Contact (1997) - 5/5 Stars
The universe is a pretty big place. If it's just us, seems like an awful waste of space.
I love this movie. It's truly fantastic and nails the hopeful dream of science, and the headwinds it faces at every step of the way. I apparently hadn't spoken of my love of this movie to Katie before, but I would consider this movie among my top 10 science fiction films of all time, possibly higher.
Of course the movie is based on the book written by Carl Sagan. Sagan didn't live long enough to see the movie, but he worked on the film and reportedly did his best to keep it heavily based in science.
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Barbie (2023) - 4/5 Barbies
A truly fantastic movie. An amazing commentary on society from top to bottom, delving into what it is to be human.
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Hijack (2023) - 3.5/5 Stars
Idris Elba drama about an airplane hijacking. Overall an enjoyable watch if perhaps a bit predictable for me.
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Jury Duty - 3 out of 5 verdicts
I'm watching the finale of Jury Duty and I am boggled at the idea of dealing with the insanity and stupidity of the show for three weeks for a stupid civil lawsuit.
Overall, the show was fine. It was silly and ultimately not a show I needed to see. It was heartwarming in the finale but also it just... was fine.
I wouldn't tell anyone they have to see the show.
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Fast X (2023) - 2 out of 5 car explosions
The movie is a montage of cameos, nonsensical plots and over the top stunts all in the name of family. As a die hard fan of the franchise, I loved it. As a moviegoer - wow it was thin.
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Radicalized by Cory Doctorow (2019) - 3 of 5 stars
The commentary is, of course, the strongest aspect of the book. Unfortunately, I found the stories and the framings distracted from the messages carried in the book.
Radicalized by
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Rebel Without a Cause (1955) - 4/5 red jackets
Tonight we watched this classic for the first time. The story is a bit hard to follow and reading more about it reveals how much subtext there was which we missed, but it was still an excellent movie and makes me so sad that we didn't get to see more of James Dean.
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The Booksellers (2019) - 2.5/5 Rare Books
Watched from LA to Seattle today. I came across it on Amazon Prime and downloaded to my plane for the flight.
Overall it was interesting, but there was no central tentpole aside from looking at rare book buyers, etc. It starts to suggest books are dying, then it points out they aren't. It says the book buyers are the final generation, and then has some who are optimistic.
It was an interesting insight into these people, but yeah - it meandered and left me at the end wondering what I could have watched instead.
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The Lost Leonardo (2021) - 4/5 Mona Lisas
I ended up watching this documentary on the way down from Seattle to LA and found it quite interesting and entertaining. It's an interesting story with a lot of twists and turns along the way.
It follows a story about a possibly discovered lost painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, the "Salvator Mundi" aka "The Savior of the World" which depicts Jesus Christ. I was recounting the documentary to friends last night and it is a wild story. It also puts, front and center, the very real truth that high end collector art is used for washing funds (central to this story is a Russian oligarch) and also for general tax evasion, etc.
It also definitely reminded me how much I enjoy documentaries. Need to watch more.
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To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) - 3.5/5 high heels
What a delightful film from a bygone era.
"I don't think of you as a man. And I don't think of you as a woman. I think of you as an angel."
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The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Season 5: 3/5 laughs
I felt the last season was a bit disjointed as I didn't really enjoy the hopping around in time as it worked to make a cohesive story which answered questions.
Entire Series: 3.5/5 laughs
Overall, I thought it was a fine show, which had some high highs and some low lows in the narrative.
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Babylon (2022) - 2 out of 5
Continuing our Brad Pitt theme today, Katie and I found ourselves watching Babylon this evening. And, I think the two featured quoted on Rotten Tomatoes really nail it.
Babylon's overwhelming muchness is exhausting, but much like the industry it honors, its well-acted, well-crafted glitz and glamour can often be an effective distraction.
Babylon has some entertaining moments and its ambition is impressive, but the movie's chaotic and disjointed execution makes it difficult to really enjoy.
I found it slow and uninteresting once it left the frenetic initial pace of early film making. And ultimately I asked myself why I cared about this movie and I struggled to find an answer.
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Heat (1995) - 4 out of 5 Guns
Finally watched this movie with Katie tonight. Neither of us had seen it before. The cast in the movie is incredible.
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Poker Face, Season 1 -- 5 out of 5
I loved the show. Best show in recent memory as far as I'm concerned.
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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) - 3 out of 5
Definitely overdue in watching this, but I just couldn't make it to the theaters and haven't had a major drive to dive into the movies again (still haven't seen the new Ant Man either.)
We put it on tonight and overall I enjoyed it. I loved the silent opening montage to honor Chadwick Boseman, and overall I liked the story. I enjoyed the Mayan origin they gave Namor and think it's an interesting way to manage the dynamic of the character.
It's also interesting to know more characters after having played Marvel Snap. I didn't know who Ironheart was, for example, and now I do.
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Sharper (2023) - 2 of 5
I mentioned in passing yesterday that Katie and I watched this on AppleTV+ yesterday. The cast looked solid and is what pulled me in.
Sadly, this movie was very lackluster. The plot was formulaic and predictable at almost every step of the way. Additionally, one of the cast members was just a glorified cameo. I won't say who, but they were one of the main reasons I was interested in watching and were only in a fraction of the film.
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Kushiel's Dart - 2 of 5
Kushiel's Dart is adult high fantasy fiction. It is not my normal cup of tea but I was drawn to it and found it's setting interesting. The main character is a woman who is masochistic and is raised to utilize that as a form of courtesan. The story itself takes a spin off of Judeo-Christian narratives with thinly veiled name changes, as well as the European map being renamed.
The tropes and ideas are not subtle, but the story itself is one of political intrigue. As is often the case I found the ending a bit of a let down after the intricate build up. Additionally, it lacks a pay off I was looking for.
This is a story which rides on the characters in it and the rest is just window dressing. There are two more in the series but I don't see myself seeking them out.
Kushiel's Dart by
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"The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" - 3 / 5 Encoded Messages
I was in the mood for a spy novel so I checked this out from the library via the Libby app. I didn't realize it was the third in a series, though I don't know how much linear narrative there is given how this one went.
Overall, I really enjoyed the narration but the story was only so-so for me.
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Wednesday (2023) - 4 Things out of Five
Overall, I enjoyed the show's first season. It has some fantastic casting and that really carried some middling narrative. But, if you enjoy the Addams Family, you should enjoy this show.
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The Traitors, Season 1: Rating: 3 out of 5 Murders
Hosted by Alan Cumming, a group of reality stars and "normal" people gathered in a castle in Scotland to play what amounted to a very slow and drawn out game of Werewolf. It is a social deduction game where a group of players are secretly murderers and the rest of the group has to pick them out and eliminate them before they murder the entire group.
There were some interesting twists and turns along the way. By far Alan Cumming's attire played an outsized role as a character in the show.
It provided an excellent show for me to yell at and question peoples' judgment, but as a show goes I wasn't heavily invested and didn't really care who won.
If it returns for a second season, I think I would watch but I also wouldn't care particularly if it didn't return.
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The Recruit - 1 out of 5
Was checking out The Recruit on Netflix and have immediately ejected a few minutes into episode 4 because it involves a B-plot regarding a CIA developed AI-driven torture robot used for interrogation which, in testing, ripped an agent's arm off.
Just, the most confoundingly dumb and absolutely enraging plot line for the show to suddenly introduce. Up to this point, the show had been largely technologically grounded. I cannot tell you the last time a show I've watched took such an absurd hard turn in it.
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Bullet Train (2022) - Four Lady Bugs Out of Five
What a crazy and over the top movie. A neon lit, Tarantino-ver-the-top, and with an incredible soundtrack. A good way to spend my already altered mental state of sickness this morning, cuddling with dogs, and watching it on Netflix.
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SAS Rogue Heroes - 3 out of 5 cups of tea
Yesterday we binged this show, it's only six episodes long. My mother-in-law had heard about it, and as she loves World War II media and had read the book it was based on. It's a production of the BBC, and it tells a fictionalized adaptation of the birth of the SAS during World War II.
Overall I enjoyed it, the music has a lot of classic rock, making it feel much more modern at times than a period history piece. It isn't must-watch TV, but it kept us engaged through the six episodes.
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My 2022 Movies
Sat down tonight and attempted to collect all my movies watched this year. I'm sure there are more I haven't thought of. I'll update it as I think of them. There are a number I haven't seen yet but will eventually.
Loved it
Everyone should watch these movies.
- Bros (2022) - A fantastic love story. I really loved it and seeing Billy Eichner act and not just run down the street screaming at people.
- Glass Onion (2022) - Watched it last night and absolutely loved it. It might be better than the first.
- The Woman King (2022) - Fantastic. I am a huge fan of Viola Davis.
- Weird: The Al Yankovich Story (2022) - Watched this in a crummy hotel with my brother and it will be a "core memory" for the rest of my life. But even aside from the means of how I watched it, it is a fantastic absurdist comedy.
Liked it
If it sounds like your thing, consider my recommendation you watch it.
- Doctor Strange and Multiverse of Madness (2022) - I believe my description afterwards was "It was a very Sam Raimi movie.
- Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (2022) - I had no idea what it was going into it and I loved it.
- Spirited (2022) - Ryan Reynolds and Will Farrell are just so damn likeable.
- The Courier (2020) - Watched this with my wife and mother-in-law. It was fine. If you enjoy purposefully paced period pieces, this is for you.
- The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022) - We didn't know what we were getting into with this one, and we didn't particularly care for what we got.
- The Lost City (2022) - A fun romp comedy, but not a lot of meat on the bone.
- White Christmas (1954) - I might have seen this when I was younger but I have no real memories of it. So we finally watched it this week and it is a charming story.
Meh
Your call on whether to watch it or not.
- Death on the Nile (2022) - I love Agatha Christie but found this movie completely underwhelming.
- The Adam Project (2022) - There's been worse and it almost crests into "Liked it" but I just never see myself rewatching it, which is the other threshold between Meh and Liking it.
- The Batman (2022) - I'm a sucker for Batman movies. Initially I put this in "Liked it" but as I was writing this, I remembered all the things I disliked about it.
- The Gray Man (2022) - Formulaic and easily predicted.
- Thor Love & Thunder (2022) - I wanted to love it, but the story just lost me and I couldn't bring myself to care.
- Top Gun Maverick (2022) - Vacuous Americanism. Like Chinese food, an hour after leaving the theater I found zero desire to discuss or think about the movie further.
Disliked it
You should probably pass.
- Falling for Christmas (2022) - Watched it with friends and booze. Don't do it unless you have both.
- Moonfall (2022) - It just wasn't good.
My other posts for 2022:
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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Movie - 5 out of 5 mysteries
Just watched the movie on Netflix and greatly enjoyed it. I caught part of it, but definitely didn't completely figure it out. Looking forward to watching it again with complete knowledge and spotting things along the way.
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