thought he wasn't super funny here. I think my favorite stuff was with the step day, and I thought it was cool to introduce a psychologist into a story like this. Pretty clever. And you know what else was cool? How many movies do we see where the mom sees what a loser she married and leaves the step dad for her first love? Too many! I'm glad that wasn't the case here because it sure seemed to be headed in that direction.  I also remember how incredibly cool I thought the elves were, like sexy Bernard or t...

⭐ 7/10 If you watch this movie you will have a great time with it. His music is amazing, and this basically goes through his life becoming a composer and then basically hits every movie he worked on.  Its an incredible career, probably to never be matched unless Hans has 10 more all-timers in him. Something that drove me crazy is the talking heads in this.  There are a bunch of random people with no connection to him other than that his music inspired them, and that is so lame.  Chris Martin of Coldplay gets a ton of time because on their tour they enter to a song from E.T. Clearly they wanted some star power for the trailers to get people to watch.  Seth McFarlane speaks really well about Williams, but its unclear why he was chosen to do so at all.  There is a nephew or something that is very eloquent and I really liked that, family members who grew up in the presence of a genius.  Give me more of that! The best moments are when he is behind the piano exp...

⭐ 9.5/10 Christian media that is actually good!? Why am I only hearing about this now!  Just kidding family has recommended this show for many years now and I resisted.  How could another retelling of Jesus' story make a compelling show that I want to watch multiple seasons of?  Well, they did it.  This show is in my mind the definitive retelling.  Not like I have seen that many others, but I was astounded at the quality here. It does everything you would want in a good adaptation. It fleshes out major characters in interesting ways, paints a believable context for the setting at the time, and gives you insights you don't get just from reading.  I love how distinct it makes characters, in such a way that perfectly aligns with what I already knew about them but enhances Bible reading since now there is a face to put to the name and emotions that align with what can be emotionless text. Simon in particular is great (also so dreamy), and they made some distin...

⭐ 6.5/10 10 minutes into this movie I thought I was going to be a weeping mess through it.  A daughter comes home, announces she is getting married, and the dad can't stop seeing her as a child.  Literally he like opens his eyes and sees a child talking to him then blinks and its his adult daughter again.  I'm a new-ish dad and even though I have a 1 year old boy the illustration was powerful and had me in its grips. But from there is just made me angrier and angrier until the final scene which I was actually shocked by.  His daughter is a spoiled brat who wants the most expensive ridiculous wedding ever, and her dad is just forced to bend to her every wish.  He is very wealthy, but also trying to be reasonable, but the daughter and the mom are just like, if you really love her will you really quibble over all this? They don't budge an inch or give him any breaks, it's insane, the prices just keep getting higher and every joke is around the dad resisting until ...

⭐8.5/10 This is a Japanese indie movie about an old man who cleans toilets. Its very simple in that it essentially has no plot, it just follows this guy as he goes through his daily routine, occasionally having that interrupted by mild inconveniences. Its not got a ton of dialogue, and is mostly a movie about how this guy is able to enjoy the simple pleasures like taking pictures and listening to tapes.  This movie ended up being pretty existential for me, maybe more than intended. I've been thinking a lot about contentment and happiness a lot lately, especially as we move around and try to figure out what we want to do and what would make us happy. I think this movie is pretty direct in saying that anyone can be happy doing anything... But I'm not totally sure I bought it.  Honestly this movie felt, in part, like an advertisement for Tokyo. The city is so beautiful and clean and walkable, and even though he's poor, the neighborhood doesn't look too bad. Als...

⭐8/10 Here's a fun fact: this is the first movie I ever watched in a theatre! For that reason I kinda feel like this movie will always feel special to me.  But now this movie is special for a different reason. It's a cute movie about family and belonging, but it's also kinda a movie about pet adoption and having a dog! There is no creature on this earth that I love more than Marilla, so watching this movie with her cuddled on my lap was perfect. This is a pretty emotional movie, so all that talk about loyalty and commitment got to me.  Anyways, on it's own this movie is also just a solid one. It's pretty creative, has likeable characters, it's pretty funny here and there, especially the one villain. Hawaii as a location is pretty great, and there is some terrific music throughout. This movie does that thing that movies don't really do anymore where full, vocalized songs play multiple times throughout. Its a lot of Elvis, but also some nice insert...

My October was mostly balanced between reading horror for spooky season, books set in Italy for an upcoming trip, and indie Kindle Unlimited reads because I got a deal and resubscribed. Aaaaand then some random ones just because I wanted to, and of course those are the ones that had the best 5-star hit rate. This book delighted me in the best ways.  A terminally ill young woman gets the chance to enter her favourite book series to try to win a chance at life,  but when she ends up in the body of a villain, she decides to embrace it! This book was so clever and subverted expectations and fantasy tropes in so many ways.  The premise is silly, and allows for so many meta jokes, since we have an irreverent modern 20-year-old becoming the villain in a Very Serious fantasy novel. AND YET it also explores so many themes in such clever ways that as often as I was laughing out loud, I was also saying "Oh damn!" Sarah Rees Brennan is becoming an all-time favourite author. A YA book...

⭐ 7.5/10 It really is sad to see an all time great show flounder like this.  There is a lot to like, and a lot of big laughs too (I think some really good cold opens), but its a shell of what it once was.  I found it really weird that they don't even mention Michael's name! Obviously it would be annoying to keep remembering the good old times, but he was such a huge part of their lives you would think he would be name dropped a bunch.  For example, Andy, stop doing exactly what Michael used to do! Andy is kind of brutal, going through all the same things Michael kind of did, trying to be loved and whatnot.  The new characters in Nellie and Robert, Nellie especially.  What a kooky Brit!  Her saying dumb stuff in an accent is just not funny. I think the season actually starts pretty strong, but its clear they are running out of ideas.  I thought it was funny how Pam is replaced by Cathy, who has zero lines until you hear her on the phone telling a frien...

⭐10/10 I reviewed this one in the early days of Weview but wanted to go again because my thoughts have changed. This has turned into my ultimate fall/ Halloween comfort watch, and we've watched it every fall for the past few years. I absolutely adore this show.  Back then, I kinda just said I enjoyed the show but didn't think to much of it, and worst of all, I said I'd never think about it again. Are you kidding me?! I'm not totally sure what makes a show have staying power, but this one has it. I mean, it's a beloved cult classic for many, so I'm not alone in this. This show has a total runtime that is shorter than most movies, and still we're talking about it years later.  Its a very simple premise. Elijah Wood and his younger brother get lost, and have to find their way home, but they are lost in a sort of spooky, magical land and have to get through culty farmhouses, woodland horrors, etc., to get home. But it's a kid's show! While it...

⭐8/10 Another Ferrell/Gleeson/McDonagh tagteam. I watched Banshees a year or two ago and really loved it, so I was definitely curious about this one. It has a LOT of similarities, a movie based on an odd relationship between Gleeson and Ferrell that is both funny and incredibly dark.  In this one, Ferrell and Gleeson are hitmen that have to wait in Bruges for things to cool off. Its a beautiful city, so the perfect backdrop. Their relationship is great and there's lots of good banter. Again, very similar to Banshees, but I'd forgotten about how weird and dark that movie was at times. In Bruges is similar where it's 80% a normal, silly movie, and then turns artsy and dark at the end. And some of the dark things you see here are darker than anything you'll ever see, going places most movies won't go. Honestly hard to put a number on it. Similar to Banshees, I didn't actually really like the violent artsy stuff and I would have preferred if it stuck to ...

⭐7.5/10 This has always kinda been the final boss of horror movies for me. Nothing freaks me out more than demonic possession, I think in part because I'm not sure what I actually believe about it. Either way, I find this stuff super fascinating and sooky.  I won't say I was super scared watching this one, but it sure is uncomfortable to watch. A lot of this movie is essentially watching a young girl be tortured and scream, so yeah, that will never be loads of fun. By the middle she is absolutely repulsive... And I kinda dug it. I don't know what it is about horror that compels people, but I definitely something watching this.  Towards the end there is this fantastic Gandalf-figure that comes in and steals the show. I love him. And how often are Catholics portrayed in a positive light in modern media? This guy redeemed Catholics for decades, as well as the main "exorcist." Both excellent characters. I think it's worth mentioning that this isn't...

⭐7/10 A good old fashion spooky season certified classic. I watched this on Halloween night, just as the voices in my head told me to.  I have a tough time being toooo scared of anything this old. It opens up with a very dark, twisted murder, but the effects just make it look so campy it's hard to take it seriously. Still, there were some pretty spooky moments. If you pan over a creepy looking dude and play creepy music every time, it's just a good recipe that will get a reaction. Horror is easy! In fact, this movie seemed too simple. I'm no horror historian, and maybe this was like, the movie that made all others cliche, but there is absolutely nothing unique about this movie. A murderer escapes the asylum and goes around town murdering innocent teenagers on Halloween night. That's it. That's not to say it isn't effective, but you won't be blown away by an intricate plot. There are actually a ton of similarities to Terminator, which I just watch...