Weeks 20-23 of 2023

True crime under the sea across the Successionverse

L.O.L. We’ve been busy and by we I mean me and dozens of episodes of 48 Hours on YouTube.

Here’s the round-up, movies and TV only today…

150) TERMS OF ENDEARMENT~ (1983) - I did not mean to schedule this movie for film club for the day after Mother's Day (which I don't observe). I've only seen it once before and I enjoyed this round quite a bit. It has such a reputation for being so weepy, but it's a very sharp and funny movie up until the last half hour. Which is pretty weepy. Shirley MacClaine on fire here. I get the sexual appeal of Jack Nicholson here. Nowhere else, but here for SURE.
☆☆☆.5
Source: Chicago Public Library

151) THE FALLOUT (2021) - A lot of mixed feelings about this. Much more about PTSD than about school shootings, and I almost wonder if it would have been more successful if the plot was in response to a different kind of disaster. Great performances, but just something was off about this for me.
☆☆.5
Source: HBO Max

152) BROAD CITY: SEASONS 1-5~ (2014-2019) - A Millennial fever dream. I do so love this crazy, weirdo story of female friendship. There are some moments that don't age splendidly, but in between those few things is done pure delight. The episode where Ilana hooks up with a guy that does bad improv is one of my most oft-referenced pieces of art ever created. Abbi + Ilana 4ever!
☆☆☆☆
Source: Hulu

153) SECOND ACT (2018) - It's bad! But did I cry? Absolutely. Nobody looks better than JLo. NOBODY. But yeah, PU.
☆☆.25
Source: Hulu

154) BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER* (2023) - Good garbage for me and your mom. I took a benadryl for my allergies and ate candy and had a great time. Terrible movie, just a real stinker. Get drunk on a plane and enjoy it! Diane Keaton 4ever.
☆☆☆
Source: Regal Theater

155) TITANIC~ (1997) - I'm not often wrong...but when I am, I cry really hard. This movie is great! For my entire childhood and most of my adulthood, I was like "hell no I won't support this movie beating Gone With The Wind at the box office!" So I never saw it till 2020. It's great! Hell of a picture. James Cameron, you get me every time. Kate Winslet is so wonderful here, even when she's a little annoying. Leonardo DiCaprio, I get it! Bill Paxton 4ever.
☆☆☆☆
Source: DVD

156) NO SUDDEN MOVE (2021) - It almost works. The first 45 minutes I thought were great! But everything kind of fell apart for me once we got out of David Harbour's house and the scope got expanded, more and more movie stars popped up, and it all kind of amounted to meh. But a great first act.
☆☆.5
Source: HBO Max (look that's what it is...)

157) JODI ARIAS: AN AMERICAN MURDER MYSTERY (2018) - I've been watching a lot of true crime, which is always a good indicator of my mood about the state of things (negative). This case is so weird, so many of the people involved are so weird, and Jodi Arias is very crazy and evil. So it makes for a decent documentary. It's a little too into itself in the way that most of these things are. But if you're a fellow weirdo who finds murder shows calming, it's not a bad time!
☆☆☆
Source. Hulu

158) BIG HERO 6 (2014) - Hot take - good movie! Really fun, very cute, but also pretty intense! The Iron Giant meets My Friend Totoro. I would die for you, Baymax. The humans I was less enamored with. But yeah, a little much emotionally for little little ones, good for older kids, perfect for me to cry to on a train.
☆☆☆.75
Source: Disney+

159) POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING~ (2016) - A masterpiece. Cinema. Better than all the Mona Lisas in the world. So goddamn funny and weird and ridiculous. The songs are great, the cast is glorious, and it's the best send-up of pop music documentaries. Ugh, I'd watch it again right now.
☆☆☆☆
Source: Hulu

160) SUCCESSION: SEASON 4 (2023) - Ooh girl. We really succeeded. A pretty exquisite run. This was a season that stung like a jellyfish, just one after the other. Always fun to watch these actors play around, making everything seem so effortless. I really want to shout out the excellent directing this season. So impressed with how these episodes were able to balance the tones, plot, and characters. Alan Ruck secret MVP.
☆☆☆☆
Source: HBO Max

161) BARRY: SEASON 4 (2023) - We're gonna have to watch this one again, kids. A hard pivot from the show that I really liked into a show that I found really compelling but tough to enjoy. A pitch perfect bleak ending though, my goodness. Very much can't wait to watch it again. Anthony Carrigan 4EVER. For real. What an incredible cast. Very excited for the future films directed by my husband Bill Hader.
☆☆☆.5
Source: HBO Max

162) LOGAN~ (2017) - L to the OG. Hadn't seen this since it came out, and damn it lived up to the hype I myself gave it back then. What a damn delight. It's bloody and violent and funny and sad and surprising, what a great time. Wish this really was the end of it for Jackman, a great send-off. Boyd Holbrook - big fucking creep. My second favorite Hugh Jackman/James Mangold collab.
☆☆☆☆
Source: Disney+

163) SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING~ (2017) - I had a passing thought that I would rewatch all the Spider-Mans before Across the Spiderverse came out. I did not. But I did rewatch this, which was fun! Fun, cute, a very solid movie. Michael Keaton is good villain, RDJ is used just sparingly enough, and my son Tom Holland does a lot to make me proud. Always a fun time. Ned4ever
☆☆☆☆
Source: Disney+

164) THE LITTLE MERMAID* (2023) - Look at this stuff. I went in with negative feelings, and I came out with negative feelings. They're are some fun things here: Halle Bailey is great! Very sweet! There were some Melissa McCarthy line readings that really made me laugh. Not that I needed the movie to be longer, but the actual connection between Ariel and Eric was good. But I just have such a bad taste in my mouth for the photo realistic crap. Under the Sea is about the fish playing instruments! But because they're "real," I don't get to see a sea snail play the saxophone? What the fuck? Scuttle rap is heinous. My hottest take: they were setting Eric up to be a mermaid! All this "oh you came to us in a shipwreck" and him being like I feel so connected to you for some reason HE'S A MERMAID. Sorry everyone, they got it wrong, he is a mermaid. Or maybe they're both amphibious. You have the magic of the sea! Let them go back and forth!
☆☆
Source: Regal

165) REALITY (2023) - This is really great. Verbatim dialogue, high tension, and a great performance by Sydney Sweeney. Truth really is stranger than fiction. And a few indictments for the former president this past week! Fun and timely…
☆☆☆.75
Source: HBO Max

166) THE CURIOUS CASE OF NATALIA GRACE (2023) - I regret to inform y'all that I'm obsessed with it. This is some sick, crazy shit. The main takeaway is that America hates disabled people. But this docu-series a wild ride. Some very fucked up people involved. It does not feel good to watch, but I'm fascinated by it. I’m very looking forward to the teased follow-up where they actually sit down with the titular “character” of the story.
☆☆☆.5
Source: Max or HBO Max or whatever

167) SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDERVERSE: PART ONE* (2023) - Oh hell yeah. This movie ruuuuuuled! I'm in the pocket for this, hard. It's so good. Absolutely gorgeous to put your eyeballs on. I loved it. Miles is such an excellent protagonist. The storytelling is clean and compelling. It's funny and surprising and wonderful. I kept thinking about how much my nephew would like it as I was watching. Fun for the whole family, especially if your family is full of nerds. Can't wait for part 2.
☆☆☆☆
Source: Regal

168) JARED FROM SUBWAY: CATCHING A MONSTER (2023) - Why did I watch this? It was going to make me upset and it made me upset!
☆☆.5
Source: Max

169) 48 HOURS (a million years) - So I've been watching episodes of 48 Hours to fall asleep at night. So what? Could a depressed person do this *holds up the entire 48H Youtube page she has watched*
☆☆.5
Source: YouTube

170) HILLSONG: A MEGACHURCH EXPOSED (2022) - I'm shocked, shocked. All religions are cults, sorry it's true! Some cults are more dangerous than others and this one sucksssss. Really though I didn't love this doc. Too much about the history and genesis of Hillsong, which I suppose is important to the context, it just wasn't interesting to me.
☆☆
Source: Max

171) RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK*~ (1981) - An absolutely perfect theatrical experience. One of our best motion pictures. My sweet husband is so hot. So bad at being the hero. I love so many details in this movie - travel by map, the Indy/Marcus oner, Paramount mountain, every setup and payoff, the production design wow, Marion is my absolute favorite, the coat hanger, I just eat this movie up like a bad date, baby. Incredible to see it on the big screen. The airplane fight into the truck chase is probably some of the best filmmaking ever? Ever. Alfred Molina!
☆☆☆☆
Source: Regal Theater

172) SEE HOW THEY RUN (2022) - Very cute! A fun whodunit that really embraces all the tropes and cliches in a really fun way. It lacks a little bit of a bite, but it still does what it sets out to. The actors are great, I'd watch it again now that I know the twists. Adrien Brody hot, always.
☆☆☆.25
Source: Max

173) THE HURT LOCKER~ (2008) - It's been a minute since I revisited this, but wow still such a tense experience! Very crunchy shoulders after this. Such an interesting look at masculinity and war and the benefits of compartmentalizing your shit. A great Jeremy Renner performance, but don't sleep on Anthony Mackie.
☆☆☆.75
Source: DVD

174) LOW COUNTRY: THE MURDAUGH DYNASTY (2022) - Rich people are crazy, y’all. Mostly rich people who are also criminals (not to be redundant heyoooo). This case is wild and this family is so crazy and they all should’ve been in jail a million years ago. Maybe it’s because the story itself is so confusing, but I found myself getting lost in the details of this docuseries and having to go back to make sure I was on the same page. Like which person are they murdering this week, jesus.
☆☆☆
Source: Max

175) WITNESS~ (1985) - Sometimes you’re just craving something and you can’t stop thinking about it til you get it. Well, that’s me and the movie Witness every six months. Someone mentions it and I just can’t handle anything til I finally sit down and watch it. Just yearning for a (butter) churning. I don’t know, I tried something. Anyway this movie is fucking phenomenal. Peter Weir is one of our greatest directors, I absolutely cannot believe he doesn’t have an Academy Award to show for it. Lukas Haas is such a haunting sweet little boy. The music is perfect, the shots of wind blowing through fields, death by corn, it’s just so great. Kelly McGillis is so fascinating here, a real career high point for her. And HF. My sweet husband. John Book, arguably the hottest Harrison Ford character other than that time he was himself dressed up as a dog in a hot dog costume on Jimmy Kimmel, anyway anyway this is full of incredible Harrison Ford moments - raising the barn, drumming on the car, dancing and singing to Sam Cooke, roughing people up, being related to Patti LuPone. He looks incredible in a straw hat, what am I supposed to say??? I love this movie so much. So repressed and romantic and genuinely thrilling action and when all the Amish begin running towards to the ringing bell at the end, I sobbed and said out loud (to no one), “they’re a community!!!” Love it.
☆☆☆☆
Source: DVD Collection
Bonus points for watching the 5 part making documentary on the DVD that describes both Peter Weir and Harrison Ford’s collaborative processes. A seminal text!

176) TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS* (2023) - I’m not seeing this until tonight, but I can only predict that I will declare it a masterpiece.

That’s all for this week(s) folks! I promise I have a special announcement coming soon and it’s not going to be that I watched Witness again, I promise.