2015 - In Movies & TV

January

• Detachment - Tony Kaye
• Maleficent - Robert Stromberg
• The Maze Runner - Wes Ball

• Supernatural - Season 8 
• Peaky Blinders - Season 1 

February 

• 10 Things I Hate About You - Gil Junger 
• She's All That - Robert Iscove 
• 8 Mile - Curtis Hanson 

• Supernatural - Season 9
• Transparent - Season 1 
• Awkward - Season 1, 2
• Great British Baking Show - US Season 1 
• Broadchurch - Series
• Downton Abbey - Season 5 
• Switched at Birth - Season 3 

March

• Gone Girl - David Fincher
• The Boxtrolls - Graham Annable  & Anthony Stacchi 
• Juno - Jason Reitman 
• Lucy - Luc Besson 

• Awkward - Season 3 
• Hannibal - Season 1 
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - Season 1

April 

• The Fast and the Furious - Rob Cohen 
• 2 Fast 2 Furious - John Singleton 
• Tokyo Drift - Justin Lin 
• Fast & Furious - Justin Lin 
• Fast Five - Justin Lin 
• Fast & Furious 6 - Justin Lin 
• The Imitation Game - Morten Tyldum 

• Parenthood - Season 1, 2
  

May

• Interstellar - Christopher Nolan
• We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lynne Ramsay 

• Call the Midwife - Season 4
• Mr. Selfridge - Season 3 
• Parenthood - Season 3, 4, 5 

June 

• Project Almanac - Dean Israelite 
• Serena - Susanne Bier 

• Switched at Birth - Season 2

July

• My Neighbor Totoro - Hayao Miyazaki 
• Howl's Moving Castle - Hayao Miyazaki
• Jurassic World - Colin Trevorrow
• Unbroken - Angelina Jolie
• Ex Machina - Alex Garland

• Orphan Black - Season 1, 2 
• Sense8 - Season 1 

August

• True Story - Rupert Goold
• Leap Year - Anand Tucker

• Rectify - Season 2
• The Newsroom - Season 1, 2
• Under the Dome - Season 1, 2
• Parks &  Rec - Season 1, 2

September

• The Age of Adaline - Lee Toland Krieger

• Parks & Rec - Season 3, 4, 5, 6
• The Fosters - Season 3.1

October

• Straight Outta Compton - F. Gary Gray
• Cinderella - Robert Stromberg
• Ride Along - Tim Story
• Seeking a Friend for the End of the World - Lorene Scafaria
• Homeward Bound - Duwayne Dunham 
• Back to the Future - Robert Zemeckis
• Back to the Future II - Robert Zemeckis
• Back to the Future III - Robert Zemeckis
• Big Eyes - Tim Burton 
• Get Hard - Etan Cohen 
• The Road Within - Gren Wells
• Tomorrowland - Brad Bird
•  Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - Alfonso Gomez-Rejon 

• Gotham - Season 1
• Gilmore Girls - Season 1 

November 

• Max - Boaz Yakin
• Southpaw - Antoine Fuqua 
• Inside Out - Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen
• Pride and Prejudice Miniseries 

• Gilmore Girls - Season 2, 3, 4, 5
• The Returned (French) - Season 1
• The Blacklist - Season 2
• Master of None - Season 1 

December 

• Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials - Wes Ball
• Mulan - Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook
• The Incredibles -  Brad Bird 

• Gilmore Girls - Season 6, 7
• Black Books - Series 1, 2 
• The Detectorists - Series 1
• Supernatural - Season 10 
• Mercy Street - Season 1
• Making a Murderer - Season 1 

MOVIES 

New Favorite: Maze Runner (I & II) 
Old Favorite: Mulan
Surprise Like:  Maze Runner, Straight Outta Compton 
Surprise Hate: Serena, Max 
Favorite Documentary: Making a Murderer? 
Overrated: Mad Max (didn't finish) Serena
Underrated: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Ex Machina 
Made You Laugh: Get Hard
Made You Cry: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl 
Good Weird: Ex Machina, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Bad Weird: Mad Max (didn't finish) 

TV SHOWS

New Favorite: The Detectorists, Master of None  
Old Favorite: Gilmore Girls, Mr. Selfridge 
Surprise Like: Making a Murderer
Surprise Hate: Jessica Jones (didn't finish the season) 
Worst Ending: Making a Murderer
Best Ending: Parks & Rec
Overrated: Supernatural 
Underrated: The Detectorists 
Made You Laugh: Master of None, Awkward
Made You Cry: Making a Murderer
Good Weird: Black Books 
Bad Weird: Under the Dome 

Juno

Juno
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Written by: Diablo Cody
Edited by: Dana E. Glauberman
Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, J.K. Simmons, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner

So what's the prognosis, Fertile Myrtle? Minus or plus? 

Plus, plus, plus! And in this instance it's not a bad thing.

Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) finds herself 16 and pregnant after having sex with her friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). As all teenagers do, Juno thinks she has the whole situation figured out, making an appointment for an abortion as quickly as possible. Sitting in the waiting room, Juno realizes she can't go through with it and instead makes the decision to place the baby up for adoption. Her friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby) suggests looking for couples that are "desperately seeking spawn" in the Penny Saver.

Juno ends up settling on Vanessa and Mark Loring, whose believably pretty photo in the paper seems to seal the deal. When Juno meets Vanessa and Mark, we see that the couple are opposites in almost every way. Vanessa is uptight, sterile, clean-cut, and wants a baby more than anything else in the world. Mark on the other hand, wants to relive his younger days of being in a rock band, traveling the world, and staying home to watch horror movies. Whenever a direct question about the baby is asked of him, he smoothly deflects.

When Juno finally tells her parents that she's pregnant, they uncharacteristically (for a movie) do not yell, throw things, or threaten Paulie. They take it as calmly as possible and vow to love her and support her through it all. This loving support is refreshingly different and only enforces the fact that the movie isn't about Juno getting pregnant - it is about who she becomes in the choices that she makes.

The indie soundtrack only helps to add to the feel of the movie. With lyrics of love, longing, and belonging together there is never a doubt that this movie is much more than a comedy. It is deeply emotional and touches on a tough subject in a poignant way.

My favorite scene and probably the most tear-worthy is when Vanessa runs into Juno at the mall and asks to feel the baby kick. At first, nothing happens and we see Vanessa visibly deflate. Perhaps she is not mother material no matter how much she wishes otherwise. But when Juno tells her to talk to the baby Vanessa gets on her knees and starts talking to the baby through Juno's engorged belly. The smile on Vanessa's face captures our hearts just as much as it captures Juno's. We know in that instant that Vanessa would be the best parent any child could ever ask for. This moment alone would make the movie a winner but luckily for us there are many more of these little optimistic moments strewn throughout the movie.

The movie stands up to multiple viewings and all these years later I'm still glad I own it on DVD. I give it 5 out of 5 popcorn.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Created by: Robert Carlock, Tina Fey
Starring: Ellie Kemper, Tituss Burgess, Jane Krakowski
Available on: Netflix



If you, like me, have been re-watching 30 Rock on repeat since its death, you'll be happy to know that you can finally put it on pause and watch Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt instead. Or in addition to - I don't judge.

Created by Tina Fey & Robert Carlock (both of whom were executive producers of 30 Rock) Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is similar in style and humor but different in its outlook.

Kimmy Schmidt (Ellie Kemper) has just been rescued from the underground bunker where she's spent her last 15 years. She decides that instead of staying in the small town, she will go and live her life in New York City.

Kidnapped in 1999, remaking her life in 2015 is a bit more difficult than she would have thought. Oblivious to things like iPhones, creeper pedo vans, and math; Kimmy doesn't always know what's going on, but her optimistic outlook on life (and her knowledge of true fear & entrapment) keep her smiling and happy.

Her sunny deposition contagiously catches to those around her as well. When Kimmy finds out that her roomate, Titus Andromedon (Tituss Burgess), really wants to be a singer, Kimmy sings with him right in Times Square. Her never-ending search for happiness, doesn't just start and end with her. She is always ready to help others in need as well.

With jokes on social structure and over-the-top characters, the show keeps audiences right on laughing. The story is more than just humor and crazy shenanigans. The situations that the characters get up to, do have a sense of purpose and drama, albeit in a light and funny way.

The show starts off a bit slow but by episode three you'll be laughing right along with Kimmy and you'll be invested in the crazy cast of characters.


I give this show 5 out of 5 popcorn.

The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner
Directed by: Wes Ball
Edited by: Dan Zimmerman
Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Ki Hong Lee, Will Poulter
Based on the book by: James Dashner


When Thomas wakes up, he's staring at a bunch of unfamiliar, boyish faces. He can't remember anything prior to waking up in the field, in the middle of a mechanical maze. As it turns out, neither can the boys. For whatever reason, they have been put into the maze to fend for themselves. Some of the boys have tried to run through the maze in search of a way out, but so far they've come up empty. Thomas is curious about what lies beyond their glade. He is not content just sitting around and hoping that things will work out. When a girl is put in the maze the rules as the boys know them start to change. They have to act, fast, if they want to get out once and for all.


I haven't read the book of the same name that the movie was based on. So I went in completely oblivious to the plot. And with low expectations. I kind of expected it to be another The Giver fiasco.

I was actually pleasantly surprised.

Instead of telling the audience what is going in, we arrive with Thomas to the middle of the maze. In fact the opening scene is Thomas being pushed up through the ground into the glade. We have no idea who he is, who everyone else is, or where we are. We learn everything when Thomas does. This helps make the movie more interesting. You are intrigued from the beginning. Why are they there? Who put them there? Why is he different?

As the movie progresses, the action starts as well. We see parts of the maze and the animals that lurk within it.

The movie is like a modern-day or maybe even a future-like Lord of the Flies. The boys are left to fend for themselves and some are torn between staying alive inside the glade, safe and comfortable, or trying to figure out a way outside but risking the danger.

The acting is OK. I didn't like Thomas very much. His acting wasn't horrible, I just...couldn't find him interesting. Teresa (Scodelario) doesn't have much to say or do in this movie but I can't help but feel she will come into play in the later movies. I did like Minho (Lee). I felt he acted better than Thomas and he just seemed more likable.

The movie did a great job of keeping you interested. As the movie progresses so does your intrigue. You just have to know what's going to happen. The ending was unpredictable and sets up the sequel, The Scrorch Trials, which is set to be released in September of this year.

I will definitely be seeing the sequel and I hope that it continues in the same vein as Maze Runner when it comes to asking questions and providing delayed answers.

I give this movie 4 out of 5 popcorn.

Peaky Blinders - Season 1

Peaky Blinders
Created by: Steven Knight
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Sam Neill, Helen McCrory


Tommy (Murphy) is the head of his family's gang, The Peaky Blinders. So named for the razor blades they sew into the peaks of their caps. When the gang mistakenly gets a hold of a crate of guns, Tommy sees it as the perfect leverage to get his family's gang even more prestige and power in a very volatile Birmingham in 1919.

This, along with House of Cards, are the winners of Netflix originals. I know many people love Orange is the New Black, but...Peaky Blinders should be getting way more recognition and awards.

The show is a period piece, so the clothes and the set design are reminiscent of the early 1900s. It's a gritty world with unpaved streets and spittoons in the bar. The cinematography is magnificent. They do a lot of symmetrical and close up shots, but all in a very pretty, gritty, stylized way. It modernizes the show making it more interesting and relevant.

Another way the show modernizes itself is by the soundtrack. The Black Keys, P.J. Harvey, and Nick Cave are added under the scenes and juxtapose nicely against the old-looking set. It shouldn't work but it does, so well.

The editing is stylized and modernized as well. They use slow motion quite a bit. Lots of the fight scenes are slowed down. In the finale episode, they use slow motion and cuts between two scenes to build the anticipation to a great cliff-hanger.

The first episode was a bit slow but you have to watch at least three. I was hooked by the second episode. But I'm sure that if it's your cup of tea, you'll binge watch the rest of the season on Netflix.


If you think you'll watch this while you bake, sew, or clean - think again. You have to be actively watching it. All of your attention must be devoted to the screen. I admit that I had some trouble at first. It's so hard to just sit and watch something. I've become so used to multitasking while having something play in the background. This show is so good though that you'll get over that guilty feeling quickly enough.

Murphy, Neill, and McCrory were all very good actors. They were believable as the characters they portrayed. I hope we get to see more of McCrory, as Polly. She may not be the head of the gang now, but she is a badass woman, and ran the entire operation when the boys were away at war. Grace, played by Annabelle Wallis, was kind of lackluster. She seemed too reticent in her acting.

I am in love with this show and I would tell anyone to give it a chance. I cannot wait to watch Season 2 which is also on Netflix. Season 3 is currently in production.

I give it 5 out of 5 popcorn.

HIMYM Finale Review

*This post contains spoilers.*

You may recall this post from 2013 when I espoused my love for the hilariously funny TV show, How I Met Your Mother (hereafter referred to as HIMYM). Well, I'm here again with another post about the show and a very important lesson.


First up, the lesson.

Don't ever write about something you love until you've finished watching it, reading it, eating it, doing it, or listening to it.

This is a good lesson too. I wish Ted had listened to it. 

Up until I watched the series finale of HIMYM I could have sung its praises over and over again. I could have told anyone I met without hesitation that this show HAD TO BE next on their queue. I was sure that this was going to be one of those shows (like Gilmore Girls) that I'd watch over and over again until I died.

Sadly, I don't think that will be happening. At least not all of it.

John and I had started watching HIMYM a few years ago, but since the entire series was on Netflix I wanted to watch the majesticness in one cohesive overall viewing. So I started all over from the very beginning.

And it wasn't bad.

I realized that the show can definitely stand up to multiple viewings. And that made me happy. Once again I fell in love with Lily and Marshall. I wanted to be them. I wanted to be part of the MacLaren's pub group. I wanted to pick on Ted for the goat and get mad at Lily for leaving. I wanted to party when Marshall passed the bar and look disgusted every time Barney spoke. It was great.


Theeeen I got to Season 9. The final season.

Season 9 takes place almost entirely over the weekend of Robin and Barney's wedding. What stories we hear of the past are told in flashbacks. We finally meet the Mom, Tracy, and in one entire episode we see what she has been doing for the duration of the series. We see her past, her friends, how she met Lily, Robin, Marshall, Barney, and finally how she met Ted.

Season 9 itself wasn't horrible. Episodes 1 through 22 are decent. It is the last two episodes, which tell one story, that absolutely kill me.


The last story, Last Forever Part 1 & 2, basically undo everything we've been through with the gang for nine years.

Barney and Robin end up divorcing. I didn't ship them for life but I don't understand why they divorced. Of course their marriage would be harder because they were so much alike and independent but all of the first 22 episodes of Season 9 were spent convincing the audience that they were going to really try. That they love each other and were going to compromise, tell the truth, include each other in their schemes, and try to be better versions of themselves. And we see in Season 9 that they are better versions of themselves.

After the divorce, Robin dives into work. I mean dives into work. Jet-setting around the world, making it big as a World Wide News reporter. Which is great, except that she misses a lot of important events in the gang's life. I understand that work is important and Robin worked really hard to achieve her goals but as a person...Robin just wasn't the best friend everyone else was looking for.

So, okay, no big deal. Robin ends up ditching her friends for work. Not uncommon. Not a deal-breaker. I could have handled that.

It was the last few minutes of Last Forever Part 2 that I could not handle. Can never handle no matter how many times I view it.

It's this big revelation, from Ted's kids no less, that the story isn't really about the mother at all. Ted was only telling the story to gauge Penny and Luke's reaction to the fact that he's still in love with Aunt Robin.

TED EVELYN MOSBY. GET THE FUCK OVER IT. 

What this says to me is that Ted never stopped loving Robin. And that is what I hated in Season 9. I could not like Ted AT ALL in Season 9 because all he wanted to do was win Robin back. Win her back even though he'd had NINE YEARS TO DO IT. You would think that after nine years of rejection Ted could just move on.

This isn't romantic. This is sad. It borders on obsessive.

Robin, for whatever reason, didn't like Ted. Fine. Whatever. I don't need her to. But I do need to understand why after all these years we think that she will all of a sudden? Why do the writers think we'll believe Ted and Robin will last this time? Robin is more independent now than ever before. She's traveling the world so much that even Barney got tired of it. Now we're expected to believe that Ted, the clingiest man on the planet would just be okay with her leaving all the time? Are we just supposed to believe that Robin loves Ted? Realized that she always had? Is she going to quit her job? Will she live at Ted's house in the suburbs?! I don't expect actual answers to these questions but these questions do pop up when we've spent nine years learning the personalities of the characters. The ending just doesn't make sense.


And John didn't seem to have this problem but I surely did...what does that say about the Mother?

I mean, I get that Ted really did love Tracy. But the way the series ended kind of made it look like Tracy was just a very lucky distraction while Ted and Robin worked their shit out. And that's not fair.

Tracy was the best. She was completely and totally perfect for Ted. It sucks that she dies. But that's life, I'm not angry that she dies. I'm angry at the fact that after all of this searching, searching, searching for the perfect woman, Ted still loves and pines for Robin.

Robin.

The girl who is totally wrong for him. Has been for years.

Ugh. I'm just so upset.

Is it possible to watch just the first eight seasons over and over and pretend the ninth never happened?



I give Seasons 1 - 8, five popcorns.

And I give Season 9 - one popcorn.

At some point, I will probably buy the entire box set and watch the gang's shenanigans over and over again. I hear the set also explains The Pineapple Incident. You can click on the picture to purchase the set on Amazon.

Okay so enough of my rant, what did you think of Season 9? Of the show in general? Did it make you laugh as much as I did? Will you be watching it on repeat throughout your years? 

2014 - In TV & Movies

January 2014

• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - Ben Stiller
• American Hustle - David O. Russell
• The Square - Jehane Noujaim
• Blood Brother - Steve Hoover
• Silver Linings Playbook - David O. Russell
• Eagle vs Shark - Taika Waititi
• Alexander's Ragtime Band - Henry King
• Apollo 13 - Ron Howard
• Mona Lisa Smile - Mike Newell

• Dexter - Season 6, 7, 8

I have two things to say. One: I am leaving tomorrow on a bus. Two: that could change.

February 2014  

• Eat, Pray, Love - Ryan Murphy
• Upside Down - Juan Solanas
• Zodiac - David Fincher
• Holes - Andrew Davis

• The Following - Season 1 
• Sherlock - Series 3 
• Downton Abbey - Series 4
• A Chef's Life - Season 1 

March 2014

• Girl in Progress - Patricia Riggen
• Pretty in Pink - John Hughes
• Mary and Max - Adam Elliot
• The Butler - Lee Daniels 
• Tim's Vermeer - Teller 
• Despicable Me 2 - Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud
• Girl, Interrupted - James Mangold
• Delivery Man - Ken Scott 
• Inception - Christopher Nolan 
• Man of Steel - Zack Snyder 
• Inequality for All  - Jacob Kornbluth
• Frozen - Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
• Rio - Carlos Saldanha
• The Wolf of Wall Street - Martin Scorsese
• The Usual Suspects - Bryan Singer 
• The Switch - Josh Gordon, Will Speck 

• Bates Motel - Season 1 
• Breaking Bad - Season 5 
• Bunheads -  Series

And even though I'm an atheist, I still wear my yarmulke as it keeps my brain warm.

April 2014 

• The Amazing Spider Man - Marc Webb 
• Instructions Not Included - Eugenio Derbez
• Room 237 - Rodney Ascher

• Orphan Black - Series 1 
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Season 1 

You’ll have to learn English, because when she starts talking you won’t understand her.

May 2014 

• The Amazing Spider Man 2 - Marc Webb 
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier  - Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
• Lucky Number Slevin - Paul McGuigan
• Instructions Not Included - Eugenio Derbez

• Bletchley Circle - Series 2  
• Switched At Birth - Season 3 
• Call the Midwife - Series 3 
• Mr. Selfridge - Series 2 
• Scott & Bailey - Series 2, 3 
• Bob's Burgers - Season 1, 2, 3 

June  2014 

• The Green Mile - Frank Darabont
• The Fault in Our Stars  - Josh Boone
  
  
• Rectify - Season 1 
• Orange is the New Black - Season 2 

You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful.

July 2014 

• Ever After: A Cinderella Story - Andy Tennant 
• Amelie  - Jean-Pierre Jeunet
• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Matt Reeves

• Hello Ladies - Series  
• Sherlock - Series 1, 2, 3  
• Lark Rise to Candleford - Series 1 

Hello ladies, you must think I'm a terrible showoff: you've caught me admiring my limousine. 

August 2014

• Sin Nombre - Cary Fukunaga
• Divergent - Neil Burger
• The Giver - Phillip Noyce 
• Transcendence - Wally Pfister 
• 15 to Life: Kenneth's Story - Nadine Pequeneza 

• Supernatural - Season 1, 2, 3
• How I Met Your Mother - Season 1 
• Lark Rise to Candleford - Series 2 

She smoked this puro, then told me with her freaky voice that I'd make it to the U.S. but not in God's hand, perhaps in the Devil's.

September 2014

• Sinbad - Patrick Gilmore, Tim Johnson 
• The Phantom of the Opera - Joel Schumacher
• Corpse Bride - Tim Burton
• I Am Slave - Gabriel Range 
• The Railway Man - Jonathan Teplitzky

• Breathless - Series 1 
• How I Met Your Mother - Season 2, 3
• Vicious - Series 1 
• Lark Rise to Candleford - Series 3 
• Supernatural - Season 4, 5
• New Girl - Season 3 

Sometime the hating has to stop. 

October 2014

• The Lego Movie - Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
• The Fault in Our Stars - Josh Boone
• Death Comes to Pemberley - Daniel Percival 

• Moone Boy - Season 2 
• How I Met Your Mother - Season 4, 5 
• Lark Rise to Candleford - Series 4 

Come with me if you want to not die.

November 2014

• Bridge to Terabithia - Gabor Csupo 
• Earth to Echo - Dave Green 
• Shutter Island - Martin Scorsese 
• Slumdog Millionare - Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan
• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 - Francis Lawrence 

• How I Met Your Mother - Season 6, 7 
• The Paradise - Series 2 
• Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee - Season 1 
• The Fosters - Season 1, 2
• Supernatural - Season 6
  
  

What was that?
F-sharp?

December 2014

Order is the barrier that holds back the flood of death.

• The Glen Miller Story - Anthony Mann
• Aladdin - Ron Clements, Jon Musker
• Snowpiercer - Jonn-ho Bong

• The Blacklist - Season 1
• American Horror Story: Coven - Season 3 
• How I Met Your Mother - Season 8, 9
• Black Mirror - Series 1 

MOVIES

New Favorite: Instructions Not Included
Previously Watched Favorite: Shutter Island, Inception
Surprise Like: Snowpiercer
Surprise Hate: The Giver
Favorite Documentary: Blood Brother
Overrated: The Wolf of Wall Street, Frozen
Underrated: The Railway Man, Instructions Not Included
Made You Cry: Instructions Not Included, The Fault in Our Stars
Made You Laugh: The Lego Movie
Good Weird: Mary and Max
Bad Weird: Room 237


TV SHOWS

Favorite New Series: The Fosters, Bob's Burgers
Favorite Series (Started Watching before 2014): New Girl
Surprise Like: The Blacklist, Orphan Black
Surprise Hate: American Horror Story
Worst Ending: How I Met Your Mother
Best Ending: Breaking Bad, Dexter
Overrated: Orange is the New Black
Underrated: Rectify
Made You Cry: The Fosters
Made You Laugh: Moone Boy, HIMYM, Bob's Burgers
Good Weird: Supernatural, Hello Ladies
Bad Weird: Bates Motel, American Horror Story