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Leviathan Wakes - James S.A. Corey

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Will) Another space opera, I picked this up because it's the first in a series that the show The Expanse is based on, and the show is pretty good according to reviews. This was compelling enough that I flew through it over a couple days, but in the end it didn't feel unique enough to really stand out much. I don't think I'll read the rest of the books, but I'll probably try the show since reviews are solid and there's not enough good sci-fi tv.

Single All The Way

⭐ 6.5/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) This was a rare queer Hallmark movie that we watched on Christmas Eve, and admittedly, it was not good. For a Hallmark movie it was perfectly fine, but as a movie on its own... It was truly nothing special. The romance was not that compelling, the family was WAY too involved in the main character's love life, and it was overall very cringey. But I had a good time watching it, and it WAS nice to see a gay couple getting the ole Hallmark treatment, with absolutely zero changes. Equality!

Ted Lasso - Season 1

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) I have to review this season on its own for the sake of my 2021 stats. I absolutely love this show, as I expected I would. I love almost every single character, and I love that every time I think I'll have to look away in secondhand embarrassment, they just...don't go that direction. It's wonderfully uplifting without being cheesy, it makes me laugh out loud constantly, and I'm cheering for every single character. So good. And I'll tell everyone who listens that it's basically a live action sports anime. This is a positive thing.

Return of the Obra Dinn

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) Really cool mystery I finally had the chance to play! You're an investigator on a ship on which all of the 60 people onboard mysteriously died or disappeared, and you go around seeing snapshots of what happened, out of chronological order, trying to piece together what happened, who everyone was, and how they died/what happened to them. It took me about 16 hours, and I was wracking my brain the entire time. Really cool concept, unique art style, and really made you think. A little bit TOO frustrating at times, though. Some of the clues were seriously obscure, and I did quite a bit of guessing by the end.

The Wheel of Time - Season 1

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Rebecca) Almost forgot to review this! I did really enjoy this show, but I haven't thought about it at all since I finished. Cool worldbuilding, cool female characters, boring romances. Not enough actual dragons.

The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) This is an overhead strategy game with movie-tie ins that came out just around the time RotK released. I loved this game as a kid, but typically licensed games like this just piggyback off the success of the movies, quickly cashing in a hack of a game. This is not the case here. This can kinda be described as Age of Empires in Middle-earth, but truthfully this game becomes entirely its own. I love strategy games because they make me feel smart, but I rarely play them. This is not just a good Lord of the Rings game; it's an awesome strategy game. It stretches you and challenges you and by the end you will feel like a master tactician. It has depth, complexity, and plenty of reward. This game also magically catches lightning in a bottle twice with having both rohirrim charges and Ithilien archers being so, so satisfying to maneuver. Otherwise, what could I possibly say about the music and acting? It's got the sacred movie soundtrack and voi...

Hades

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) I have been playing this game for a while now, and even though I will keep playing on and off now is probably a good time to write a review. I have loved games of this style in the past, like Crypt of the Necrodancer and Enter the Gungeon, but I love them more for their creativity and infinite replayability more than the game mechanics. This game has that, and isn't as crushingly hard as those. I improved every run, so the sense of satisfaction is always there, which keeps you coming back. Even now, after beating the game a couple months ago, every time I play I am rewarding with a unique run that has surprises and rewards. The final version of each weapon in particular are incredible challenges, forcing you to change the way you have played the whole time and stretch yourself. A pretty great accomplishment, and an amazing progression from the last game I played from the same studio, Bastion. Another bonus points for being based around Gree...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) I think this is the best entry in the series, which is pretty good for a beloved and long series. They got all the boring stuff out of the way last movie, and this one is pure adrenaline the whole time. The action kicks off almost immediately, and we get tons of Voldemort, which I think is all I wanted the whole time. I really like him as a villain, and I get that glimpses of him is like Jaws, builds anticipation for something you barely see, but I was happy we finally got a lot of him. I'm not sure if this is a common Harry Potter take or not, and I would be curious what book fans would think, but... should he have died? Would it have been better if he died? Kind of felt like the series was leading up to that, and I didn't really understand the resurrection stone mechanics and all that, but I feel like the ending was missing the gut punch a sacrifice like that would have landed. Regardless, I like the ending, and the flash forward had me a ...

Little Women (2019)

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) I was holding off on watching this so I could read the book first, but that book became the first book I started and have not finished... maybe ever? The completionist in me feels bad, but it was way too boring. Anyways, the movie was good! It took me a while to settle in, and I was feeling bored early on, but by the second half you understand the characters a bit better and I felt invested in each of them. One nit I have is the cast. All amazing actors, of course, but those girls don't look like sisters at all. I take that back, Emma Watson is not good people only like her because they have childhood crushes on Hermione, there I said it. Also, holy timelines batman, I didn't realize this was a Christopher Nolan movie! I was super confused because these women look the same age throughout and I could barely tell when each scene was supposed to be set. Aside from that distraction I enjoyed this movie. I did think there would be some power in J...

Modern Family (Season 7)

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) I should have just reviewed the whole show in bulk, because it has been consistently great. No drop off yet, in fact this season contained some of my favourite episodes. They continue to be creative, like the train episode, and as the depth of the relationship with the characters grow the smallest of quirks can make me chuckle. 2 seasons to go, and I can already feel they are going to crush my heart with a tear-jerking series finale.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Will) Heartwarming and sad at the same time, you're not likely to get through this without tears. Tom Hanks did an incredible job - I really notice how talented actors are when they play a real person. I recommend every human get familiar with Fred Rogers, through this movie or the documentary.

The King

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Will) This is a historical drama on Netflix, set in the fifteenth century. Sometimes when you're sick of the entire world being at stake in every movie it's nice to watch something a little smaller in scope. This was pretty solid! Joel Edgerton might have the sexiest voice in the world, plus Robert Pattinson and Timothee Chalemet were also good. Also, perhaps the most realistic duel I've seen between two dudes wearing heavy steel armor - slow, awkward, tiring etc. Recommend!

Don’t Look Up

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Beans) This movie has an incredible cast. Just look it up. I personally love JLaw and thought she was phenomenal in this. It all felt just a little bit too real tbh. Either the pandemic or climate change, or capitalism and the collapse of society, which I guess are all intermingled. It was pretty funny and a little bit shocking at times. Again, it’s hard to explain but it really just felt like they encapsulated too well the pandemic and the different sides and approaches. At one point someone says “your father and I support the jobs the comet will create”. So yeah, check it out but it will make you mad.

The Wheel of Time - Season 1

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Will) I generally enjoyed this quite a bit, though there are unfortunately some significant flaws as well. I'm cautiously optimistic that season 2 will get better, given a little more budget and some lessons learned from season 1 about what worked and what didn't. What Worked For Me They chose some really great shooting locations that looked great on screen. I'm thinking of the scene in episode 1 or 2 where they're leaving the village and looking back, and you can see the trolloc torches in the distance, for example. I was nervous about the budget and how all the magical stuff would look - the trollocs turned out pretty solid, and the fades were pretty badass, especially the first fade scene where it gets stuck on the other side of the river. I was pretty happy with the casting, especially Moiraine and Nynaeve. Perrin was the one that stood out to me as a weak spot though. What Didn't Work For Me Tar Valon and The Ways both looked rea...

West Side Story (2021)

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) What a time at the movies! After watching the original and then seeing the trailer for this one I was convinced it was going to be amazing, and it did not let me down. The updated cast (with people who actually look Puerto Rican), updated choreography, and even some slight story and motivation changes put this completely over the top for me. I can't say I really appreciate dance, but watching this musical with Spielberg's long wide shots was pretty awesome, and reminded me of seeing La La Land in theatres. I am glad I knew the songs and story going in, and I thought every change they made in this adaptation was a good thing. No more of the cutesy dance fighting, when someone gets slammed in the head with a paint can in the first 5 minutes I was on board. Every actor killed it, and I felt that each was given a lot to do, with little details that help make this Romeo and Juliet tale not feel so overly sappy. 2 people still have a love at firs...

Licorice Pizza

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) I kind of wanted to see this movie, but not enough to pay for it. And then I won a giveaway at the local theatre so my prayer was answered. In the end, I'm glad I didn't pay for it. I am not a huge fan of Paul Thomas Anderson. I think some of his movies are incredible, one of them one of the best ever, but the rest are just a meh for me. This is one of the meh ones. There's no denying how great it looks, but its a meandering tale of a boy and a girl in LA, the boy a hustler that's always cooking up new ideas, trying to pursue the older girl who doesn't really have a path in life. I don't want to say this movie is boring, but it takes its time. There were a couple scenes that were great, but we are kind of just watching 2 people get up to all sorts of mischief, while she refuses to date him because he is too young and he gets jealous of every guy he sees her with. I feel like all the 10/10 reviews I have read have been fr...

Encanto

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) I enjoyed this movie! Like everyone else, I loved how colourful it was, and the setting was so fun. The family themes were sweet, and I've gone back to listen to some of the songs several times. I don't think it'll have the staying power that Moana has had, but I'm glad we have Mirabel as a normal-looking and loveable protagonist.

The Wheel of Time - Season 1

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) As someone who has not read the books, I had a fun time watching this! I For the most part it felt like standard fantasy, and I'm not tempted at all to read the books. But I thought it looked beautiful, and the story was engaging enough for me to happily watch all eight episodes in less than a week. I'll leave all the quibbling about magic systems and world building to everyone else.

The Wheel of Time - Season 1

⭐ 6.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) I have been putting off this review because I have been rolling it around in my head and trying to come to terms with it. I don't want to be the guy that's like "this sucks the book is way better", but its hard not to be. I don't think The Eye of the World is amazing, but I love the story and the world it introduces, and while the show came close at times it ultimately fell short for me. The first 3 episodes I would give a 9/10. I was totally fine with the changes they made, and I thought it established the world really well. It moved quickly, but the focus and world building were there. Shout out to the scary dream sequences (those are super important and disappeared in the 2nd half...) and the fleshing out of Logain (one of my favourite characters in the books who is cool because you know so little about him, but the flashback prologue for him was excellent and a great choice for an adaptation). But as the season went we wer...

Encanto

⭐ 6.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) Disney sets an impossible standard, and because I wasn't emotionally wrecked by this movie I didn't like it. It looks amazing, the premise is clever and unique, but I just wasn't really attached to anyone throughout. I was shocked at how quickly the final conflict was resolved, basically through a short conversation. I don't know what I wanted, and expectations probably hurt me here, it just felt too neat and tidy. The music was fun, but I don't think I could hum a single one the morning after watching it. This is a kids movie, of course, so I am probably being too harsh, but blame Disney for always crushing movies like this. The short film that was released with this movie had a similar theme, and told a more emotional and satisfying story in 7 minutes (Far From the Tree, if you are interested). I will give this movie points for taking a large family and making each member distinct. When it started I was like, oh boy, no way I a...