2024 Movies and TV Shows!
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- DirectorAlejandro MonteverdeStarsJim CaviezelMira SorvinoBill CampThe incredible true story of a former government agent turned vigilante who embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue hundreds of children from traffickers.
This past semester, I had an MFA student tell me about the memoir, AMERICAN SNIPER, which I've never read. He said that it turned out that parts of it were made up. Discredited. Nonetheless, it was an amazing book. He loved it. I'm glad my student told me this prior to us watching this film, because I felt equipped. Despite its controversies, it's powerful and good. Children are not for sale.
I'd just exist with that artistic tension, frankly. QANON, yeah. Sex-trafficking: gross, real.
I mean, it's the same tension that exists with Dave Chapelle. Is he totally offensive? Yes. Is he a fabulous writer? Yes. Must I embrace him 100%? No. - DirectorStan LathanStarsDave ChappelleFrom his onstage tackle to the slap heard round the world, the comic lets loose in this freewheeling and unfiltered comedy special.I have an inexplicable loyalty to Chapelle because I think he's smart and artistically brave, but this was just okay.
- DirectorLiza WilliamsStarsNadine Louise GuerraraSteve CartisanoChris SmithOut-of-control teens across America were sent to a therapy camp in the harsh Utah desert. The conditions were brutal, but the staff were even worse.Crazy
- DirectorChristo TomyStarsB.A. AloorC.S. ChandrikaNikhila HenryThe real life case of Jolly Joseph, a lady suspected of planning the cyanide poisoning of six family members over more than ten years, including a two-year-old kid.The aunt is a real hero.
- StarsBix KriegerChiyeko JonesIgor GrbesicBased on life of cult leader Ervil Morrell LeBaron, leader of a religious fundamentalist group who ordered the mass murders of his rivals by using the religious doctrine of blood atonement to justify the killings.More crazy. I mean, I loved it--but I might need some heavy-duty quality next . . .
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioRobert De NiroLily GladstoneWhen oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one - until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.1. It's so freakin' long that you gotta stream it or something.
2. We didn't really know all of this stuff, so I'd say: do a little research first.
3. It's absorbing, engaging, mouth-open- watching the entire time.
4. Though I think Cillian Murphy is, like, totally beautiful, Leonardo DiCaprio was surely the best actor and Robert Di Nero was the best supporting actor. - CreatorNic PizzolattoIssa LópezStarsVince VaughnColin FarrellRachel McAdamsAnthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.Season 1: Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey are phenomenal in this.
- CreatorNic PizzolattoIssa LópezStarsVince VaughnColin FarrellRachel McAdamsAnthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.Season 3: (We skipped season 2!) Mahershala Ali is great.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsJason SchwartzmanScarlett JohanssonTom HanksFollowing a writer on his world famous fictional play about a grieving father who travels with his tech-obsessed family to small rural Asteroid City to compete in a junior stargazing event, only to have his world view disrupted forever.Oh man! I guess I'm just not a Wes Anderson fan, and you know it's hard for me to admit since I like to posit myself as an artistic snob and all. BUT . . . I thought this was kinda awful, so my credibility on the artistic front might be shot, especially when I admit that I can't wait to watch CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM tonight.
I gave this two stars.
One star for its star power. I mean, I'd love to have a heart-to-heart with Matt Dillon. I'd say, "Matt, bro. Why?"
One star for art direction. Beautiful. Reminded me of the Philip C. Cutis paintings at the Phoenix Art Museum. See, I told you I'm an artistic snob. Dropping an obscure art reference!!! - DirectorBao NguyenStarsLionel RichieHarriet SternbergWendy ReesOn January 28th 1985, dozens of the era's most popular musicians gathered in Los Angeles to record a charity single for African famine relief. Setting egos aside, they collaborated on a song that would make history.
I don't know, friends. I just have to say that I enjoyed it from start to finish.
I was always more into the Brits singing, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" but, watching this, I might get a little patriotic and think, "Yeah, but we have Harry Belafonte, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Wonder . . . "
Not to mention Steve Perry!
Um, Cyndi Lauper?
And Bob Dylan being so hilariously Bob Dylan.
Plus, everyone else. EVERYONE else.
#DontEverForgetThatWaylonJenningsWalkedOut - CreatorSteven LeckartGlen ZipperStarsJune Scobee RodgersWilliam HarwoodFrederick D. GregoryFour-part docuseries on the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster, unpacking an indelible moment for a generation of Americans.Watch it with your science-guy husband who also just wrote a paper on it for his MBA for full insight. It was good; the ongoing commentary helped. Very sad.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsPaul GiamattiDa'Vine Joy RandolphDominic SessaA curmudgeonly instructor at a New England school remains on campus during Christmas break. He soon forms an unlikely bond with a brainy but damaged troublemaker, and with the school's cook, a woman who just lost a son in the Vietnam War.I feel like I'm being harsh. This was a very good movie, and I enjoyed all of it. I still have a lot of Oscar noms to watch, but I felt--at this point--that OPPENHEIMER and KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON were stronger.
All actors in this were great, music was great. I think the standout, frankly, was Da'Vine Joy Randolph. - CreatorNic PizzolattoIssa LópezStarsVince VaughnColin FarrellRachel McAdamsAnthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.Season 4: Well, we watched it! I guess I'd say that I think Jodie Foster is always great, the other cast members were very good, the scenario--like the other seasons we watched (1 & 3)--was unique and fascinating, BUT I didn't love the addition of inexplicable supernatural stuff. I guess I wanted straight-up detective work.
Humorous side-note: it feels as if we're delving into certain terrains: rural America (scares me), space (scares Tim a bit more than me, but I'm not wanting to be out there either), and Alaska (scares both of us, but me more). Watching this, I thought, "This is scarier than rural America." - DirectorJohan RenckStarsAdam SandlerCarey MulliganPaul DanoHalf a year into his solo mission on the edge of the solar system, an astronaut concerned with the state of his life back on Earth is helped by an ancient creature he discovers in the bowels of his ship.Movie Review!
SPACEMAN (2024), available on Netflix
Um, just some questions:
1. So, where exactly are we in terms of time here?
2. Like the Czechs and space but this is connected to Communists and I saw a TV screen in the background that looked mighty seventies-ish, not to mention the interior of the spaceship that rivaled my fave, PIGS IN SPACE? Tell me about Adam Sandler as a Czech?
3. Is that a SPIDER?
4. Am I correct in thinking that Adam Sandler gives the spider NUTELLA on his deathbed?
5. Is that Isabella Rossellini? Girlfriend? Beautiful Woman?
6. Lena Olin, did you know that you played a role in my freakin' life because I saw you in Milan Kundera's THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING, alongside of Daniel Day-Beautiful and Juliette Binoche in 1988--when I was still a bit too young to understand the import of this story--and I carried that film and later the book, but more so the film, to be honest, into my life as a writer? Lena, what are you DOING is this film?
7. Can you believe I've been confusing Carey Mulligan with someone else for about a decade? I thought she was Markéta Irglová from ONCE? Still? Where's Mumford?
8. How about if we re-cast this? Adam can be Adam? Let's put in Tina Fey as the COMMANDING OFFICER, Maya Rudolph as LENKA, Tracey Ullman as LENKA'S MOM, and Morgan Freeman as THE SPIDER?
9. Who wrote this?
Summary: The best part is how the spider keeps calling Sandler "Skinny Human." This is SHARKNADO in space, except that it takes itself seriously. 1 ⭐️
#spaceman #moviereview #skinnyhuman #GiveMeNutella - DirectorJ.A. BayonaStarsEnzo VogrincicAgustín PardellaMatías RecaltThe flight of a rugby team crashes on a glacier in the Andes. The few passengers who survive the crash find themselves in one of the world's toughest environments to survive.I really loved this.
True story of a Uruguayan rugby team's 1972 airplane crash in the Andes mountains. The crazy part, besides crashing, is they have to resort to um, cannibalism, in order to stay live.
(I can't remember seeing the 1993 ALIVE film, based on this.)
I think this film was super well-done and tasteful, no pun intended. - StarsKatherine KublerJanja LalichMaia SzalavitzInvestigative docuseries about a woman haunted by her teenage experience at a troubled youth program.Crazy stuff! The director, Katherine Kubler, kinda has that wunderkind vibe. I did wonder a bit about the abandoned school . . . Like, the abusers just upped-and-left? Mammoth piles of evidence against themselves?
- DirectorJustine TrietStarsSandra HüllerSwann ArlaudMilo Machado-GranerA woman is suspected of murder after her husband's death; their half-blind son faces a moral dilemma as the main witness.This is is so good! Entirely engaging! I had heard about it, but then Scott Hyder recommended it--and he was right: great acting, great writing.
Though it would be easy to say that it's a murder-mystery thing, I think it's also a hard-hitting look at the weirdnesses and sorrows and not-good-stuff of marriage, delivered to us IMPECCABLY and NATURALLY. Not sure our American glamorization of every little thing could cut it. . . . - CreatorLarry DavidStarsLarry DavidCheryl HinesJeff GarlinLarry David stars as an over-the-top version of himself in this comedy series that shows how seemingly trivial details of day-to-day life can precipitate a catastrophic chain of events.Hey! We watched EVERY episode of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, and here's my non-review review . . .
1. Man, the last season ain't good.
2. My mom tried to watch this show upon my recommendation, and said it made her anxious. She also said that MY DAD WOULD'VE LOVED IT. This is true!
3. It's been my experience (granted, I have very little) that Dirty Old Men get Dirtier as they age. DEAR LARRY, YOU GOT GROSS. (Not Woody Allen gross, but revealing-a-distorted-view-of-self gross). This might be a lesson for women: watch these guys. Watch carefully. Stay away from them. I personally have a guy who could use a good shower, but he's not that dirty. DIRTY GET DIRTIER.
4. This kind of humor, APART FROM THE ABOVE, was sheer amazing brilliance, making this show one of my very favorites except for the final season. Like, THE OFFICE is forever numero uno, but this is number two. If I can let go of that last season. That DARING writing, skirting so close to the edge of authenticity, mortifyingly human, unfiltered, ugly but beautiful.
5. You know what is noticeable? Larry is a lot of things, but a racist? He is not. Shout-out to longstanding anti-racism.
6. Richard Lewis did not look so hot this last season--but he was there, folks, he was there . . .
7. Thank God they didn't pull a SEINFELD, which was the losing side of THE SOPRANOS finale. But very losing. I was a little afraid that Allison Janney was going to murder Larry. Did anyone else think that?
8. Are you telling me that Susie has NEVER WON an EMMY??????
#curbyourenthusiasm #larrydavid #SusieEssman #RichardLewis - DirectorJonathan GlazerStarsChristian FriedelSandra HüllerJohann KarthausAuschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden beside the camp.The premise is FASCINATING and it's based on a true story . . . The lead actress, Sandra Hülle, starred--also this year--in ANATOMY OF A FALL. She's a BIG talent. In this film, some crazy Nazis live in their big beautiful garden house directly up against Auschwitz. They go on with their life, with the sounds of a concentration camp literally coming into their home everywhere. Though it struck me initially as fantastical, I do remember visiting Dachau in Germany, and it was right in the middle of an idyllic German neighborhood.
The film itself is good. I didn't think it was AMAZING. I think it does do what it probably set out to do: blow you away with the sheer lunacy of the whole thing. Like, you watch it, and you can't even believe it. Another brilliant dog in this film, by the way. It was Sandra's real dog! - DirectorJenny PopplewellStarsFernando BaldassiniSamantha ChangAlan CookeWhen Jennifer Pan calls 911 to report that her parents have been shot, she becomes the primary focus of a captivating criminal case.SPOILERS AHEAD:
I mean, a few questions . . .
1. What was she doing with her time, "during school"?
2. Like, why didn't she just move out?
3. Was she a druggee?
4. Danny: like what's the deal with him?
5. Did the dad refuse to be interviewed for this, because it's really not much without his voice?
6. On what basis are they appealing the trial?
7. Who "paid" for pharmacy school?
8. Where'd she get the money for the hit?
9. She shows no remorse?
10. Who was Danny's other girlfriend? - CreatorRichard GaddStarsRichard GaddJessica GunningNava MauThe story follows Donny's warped relationship with a female stalker and the impact it has on him as he is ultimately forced to face a deep, dark buried trauma.
I think I'm calling my review of "Baby Reindeer" the following: THE BIG ICK.
I've actually been up all night, wanting to write something about this.
This Netflix limited series is probably not for you.
It is, well, everything.
Let's throw in some Gen Z descriptive words: (triggering, VERY), toxic (yes).
Let's throw in some writerly thoughts: even though I might've hated much of it, I think the writing was intoxicating, yes intoxicating, and the performances were so good that I simultaneously loathed characters while feeling deep, deep, deep sorrow for them . . . and we're talking about people that are just NOT my people.
Icky.
Like, you're watching this story about this wannabe standup comedian guy who's being stalked by a crazy woman--and you read that it's a true story, and you can picture the true stuff.
Then, suddenly, we're talking about five million other things: our social media/phone culture that you know I've been currently obsessed with, being an unattractive woman (it's not really said, but it's felt), dating, apps, transexuality (you're, like, LEFT FIELD????), drugs, alcohol, sexual grooming by a male predator, rape, failure as a writer/performer (OH, IT'S THERE, WRITERS--IT'S THERE), abuse in the Catholic church (no stone left unturned), parenting.
I'm sure there's more.
And, like, you think, "Wait. Seriously? They had to throw in THIS TOO?" Did we really need THAT?
But, somehow, you kinda know it: it's true.
THE BIG ICK.
The issues were so gross that true AND it's icky.
Like you need a shower afterwards.
Though the pain felt was real, and I can't help but think it was done very well.
Again, though, not for everyone. Not for mom. Be forewarned. It's gross.
I'm kinda "safe," having been blessed with OTHER KINDS OF ICK. These aren't my icks. Except that writer failure thing. There is a scene that cracked me up; he does his comedy routine in an pretty empty bar with no one caring in the least bit. It reminded me of this time I read in a Seattle coffee house and no one seemed to plan it or care, and I literally stood up--no stage or podium--and said, "Hi! I'm the Entertainment!"
And then I read from AND SO WE DIE, HAVING FIRST SLEPT.
Maybe two or three people applauded. Tim was there, and he was used to my humiliation--but we had our bougie friends with us and I was rather humiliated.
So, yeah, I believed in this sad, abused character, who has very weird relationships. I even believed the end, though it ends too abruptly. I agreed with very little philosophically, but I think that a few things were so well done:
--sexual abuse is devastating and the damage is heartbreaking.
--I think Jessica Gunning, the stalker, was a great actress. I was simultaneously scared of her and cared for her--which I think is the same for the main character.
--artist's identity is so wrapped up in weirdness that untangling it is a mess. It's not the point of this series, but it's there.
So, yeah, this is a true story. The Big Ick. I don't know what's going to happen or what has happened to any of these icky people. I hope that sexual groomer guy, though, is hanging with OJ.
I guess I'll say 5 stars for ICK, 6 stars for writing, 7 stars for performances = 6 stars total.
#babyreindeer #richardgadd #jessicagunning - DirectorMatt BrownStarsAnthony HopkinsMatthew GoodeLiv Lisa FriesFreud invites iconic author C.S. Lewis to debate the existence of God. And his unique relationship with his daughter, and Lewis' unconventional relationship with his best friend's mother.WATCHED! Freud's Last Session
This film, originally a play, imagines a what-if scenario. An imagined meeting takes place between Christian writer/scholar CS Lewis and Psychoanalyst Superstar Sigmund Freud in England (where Freud has fled from Nazis in Austria) as London is under the very real threat of WWII bombings. The war is all around them, and Freud is dying of mouth cancer.
What do they talk about?
Well, it's fiction.
I didn't really like it. I haven't analyzed it yet with Tim on our morning walk, but I felt as if it didn't do justice to Lewis for sure, probably Freud too--and it took biographical suppositions about their lives and turned them into rumor.
Like, I don't know. Maybe it's all true. But maybe it's NOT.
I'm fine with good old fiction, but this felt a bit as if the truth were being trivialized.
Shout-out to Anthony Hopkins who has now played BOTH CS Lewis and Freud in film! - DirectorGiorgio AngeliniArthur JonesStarsFuxnetAmandaAubrey CottleA group of lonely teenagers formed an online community and bonded over their isolation, but their collective beliefs warped reality.It's okay. Kids + Social Media = Bad Stuff
- DirectorZoe DobsonStarsDuran DuranNick RhodesJohn TaylorCharting their trajectory over four decades, the band's story is told through seven of their albums. Each record uncovers a compelling chapter in the band's journey.
Well. Huh. What to say?
I was a Duranie. Like, I LOVED John. Nick was straight but glam. Simon DOES have a really good voice. Roger was normal guy cute. No one cared too much about Andy! This was before U2, and--yeah--like a cheating girlfriend, I dumped them for a new band. The rest is history.
I mean, I liked this documentary. I didn't love it. It was a blast from the past. I knew all of the early music and then my knowledge abruptly stops. Watching them, I did think to myself that they're really not my types. So pretty, so stylish, not exactly causing anyone to fall to their knees in a profound search for the meaning of the universe or anything--but I still love some of those old songs. - DirectorCord JeffersonStarsJeffrey WrightTracee Ellis RossJohn OrtizA novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from Black entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of the hypocrisy and madness he claims to disdain.I liked it. I don't think my husband did. Intriguingly (to me), I had just finished Percival Everett's JAMES, loved it, and was totally eager to read more. I was actually surprised to find out AMERICAN FICTION was based on Everett's ERASURE.
And it's clever and thoughtful--though it ends unresolved. So it raises these big and important and RELEVANT questions about race, writing, reading, academia, book prizes, publishing, stereotypes, BUT there are no conclusions. However, I still really liked it.
Jeffrey Wright = pro. Sterling K. Brown = beloved Randall. Leslie Uggams = icon.