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⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) A fantasy book set in a world that's based on a never-ending library was obviously going to appeal to me, so I went into it knowing nothing more than that. Evar is a young man who doesn't know his past, but he's stuck in a library with only a few other people and two constructs. Livira is a girl whose home is ruined by vicious creatures, and then she worms her way into a position at the library. Eventually they meet through a mysterious book. This book is a little bit Piranesi and a little bit Magician's Nephew. I read so much fantasy that the worlds tend to blur together, and despite being reminded of the aforementioned books, it felt so wondrous and enchanting to me. The only problem really is that it's super long and doesn't really need to be, especially since there are sequels. I got mad that I wasn't getting all the answers I wanted right away, but then I love a standalone.

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) The premise of this one didn't excite me and so despite it being one of my favourite romance authors I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it, but I should have trusted Emily Henry! It's about Wyn and Harriet, who have recently broken up after a long relationship, but haven't told anyone yet. When they have their annual friend vacation they decide to pretend they're still together so they don't ruin it. Of Henry's other books, this book is the most like People We Meet on Vacation, where we get flashbacks to the past interspersed with the present and a couple with a lot of history. It's also probably her most emotional book, so definitely not a romcom, although she does have some really good, witty dialogue in there. I found the romance compelling, the characters deeply drawn, and the ending really beautiful. There's also the important friendship aspect to the plot that had me in tears.

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) Jade is in Vietnam with her estranged father to help him in getting a house he bought ready to be a BnB in exchange for tuition money, and she is not happy about it. Soon enough, she starts having nightmares, seeing ghosts, and spitting out insects while she also learns about the history of the house and her family and how colonialism played a role. It's an entertaining YA book that explores colonialism, family history, and queerness all through a haunted house. It maybe tried to do too much in one book and I felt like some threads were lost along the way, but overall it's a solid horror.

⭐ 10.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) I actually had no idea what this movie was about going into it, but it was just as delightful and funny and weird as everyone is saying. I laughed very hard at several jokes. The world-building is kind of nonsensical, but I kind of love that the creators were just like "lol who cares". And they were right because I didn't care!

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) This is a truly cheesy movie about a grumpy Tom Hanks who, after being won over by his neighbors, has his heart grow 3 sizes in time to save Christmas. I'd say spoiler alert, but you already know that's what's going to happen after 5 minutes, and also that's actually the plot for How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The thing about me though is that sometimes I love cheesy movies. We Bought a Zoo is one of my favorites movies ever, and this movie is almost like that one. A guy loses his wife and thinks he has nothing to live for, only to discover there is beauty in life because someone won't give up on him. Honestly, this formula works on me every time. The Green Gables series has about ten of these arcs per book and they always hit. If only I could be more like Marisol cuz in reality I'm just a fricken Otto! I thought this movie was pretty funny. Otto being an asshole is exactly how those kinds of people act. It's actually...

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) Most of this review will probably be comparing it to the movie, a movie that I actually enjoyed but struggled to follow the plot a bit. Everyone is super rich so I don't have a lot of empathy, and when the Bennet's are described as poor while their servants lay down a beautiful ham on their table it makes me roll my eyes. As if the plot of a less rich family trying to marry of their daughters to become a rich family should matter at all. But that's where Lizzie comes in! She is great in this iteration, strong woman who understands how goofy her sisters and mother are, and doesn't want to marry for political or financial reasons. I thought this actress was great, and the same goes for Mr. Darcy! Firth's steely demeanor is kind of hilarious at the beginning, but by the end I was swooning over the glimpses of emotion he shows. I think the major downside compared to the movie is the filmmaking. This is a static TV show on probab...

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) Back on track! I thought this season had some of the best episodes yet, with some zany premises. I really like James Marsden and Kirsten Schaal getting time, and it felt like genuine progress was made for Liz, who still remains the main character and the one I dislike the most. I wonder if I rewatched season 1 now that I am fond of the characters I would see the seeds and think more fondly of it. Regardless this has been an enjoyable run, and with one more season I will be sad to see it go. At its highs it comes the closest to Community, which is my favourite comedy.

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) I watched this movie for a movie night with my seniors. You know, every movie is much better when you're getting paid to watch it. Or is it worse? I know I learned about this in psychology class... Anyways, this movie is okay. It's an old family movie, based on an old kid's novel, so it's very wholesome and nice, and also sad. Some of the seniors were weeping and saying it was very sentimental, so that was cute. But not exactly one I can say I'd recommend to anyone under 100. Also it was funny cuz there were several scenes of animals fighting, and it looked a liiiiiiittle too real to me... 70s ethics were just a bit different, weren't they??

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) I finished writing and realized there are some vague spoilers. I'm too lazy to go back. So yeah, spoiler warning. So this season took months for us to finish, and I even had to go back to read about the first episodes. Was Tuco still the primary antagonist to start? Sure was! And for that reason, I think this season takes a bit to get going. Tuco is very memorable, but I actually think he's not a great villain. Or at least, I think he's in just the right amount of episodes, cuz he is insane, and it's exhausting watching him. But those episodes are still great and intense, and once they wrap up the show gets even better. I think the best thing that happens is it introduces Saul who comes in gangbusters. He's a force! He's really great in this show and adds a ton. Mike also makes his debut this season. It's short and subtle, but it's there and I couldn't help but get excited to see him more. Altogether though, th...

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) The first season of this show tracks the rise of big wave surfing in Nazare, driven by Garret McNamara and a crew of other surfers that we come to love. I wasn't sure if the show could justify a second season, since now we are in the present and following a growing cast of surfers, but the personalities are great and the second season is a thrill. Again, I could watch beautiful videos of people surfing mountains of water all day long. This show is filled with incredible shots that take your breath away. Last season was a lot about aging and watching others surpass you, to the point that now Garrett barely surfs and is essentially the Nazare shaman. We no longer have the flashback element of documentary storytelling, and are now just tracking the present. The scene has exploded, young bucks are doing backflips on 50 foot waves, and we meet some new surfers including a local boy looking for his shot at surfing stardom. His arc, where he teams up w...

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Joseph) After I rushed through the first book, this one took me 4 months to get through. Queue the Strongbad quote! Too loooooooong Clancy! Too looooong! This one definitely felt like a dropoff in my opinion, which makes me a little sad after the first one was one of my favorite fantasy novels ever. Where that one felt decidedly tight and intentional, with a big climax that everything led up to, this one just felt like a few chapters in what will be a (literal) never-ending saga. That's not bad necessarily, it just felt like I was never getting anywhere. However, I think the bigger issue is this one followed less interesting characters doing less interesting things. I am not crazy about Davos, and even less interested in Stanis. And my goodness, get fricken Theon Greyjoy outta here!!! I really don't get the choice to write from his perspective. He is so, so unlikeable, and reading his chapters are literal torture (torture? Get it? The real ones w...

⭐ 7.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) The best part of this movie is the acting. I think Hathaway's character is the most cookie-cutter rom-com character and she is only remembered because of Hathaway's charisma. Same goes for Streep, she is cruel for basically no reason, or at least the movie attempts to give her some shallow background to explain things, so it would be a Hallmark movie with any other actor. I also like that this movie is filmed on location in Manhattan and Paris. But then there is also a hotel room in Paris with a clearly green-screened window shot of the Eiffel tower, so just like with Forgetting Sarah Marshall why film in expensive places and then cut corners for weird stuff? Otherwise I found this movie unsatisfying, and reading other reviews online of people who love this was so baffling. People think her boyfriend is controlling and stopping her from her dream career? What movie are people watching? Her boyfriend is better looking than the fashion guy she...

⭐ 7.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) This was a fun little show where a real life person enters a jury, and little does he know that the whole thing is staged around him. Everyone else is an actor, and they put him through these crazy scenarios over the course of the trial to see how he will respond. I liked this show in concept a bit more, kind of like The Rehearsal. But its hard to feel invested in a trial that is completely fake, so all the best moments are outside the courtroom. The real beauty in this show is that they found a gem of a human being to put through it all. Ronald is kind and considerate and it is genuinely inspiring to see such a nice person behave this way. The finale was so heartwarming because this is a nice person being rewarded for being a nice person. James Marsden is the only big name guy here, playing himself, and I loved seeing how Ronald was generally unphased by being around a celebrity, and was genuinely upset when James was (intentionally for the show) b...

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) What can I say, I just love mysteries based on Austen characters! This is a YA retelling of Sense and Sensibility except there's a murder to solve! Mr. Dashwood is a detective and suddenly dies, and the Dashwood sisters aren't convinced he died naturally. Elinor loves chemistry while Marianne wants to carry on the detective agency business, so they work together to find out who killed their father. This book is definitely more heavy on the mystery and light on the romance, to the point where they weren't really believable, but I always love a fun take on an Austen novel, especially when it's something other than P&P.

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Magdalene) This is like a classic raunchy buddy road trip movie, except all the main characters are Asian women. And it's set in China and Korea! Like a lot of movies of this type, it was uproariously funny pretty much beginning to end, but some of the sexual jokes made my prudish self squirm. Overall I had an excellent time though.

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Beans) I had incredibly high expectations for this movie. Writer and producer Greta Gerwig has made 2 of my favourite movies ever and I was going into this very excited. I thought it was awesome, but I don’t think it will have a lasting impression on me the same way the other two movies did. This is largely a movie by women for women, but I think it has a lot to say about men and the society we have created and what that means for all people. The cast was awesome and I love Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. The set pieces were incredible and the costumes were on point. I loved the soundtrack and it made me think a lot about my mom and sisters and other women in my life. The climax comes to the song of What Was I Made For by Billie Eilish and it really evokes a lot of emotion. I’m seeing a lot of discourse about this online and I’m loving it. I think it will be one of those movies that I will think about in the times to come. The final line was actually in...

⭐ 9.0/10 (Originally written by Tim) The movie weekend of the summer is here, and even though I didn't love Tenet I did love Dunkirk, so I hoped this would be a return to form for Nolan. The hype was insane, and the internet had poisoned my feed calling this as momentous as The Godfather. It isn't quite at that level, but this is an incredible 3 hour biopic that is more legal thriller than action movie. The hype around this movie is for this explosion Nolan sets off as part of the story, and that moment is amazing. Throughout the movie there are great effects to visualize Oppenheimer's mindset, or even how he imagines the science, and that is all done so well. I think the most incredible moments in the movie are not the explosions, but the way his unravelling is portrayed. It is tense and scary and excellent movie making. I thought a bit about The Imitation Game while watching this, which is so dry and boring, an area which this movie could have easily slipped into but didn...

⭐ 9.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) The best book in the series so far, maybe because it was the most linear. The factions are clearer, and we are following a small group of interesting characters who have a destination that we know is wrong as they make their way across a warn-torn hellscape. Pretty awesome stuff, and the flashes we get of Ciri are always interesting. Love the path she is on, reminds me of Arya from ASOIAF in a lot of ways. This book suffered the most for me from not having a map! What are we doing here, this book would have been amazing as we see the characters journey across the world and as different conflicts break out around them. I think that is the main piece this whole series has been missing and it was glaring here. Really like the introductions of Milva, Zoltan, and Regis. I was skeptical about Milva from the start, another woman who meets Geralt and just wants to sleep with him, but she ended up being much more complex that than, which was a breathe of fre...

⭐ 8.0/10 (Originally written by Joseph) We're continuing to ride our Green Gables high. This is again one of Jess's favorite movies and so she picked it for her birthday. But she watched it as a kid before reading the books. I'm a book purist! And this movie wasn't pure! So I did have a few problems with it, but I also had a few problems with the first movie my first viewing, so I wonder if I'll come back and regret my words. Essentially my problems were indeed where they deviated, especially when it comes to the romance. It's not really the same dynamic, especially with Anne herself. It also doesn't make a ton of sense. She just... Doesn't like Gilbert? And instead falls for a 50 year old? The "romance" is very icky and I have no idea what they were thinking. But there are also a bunch of great parts. Anne being a teacher, the sequence with the cows, and then the final part where she wins over mean Katherine. That was all pretty good. I also l...

⭐ 8.5/10 (Originally written by Beans) This was show 2/2 I had promised Joe I would finish before I started anything new. And while I will admit that I watched 2 pilot episodes of other shows in between, I am pleased to announced I finished this! I’m free! This is a crazy show about fandoms and stan culture with themes of horror and death and one girls mission to see her favourite star. The horror was not over the top, but could be pretty gruesome at times. It made me really uncomfortable and I wanted to look away, but somehow I couldn’t. The first 4 episodes were good, kind of a rinse and repeat. Episode 5 with Billie Eillish was amazing, episode 6 was so clever and had me reeling, and episode 7 was a great cap. This show made me think a lot about what I would be willing to do for my faves (at one point I was considering buying $1,000 tickets for upper bowl). But just that whole culture in general is fascinating. Donald Glover seems like a genius and I can’t wait to see more of his st...