Weekly 10: 11/17-11/23

Agents of SHIELD “Many Heads, One Tail”
Am I alone in the idea of Fitz and Simmons being vastly more interesting as only friends, with no sexual tension? I realize that ship sailed seasons ago. I like that those two characters continue to get focus. I just wish the context was different.

Modern Family “Phil's Sexy, Sexy House”
I get the feeling they gave up while writing this episode. No show stages chaos as well as Modern Family (Look no further than "Las Vegas" a year or two ago). This episode had the madness, but lacked the staging. They kept throwing more people into the house without it really tying together all that interestingly. Half the complications  (Luke with the beer) were thrown in out of nowhere. The changing perspectives in the beginning barely had a payoff either. Occasionally, I wonder how good Modern Family would be if they had half the episodes and twice the time to work on the scripts.

LA Story
This is a strange little movie. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to fully grasp what exactly it's doing, but I think I like it.

Jessica Jones
A second hit for the Marvel/Netflix partnership. This is a pretty perfect role for Kysten Ritter. I'm only about four episodes in and will be taking my time so it isn't one big blur like Daredevil was.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part2
I can't imagine how scared Lionsgate is now that their cash cow is gone. There was a time when they had both Twilight and Hunger Games in the same year. Now, their big hope is that the Divergent series doesn't tank.

Saturday Night Live “Matthew McConaughey/Adele”
There's something about the home stretch for the year that gets SNL rolling. This was the second week in a row without a bad sketch and the promise of Christmas generally get the best out of the writers and performers. One more good episode like this and it might actually make sitting through the Donald Trump episode worth it...No, that's too much. That was an awful episode.

The Night Before
It's a couple weeks early for a Christmas movie. I couldn't wait though. This is the last time I have any breathing room for movies for the next few weeks.

The Walking Dead “Heads Up”
I'm glad they waited a month to tell me something I already assumed when it first happened. Glenn is alive and I'm thoroughly bored. The pacing of this batch of episodes has been horrible. I keep hearing about how more showrunners are designing their shows for binges rather than individual episodes and that's definitely the case here. This is the first stretch of episodes in several seasons that I've actively disliked watching.

The Leftovers “International Assassin”
That was a bizarre episode that only The Leftovers could pull off. I feel sorry for anyone who hate watches this show, because there's so much for them to dislike. I'm fully loving it though. I can't believe there's only two more episodes left...and that there's no guarantee that there will be another season.

Fargo “Did You Do This? No, You Did It”
I got a little confused about this episode. I was completely confused about Dodd the whole time. Not in a "I wonder where Dodd is?" way, but in a "Did Dodd die? Did I miss something". This is the first week in which I worried that I somehow wasn't paying enough attention. It turns out I wasn't alone. Other than the bits of confusion, there was all sorts of things to love.

Weekly 10: 11/10-11/16

The Middle "Homecoming II: The Tailgate"
Axl said he broke up with Devin. Did I miss that? Did it happen off camera? Is that what the whole Open Relationship conversation was supposed to be taken as?

Master of None "Mornings" & "Finale"
That was a very solid ending to the season. It moved away from standalone adventures and focused pretty heavily on the relationship stuff. "Mornings" in particular is very oddly structured, covering a lot of time, which I liked. I'm somewhat undecided about how the season ended. It all depends on how a season 2 would pick back up. It's pretty definitive as it is, so I don't know. Such a great season though.

The Big Bang Theory "The Mystery Date Observation"
As much as I did enjoy the joke of Sheldon turning down the perfect woman because she was late, I am disappointed that it means there's no excuse to use Annaleigh Tipton more.

The Peanuts Movie
I think I prefer Peanuts in holiday special form. 90 minutes is too much for me.

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Belief"
As soon as I see this title, I know it's going to frustrate me. There's only one way a children's show can look at this: believers smugly believe and non-believers have to be angry at god or stubbornly illogically logical. I'll credit the writers for trying to present a spectrum. Riley is a staunch believer (they make damn sure to stay as vague about the beliefs as possible). Lucas is a more passive believer (It's there and he's comfortable with that). Maya seems to be angry at god (i.e. actually believing, but hating that she believes). Farkle takes the "science as religion" angle. It's fairly imbalanced though, especially with Corey chiming in too. Ultimately, it's a much bigger topic than the show's equipped to handle. They did what they could with it. The story touches on several of my personal pet peeves, but from a writing perspective, it was solidly handled.

Gorillas in the Mist
I want to see Sigourney Weavers outtakes for this movie.

The Last Man on Earth "Baby Steps"
I have to give the show credit. Not many shows have the brazenness to keep the main character this unlikable without making him the villain. Tandy is such a douche, even when he's being a good guy. He's completely incapable of saying the right thing. You know what he means to say, but it never comes out that way. I really could use some niceness amongst the characters though. They all seem to hate each other.

Last Week Tonight
John Oliver has been dipping into the sports well an awful lot. I was on board with this one though, because I've been wondering how these daily fantasy sites could be legal. It turns out, as with anything these days is, the answer is "through a loophole".

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron
Yeah, let's turn a slave narrative into a story about a horse. That won't diminish the meaning at all.

Fargo "Rhinoceros"
How crazy would it be if Nick Offerman gets an Emmy nomination for Fargo after seven years of snubbs for Parks & Rec? He's still way down in the pecking order on the show, but if he gets another showcase or two like this week's, it could happen.

Weekly 10: 11/3-11/9

Master of None
I am loving this show. It's fantastic. I didn't realize I could like Aziz Ansari this much, despite loving him on Parks and Rec. The show is half romantic comedy and half sociological study. I still have two episodes left, but the show has already addressed generational differences, gender experiences, depictions of Indians on TV, and infidelity. Then it's also managed to squeeze in romantic elements that are sweeter than just about any RomCom out there. So many great supporting characters. I'm happy to see Noel Wells in particular land such a good role after parting with SNL. This show is already a lock for my top 10 shows for the year.

Rosemary's Baby
I did a horror movie night with some friends, and I going to go through all the movies here since it was a great lineup. I'd seen Rosemary's Baby before but didn't remember it well. I'm very happy that I saw it again. It holds up so well, even nearly 50 years later.

Bram Stoker's Dracula
I saw this before far more recently than Rosemary's Baby but on AMC. This time, I got to see in on Bluray and that's fortunate. The AMC version ruined the movie. The Bluray is beautiful.

It Follows
Such a simple concept that's effective enough to remain scary, despite not really knowing where to go with the story.

The Babadook
The only downside to a movie this crazy is that the resolution almost has to be underwhelming.

The Walking Dead "Now"
The cast is too big. Don't start building up all the Alexandrians when 1) we know most of them will end up dead and 2) there's so many more characters that I care about that I'd rather be following. This half season so far has been one miscalculation after another.

American Horror Story: Hotel "Room Service"
Am I the only one who is a little bothered by the school scenes? Not that it scandalized me or anything. It just seems like a tactless move. I can't fully judge until I see how it all plays out, but the disturbing part of that was actually the kid killing his parents off screen before school. Everything at the school was just sensationalism run rampant. I know, I know. Criticizing AHS for sensationalizing things is like saying "I hate I Love Lucy because of all the jokes". It's definitely an indicator that another season of this is unlikely for me.

Fargo "The Gift of the Magi"
Bruce Campbell as Ronald Reagan is something essential that I never knew I needed.

Spectre
Other than a stupid plot twist or two, I don't see how this is any better or worse than Skyfall.

Scream Queens "Beware Young Girls"
Ariana Grande is the stealth MVP of this season. Any time she's shown up has been hilarious.

Weekly 10: 10/27-11/2

The Middle "Halloween VI: Tick Tock Death"
That was a really well written episode. It managed to maintain the anthology structure while still telling a linear story. The Frankie story was about the madness of having all the guys in the house. The Axl and friends story was about getting them out of the house. The Brick story tied in because he was out trick r' treating for Cindy, who was the one that scared the boys away. And Kenny speaks. If this is the only time he ever speaks (or maybe it can be a Halloween episode tradition), then I'm ok with that.

Fresh Off the Boat "Miracle on Dead Street"
So, Honey trying to stop Jessica from doing bodily harm to those teenage boys was very funny. Honey has become more of an asset than I expected.

The Purge
This is a perfect example of the plot necessity driving the all character decisions to disastrous effect. Oddly, this doesn't hurt my interest in seeing the sequel at all.

The Walking Dead "Here's Not Here"
Badly timed episode. So far, this run of episodes would be much better served as an 8-episode binge rather than week to week. These cliffhangers are starting to piss me off. They need to dip into that well less often.

Fargo "Fear and Trembling"
The story has escalated for more than I expected in only four episodes. By the tenth, it's going to be insane. How much longer can Ed and Peggy possibly survive? How many Gerhardts will be left standing? Can I even feel confident that Betsy will get to die of natural causes?

TMNT
There's has got to be a new way to handle the dynamics of the turtles. Lone-wolf Raphael is getting old.

American Horror Story: Hotel "Devil's Night"
That serial killer dinner party did absolutely nothing for me. I could tell it was trying for...something. Whatever that was completely missed.
And they are turning characters into vampires at a ridiculous rate. I don't understand how in this world, a substantial percentage of the city aren't vampires or victims of them.

The Leftovers "No Room at the Inn"
Poor Matt. Poor, poor Matt. That dude's got it rough. Solid episode and I loved the glimpse of the world at the entrance of Miracle.

Our Brand is Crisis
I get why this movie isn't doing better in theaters. I do find it hard to ever dislike Sandra Bullock though.

Last Week Tonight
He talked about Kentucky and there were no hillbilly jokes. I'm calling that a success.

Weekly 10: 10/20-10/26

The Walking Dead "Thank You"
I have to see how this all plays out before I make a decision, but this development with Glenn has me worried. The way they shot his "death" was far too strategic and differs wildly from how the show has handled things before. If I haven't written it before, I know I've thought it: Glenn or Maggie need to die. As a couple, they've been boring for a while and killing one would allow the other to be a character again, hopefully*. Again, everything about this has been so deliberate that I'll need to see how it plays out before any "Dexter Season 6" comparisons need to be made.
*Granted, the writers could just improve the writing for each, but they gave up on that a while ago.

Steve Jobs
An interesting character study. I wish there was a little more to it.

Brooklyn Nine Nine "Halloween III"
Last week Holt and Peralta were working together. This week they're against each other. It's a sort of balance. Regardless, this is becoming one of my favorite annual episodes of any show.

Higher Learning
Well, it started off interesting, then it lost it's damn mind with the neo Nazis.

Fargo "The Myth of Sysiphus"
Patrick Wilson is fabulous on this show. This is a much bigger season than last, and he's managed to keep it all grounded. Loving this season so far.

The Middle "Land of the Lost"
I knew I should've committed it to writing. Last week, I was telling someone that I'd put all the money in the world on there being an episode this season with a Brick solo visit to Sue and Axl's school. I also figured it would involve him getting lost in or obsessed with the library.

White Noise
This was gibberish. Why did Michael Keaton spend so long making movies like this and Herbie Fully Loaded?

Blackish "Churched"
ABC family comedies are very formulaic and what makes them work is the wiggle room within the formula. This week, Blackish used that wiggle room for Jr. joining the church band, Diane being a complete sociopath, and fun with the white church/black church differences. This is a solid show the keeps chugging along. Yet another show they have they have that I'll watch for as many years as they leave it on.

The Leftovers "Orange Sticker"
This was an interesting episode. But, like I mentioned last week, it took to damn long to get there. Next week looks like a focus on Matt. His episode last year was fantastic, and there's no huge cliff-hanger that's being delayed by following him. This season really is playing like a better binge than week-to-week series.

The ABCs of Death
I hoped this would be scarier. Many more of these went for a laugh than I expected.

Weekly 10: 10/13-10/19

So much TV. So so much.

The Middle "Risky Business"
They finally outed Brad and in a sweet way. Good on them. I'm still holding out hope that they find a way to use Lyndon Smith in a more pleasant way. I'm maintaining that it'll involve Axl but I'd also be interested to see what it would look like for her to rub off on Sue some.

Goosebumps
As far as putting dozens of books in a blender and pouring that into one script goes, this was a solid effort. Nothing great, but it matches the tone of the books.

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Texas"
I've been on board for what I thought they were doing with Riley, Maya, and Lucas for a while. I thought it was a matter of the writers realizing that Sabrina Carpenter and Peyton Meyer have chemistry that Meyer and Rowan Blanchard don't, so they were shifting the relationships. They were doing it well. Riley got another potential love interest. Riley and Maya realized that Riley and Lucas had more of a brother/sister relationship. Everyone seemed cool with it. Then "Girl Meets Texas Pt. 3" happened and all indications are that I'm not going to like where this ends up. Relationships can be confusing on their own. There's no need to have a love triangle too, especially one with dynamics as poorly mapped out as they are right now. Seriously, Girl Meets World was so close to handling teen drama in a freshly original way and at the last second, they took the on ramp to cliche road.

Tig
I still haven't listen to the Tig Notaro Live album, so this documentary about it is a good alternative. It's a very interesting story.

Saturday Night Live "Tracy Morgan; Demi Lovato"
That's "lost episode of 30 Rock from 2012" sketch made me really want some new 30 Rock episodes.

The Leftovers Off Ramp"
This is the kind of episode I'm certain to like better when I can binge a season rather than wait a week. I really like everything this is doing and think that it is interesting to see what Laurie and Tommy are up to. After two weeks in a row of teasing the fallout of this earthquake though, I really want to see what happens next in Jarden.

Bridge of Spies
I kept expecting there to be more to this movie. It was wholly satisfying. I just wasn't prepared for the limited scope of it. I kind of blame the previews for that, or maybe the few scenes that weren't about Tom Hanks' character made me think there was a bigger world it was trying to cover. It's hard to say. Future viewings of it will only go better.

Brooklyn Nine Nine "The Oolong Slayer"
Peralta and Holt working on a case together is one of my favorite things.

Disney's The Kid
The only problem I have with this movie is that it made me go and watch About Time again because it got me in one of those moods with all it's "life the life you want" messages.

American Horror Story: Hotel
Not every episode is going to be this long, right? I'm signed on for an hour show every week, not a mini movie.

Weekly 10: 10/6-10/12

Sorry for the week off from the blog. I needed a little vacation from it. Don't worry though. I've got plenty to cover over the time away with some 45 movies or TV shows in the last seven days that I watched. As always, here are ten I decided to remark on.

The Walk
This is less of a movie and more of an experience. Based on the box office results, you won't have long to see this and even less time to see it on a really big screen. I recommend going out and seeing it now. It's not the kind of movie that will play as well at home.

American Horror Story: Hotel "Checking In"
I've never watched any of the American Horror Stories before. Curiosity, Lady Gaga, and the fact that if I'm watching Scream Queens already, I'm in for a penny, in for a pound led me to committing to this season. The thing that is immediately clear is that this is all style over substance. I don't mean that as a bad thing necessarily. I watched the introduction segment for Gaga and Matt Bomer twice entirely because of the style. If the direction, cinematography, and production design are always this interesting, it won't matter what the writing does (similar to how I soaked in every second of Hannibal, even when the writing was at its most opaque).

Sicario
I feel bad that I wanted to like this movie more than I ended up liking it. It's similar to how I was with 12 Years a Slave: It's a very well made movie, but all very familiar. There's certainly worse things that could be said about a movie than "It was executed well".

The Middle “The Shirt”
This mid-life crisis story for Mike has a lot of potential. The Middle is a very patient show. Mike is so firmly established at this point that really even the smallest changes in his personality are filled with possibilities.
A smaller detail in the episode that did a lot for me was Brick, Sue, and Axl's phone ritual for communicating. I like that the show isn't trying to distance them (Brick has a lot of potential to be on his own show most of the time a la Winston on New Girl). So, the fact that he can get both siblings on the phone so easily (which is something that's been established in the past) is a nice sign of their bond. I'm predicting there will be a Brick solo-visit to Axl and Sue's school by the season's end.
Finally, I'll ask for this now: Odds that Axl and Devin's open relation ship will crumble? Odds that Sue's roommate will be involved? Odds that this is all a way for the show to move from Gia Mantegna to Lyndon Smith?

Saturday Night Live "Amy Schumer/The Weeknd"
Schumer was a solid host. I would've put money on this being a return of the Pornstars sketch, but I was wrong, in that they just did a different kind of pornstar sketch instead.
What is going on with Weekend Update? Jost and Che are great together at this point. I fully approve of moving Strong from the desk now. The guests are awful though. Both of them this week fell flat and it's worrisome that the best characters in the current roster are Leslie and Pete playing themselves.

The Last Man on Earth “Dead Man Walking”
I'm continually nervous about this show. I like that Phil/Tandy is an idiot and is destined to repeatedly make things worse for himself. He got to such an unlikable level last season though, that I'm in constant fear of a relapse. As long as the show doesn't turn back into him ruining everything for everyone always while trying to sleep with all the women, I'm excited for what comes next.

The Walking Dead “First Time Again”
Am I the only one who would've preferred this episode told in order? I know, it lacked the big moment at the beginning that pulls you in, but otherwise, it's so much better in order. As it was, I was disoriented at the beginning, attempting to recall where we left off and what was happening. Maybe the plan wouldn't've seemed as convoluted if the writers weren't so busy writing around details in order to service the dual timeline structure. Make no mistake, I was very impressed by the production and a lot of what was happening with the characters was interesting. That structure got in the way though. In general, I'll admit that I don't respond to the experimental episodes of the show very well.

The Leftovers "A Matter of Geography"
People never talk about how funny this show is. It's dark comedy, sure. The dramatic beats certainly demand more of the attention. But it's still very funny. The confession scene in the living room at the beginning. Nora disappearing to buy a house. Patty's "What the fuck was that?" after Kevin is freed from police custody. I laugh a lot watching this.

The Truth About Cats and Dogs
I'm pretty sure I've never seen this before yet it was a completely familiar movie. I tend be turned off by this level of farce, but I found this completely entertaining.

Fargo "Waiting for Dutch"
Another strong start for this wonderful show. It's already looking like it learned lessons from its first season that the second season of True Detective didn't.

Weekly Ten: 9/28-10/5

A good and busy week of movies and TV. Even with this week off, I'll still having trouble getting these Weekly posts up in time. I'm just lazy, I guess.

Fresh Off the Boat "Boy II Man"
I'm not sure which was better: Jessica's horrifying story about the vegetable babies or all the men at the table singing Boys II Men.

The Middle "Cutting the Cord"
That ending was so sweet, Axl checking in on Sue unprompted. At first I worried that another kid out of the house would kill the show's balance. That's true, but the new balance at the Heck house and on campus is looking pretty good too.

Review "Conspiracy Theory"
That was a nice way of wrapping the whole season up. I really thought Grant was a bad-guy until this episode, so now I feel stupid.

The Cutting Edge
This was a far more enjoyable movie than I expected. It's nice that I still have some like that left in my Club 50 list.

Saturday Night Live "Miley Cyrus"
Based on this episode, I imagine the writers of SNL all summer pissed off that they couldn't be on the air sooner for all the Donald Trump jokes. Miley isn't a bad host, but I certainly think she's there more to move the needle than because they think she's so great.

Fear the Walking Dead "The Good Man"
This show didn't even have one really good episode to keep me engaged like the parent show did in the first season. I'll keep watching into season two. It is rather alarming though that so few lessons have been learned about pacing and building characters.

The Iron Giant
A friend tipped me off about a Fathom event screening of this and I'm so glad he did. It had been a while since I'd seen this and it looked great on a big screen.

The Martian
Such a good movie. I feel like I need to hold off talking about it for now to avoid using hyperbole about it. I really enjoyed it though.

The Leftovers "Axis Mundi"
I don't really get that opening, although I'm pretty sure I'm looming at it like there's more to it than there really is. Jarden is going to be a very interesting new setting.

The Last Man on Earth "The Boo"
Just as soon as it looked like it was going to zig into the "lying Phil" territory from season one that annoyed me, it zagged into good character moments instead. The Will Ferrell cameo was unexpected, but I always welcome Will Ferrell showing up in things.

Weekly 10: 9/22-9/28

I can already feel that this switch to Tuesdays is going to be rough. Part of it this week I did to myself by locking myself away in my room all weekend to play NBA 2K16 rather than keep up with my DVR. That should go easier once I've adapted.

The Jim Gaffigan Show "Wonderful"
It was the season finale this week for what turned out to be a strong debut for a good summer series. I'll absolutely be coming back to it next year, although I'm very thankful that I don't need to worry about carving room for it too this fall. The finale itself would've worked better with more time. It was entirely too rushed. I like what was there, including all the cameos, but I would've loved the story to have some breathing room.

Fresh Off the Boat “Family Business Trip”
I was a little worried that the show might lose something in the second season without the surprise factor. How foolish of me. The balance of the show is definitely in latter-day Malcolm in the Middle territory. Eddie's the nominal lead (the voice-over helps), but it's more focused on the parents (for good reason. Constance Wu and Randall Park are great). Eddie's brothers are more clearly dileniated now and the other people like the neighbors and Eddie's friends are established enough to get their beats and disappear before the audience tires of them. So happy to have the show back.

Everest
I'm somewhat confused that this isn't a bigger hit stateside. The odd release schedule adds to the confusion (IMAX-only one week, then a nationwide expansion). Frankly, anything released by Universal this year that isn't a big success is a little surprising. It's doing well overseas, so I'm not worried that this will be a financial hit on the studio.

Blackish “The WORD”
I'm torn on the premiere. It was funny, at times (like the discussion of "colored" and "negro" in the office) it was very funny. Most of the episode worked really hard to discuss the topic and all the quirks and philosophies on its use. Then, at the end, it just kind of gives up and basically says "there's no logical way to address the issue". The ending makes sense, but it certainly undercuts the effort the rest of the episode put in, although it was the correct ending. No, I'm not making much sense.

Fear the Walking Dead "Cobalt"
This show just isn't very good. It hasn't built any characters that are interesting yet. Some characters are outright annoying (Nick, Alicia, Chris...any of the kids so far). The pacing is slow without being all that interesting. The show can improve in a hurry. It's versitile like that. I think they are saving an annoying amount of that for the finale and season 2 though.

Scream Queens "Pilot" & "Hell Week"
That's about what I expected from the show. I like the cast enough that I'm good for a few episodes. Emma Roberts is having a great time, although I don't find her barbs nearly as clever as the show does. I sure hope the writers don't determine that that's what the shows about.

The Last Man On Earth “Is There Anybody Out There?”
I've been here before. That was a wonderful premiere, much like how it has a wonderful pilot last year. One moment in particular worries me. When he's giving himself the pep talk before finding the people in Tuscon, he immediately falls back into the same jerk he was at the end of last season. I hope that does mean that when it gets to be more than him and Carol again I don't end up disliking things again.

V/H/S & V/H/S/2
I mentioned these movies while talking to a friend the other day and that was all I needed to inspire me to watch them again. I love these movies.

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Rileytown"
It's cool that the show is tackling bullying. There was a specific decision to not put a face to the bully and I get the reasoning. They don't want to put a face to the bully because there's multiple kinds of bully out there. Here's the thing. It ended up being pretty toothless.  Because it's Disney channel, they couldn't have the recording of Riley be anything too scandalous. They've barely committed to making Riley a social reject. There's token mentioning of it and the hirojuki girl episode, kind of. For the most part, our main characters are a tight click and positioned as pretty high in the pecking order. It's also hard to see the bully as at all intimidating or able to bother Riley in the first place when you consider how easily Riley has the entire school on her side. Again, I like the decision to have this episode, but it's so abrupt, not fitting tonal continuity, and without stakes that I wonder why even bother.

The Bear / Action Jackson / Cadillac Man / Dangerous Liaisons / Under Siege 2
I have this Club 50 project you might've heard about if you've ever been to this blog. I'm getting so close to the end that I've lost all patience. This list above. I call that "My Saturday". that was a long day. Thankfully, many of the movies were better than I expected.

Weekly 10: 9/11-9/21

Official Weekly Ten announcement. Now that the TV season has started, I'm looking for any ways I can find to maintain my sanity while attempting to stay caught up. For now, I'm going to try doing these on Tuesdays so I can use the weekend in my favor. That means, this week's Ten gets a couple extra days to choose from and it was already overflowing.

Emmys
Overall, this was one of the better Emmys in a while. I had trouble finding winners to be angry about. Sometimes, that's all it takes.

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Farkle" & "Girl Meets Corey and Topanga"
Two very good episodes in a row: A Farkle Asperger scare and a couple of Boy Meets World flashbacks. What more could I ask for?

American Ninja Warrior Finale
Before this season, no won has ever won American Ninja Warrior, then two do it this year. I picked a good time to start watching.

Short Term 12
Brie Larson is pretty incredible in this movie.

Bloodline
I tried. I got through the whole season. It never struck me as any more than a lower-stakes Damages with a superior cast. Maybe I'll watch the second season. I'm still undecided.

Joe Versus the Volcano
This is such a wacky movie. I think Meg Ryan in particular had a lot of fun in her roles.

Jurassic Park
I hadn't seen this movie a quite a while. It holds up. Far less to be bothered by than in Jurassic World.

Review "Murder, Magic 8 Ball, Procrastination"
They used up both vetoes in a single episode. I figured it was coming. Not in one week though. And he still had to kill a person. That's rough. I loved the pancake callback.

The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
Less focused than the first movie, but the expanded world made it more interesting.

The Big Bang Theory “The Matrimonial Momentum”
The two big stories of this week and Sheldon and Amy breaking up and Penny and Leonard getting married. Except for a surprisingly sweet "You've got a friend in me joke", the wedding was a complete bust. Penny and Leonard barely make sense as it is. They ruined the wedding by making it more about this woman that Leonard kissed (by the way, did any of that happen on screen of was it completely manufactured for conflict?). I don't know how I feel about Sheldon and Amy. On one hand, it's sweet that he was going to ask her to marry him. On the other hand, his confusion over the situation gave him free reign to act like a complete ass. That his mother (Laurie Metcalf, ftw!) was in on the proposal is a nice touch. It's only a matter of time before they make up. The big question is how unpleasant will Sheldon be until it happens. The lesser question is if Sheldon can be funny enough to make the unpleasantness worth it.

Weekly 10: 9/4-9/10

So much binging this week. The Fall TV season is less than two weeks away, so I'm trying to fit in as much as I can before the DVR starts backing up,

Rectify Season 3

It was a great season that was ruined by AMC.com's video player being absolutely awful. The number of times I had to rewatch the same things killed the momentum of a show that already isn't plot-driven.

Straight Outta Compton

I finally got around to seeing it. It was pretty good. I can't say it was worth the wait. Oh well, some good music.

The League Season 6

A solid season, but it still falls victim to what I've said about it before. So many good guest stars, but it always feels like each episode ends about a beat too soon.

Late Show with Stephen Colbert

I watched the first episode. Obviously it wasn't going to be reinventing the format. I doubt I'll be watching it very often. Good episode though. George Clooney was charming.

Bloodline Season 1

This show is very familiar to Damages. I'm only about halfway through the season, so I'm yet to see if it all pays off.

Mission to Mars

It certainly didn't play out how I expected it to. The ending was very similar to Contact and I didn't mean that as a compliment.

The Jim Gaffigan Show “The Bible Story”

Guest star heavy episode. Chris Rock. Jon Stewart. Judy Gold. All sorts of cable news people. What a solid payoff at the end. Delightfully simple as always.

The Departed

I rewatched this for the first time in a long while. That's just a good movie. It's kind of hard to believe that with that cast (Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen), only Mark Wahlberg came away with an Oscar nomination.

Public Morals “O'Bannon's Wake”

I like Michael Rapaport. I have nothing to point to for why, but I do. It's good to see they didn't leave out Katrina Bowden again.

Awakenings

It's never good when a movie is outdone by an episode of House. Robin Williams and Robert De Niro were solid.

Weekly Ten: 8/28-9/3

As I warned, I'm deep down a Showtime rabbit hole and not watching much else. This is the closest I've come to not having ten items for a weekly ten, so thankfully, I've put off finding out what happens if I ever don't make it to ten.

Show Me a Hero Episodes 5 & 6
That was a satisfying ending. And, the side by side pictures at the end were fun. It made me appreciate the casting.

Homeland Season 3
I watched this all in a haze of about a day and a half. It...wasn't that great. They didn't do anything to rehabilitate Dana and I was perfectly fine that they killed off Brody.

End of the Tour
Jason Segel sure was good as David Foster Wallace.

sex, lies, and videotape
I'll come right out and say this: Spoofing the title is more enjoyable than the actual movie. I did quite enjoy the movie though.

Bullshit Season 8
I'll go ahead and say that, as much as I enjoy previous seasons, it's smart that they stopped after this. They were running out of topics and relying a bit too much of formula by then.

Homeland Season 4
As a season of 24, this was solid.The takeover of the American Embassy was captivating stuff. It's not a top tier drama anymore. Too messy. And that finale was pretty bad.

Dad
I love watching a movie that was desperate for an Oscar and didn't get any attention, especially for a good reason.

Public Morals "Family is Family"
So, is every episode going to end with someone getting killed? If every episode does, that would be kind of cool. If just a bunch do, that's lazy. This is almost so stylized it hurts. It had a lot of Lyndon Smith, which I liked. It didn't make up for the lack of Katrina Bowden.

The Jim Gaffigan Show "Superdad"
As I've said before and again, I love that Jim and Jeannie are so much on the same side.

Review "William Tell, Grant a Wish, Rowboat"
1) I now know what a William Tell is. 2) Forrest is simply refusing to consider those two vetoes. 3) At some point, the writers determined that "Forrest getting injured" = "funny" and I can't argue with that formula.

Weekly 10: 8/21-8/27

This was a big week for watching movies until I got a free month of Showtime. You may notice that free month reflected in my shows over the next few weeks.

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Creativity"
One of the funniest things about Girl Meets World is when they take up a cause. It's good that the show has things like this on its mind. They just do it so ham-handed that I can't take the central point seriously. The episode was funny enough otherwise. They are maintaining the one for us, one for them principle, which is all I ask.

Lock Up
Have you ever wondered what The Shawshank Redemption would look like as a bad movie?

Ask Me Anything
I'm becoming more of a Britt Robertson fan. This was a wholly forgettable indie movie until the last couple minutes. I'm still debating on if that should be able to salvage an entire movie, especially when the twist undermines everything that came before it.

Stand By Me
Well, this was a simply delightful movie. I'm not sure how I'd never seen it before. And I don't mean "I'd seen bits but not the whole thing". I hadn't seen this at all. I think that means my parents failed me growing up.

American Ultra
In a stoner movie, the fact that there is pot shouldn't be the entirety of the humor.

Shameless Season 4
I loved the first three seasons, but not enough to justify continuing a Showtime subscription. A friend power-binging the series convinced me to hunt it down. I found season 4 and devoured it in about a day. Now I'm looking for season 5.

The Wire Season 5
The is a great ending! I forgot how much I don't like long stretches of season 5 (Anything with McNulty faking the serial killer, for example). The ending is wholly satisfying though. Very happy that I decided to rewatch it.

Show Me a Hero Episodes 3 & 4
I made the mistake of looking up the Wikipedia page for this. So, now I know what it's leading up to. It's not that surprising really. I'm enjoying the escalation and transformation of this housing issue. The groundwork has been laid. I have high hopes for the conclusion this Sunday.

Public Morals "A Fine Line"
There's more than a decent chance that I'm only watching this show for Katrina Bowden and Lyndon Smith. The pilot has an odd tone. It has a TV-MA rating. Enough scenes feature moments to make that deserved (violence, showing some skin, language), but the overall tone of the show could easily be TV-14 or below. It's like it thinks it's on FX and in reality, very much belongs on TNT. I'll keep watching for now, because things are slow, and, as I said, Bowden and Smith.

Red Heat
The big mistake of this is the decision to take out all of the fun of Schwarzenegger's performance and think that Jim Belushi could make up for it.

Weekly 10: 8/14-8/20

Another week of a lot of movies. I can't wait for a month from now when the amount of good shows on justifies this weekly post.

The Wire Season 4
There's not much left to say about this series that hasn't been said already. I think I'm the most impressed by the management of resources. They can sideline a Dominic West for an entire season, move someone like Jim True-Frost, who was not used as a major character in the first three years to the forefront, and have one of the all-time great seasons of TV. I can't think of another show that would think to do that.

Primer
I finally decided to give this one a try. At first, I wasn't sure what all the fuss was about...and then I did. Wow. My brain is still trying to parse out the timelines by the end.

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Semi-Formal"
Returned from last week:
1) Farkle's still dressing cooler.
2) The Maya/Lucas 'shipping, and I'm oddly not bothered by it so far.
Returned from Boy Meets World:
1) Jack.
2) "Underpants!"
3) "RA-CHEL!!!"
Returning in future episodes, I hope:
1) Maya talking like an old-timey reporter.

The Man From UNCLE
It's August. I don't expect much from movies. As long as it's charming and funny, I'm happy to see it.

Man on Wire
Another movie I finally got around to watching. Just seeing still shots of the guy walking over the World Trade Center on a wire was enough to unsettle me. I have no idea how I will handle see The Walk with Joseph Gordon Levitt in IMAX later this year.

Hannibal "...And the Beast from the Sea"
At first, I was bothered that the Red Dragon wasn't getting a whole season. I'm realizing that it works better in fewer episodes. More than what they're doing would be too drawn out.

Take This Waltz
I watched this a while back and it gnawed at me for a while. I finally got around to seeing it again. That's a rough movie. I especially feel bad for Seth Rogen's character, but Michelle Williams too, and even Sarah Silverman. It's a really good movie.

Show Me a Hero Episodes 1 & 2
People in Yonkers really didn't want public housing in their city. I was warned not to look it up on Wikipedia, but I really want to know what goes down with this, even if it's nothing.

The Jim Gaffigan Show "Go Shorty, It's Your Birthday"
I'm loving this recurring Macaulay Culkin joke.

Sixth Man
I'm not totally sure why I watched this documentary about UK basketball fans. It wasn't that great. I must really be ready for basketball season to start back up.

Weekly 10: 8/7-8/13

I'm surprised that I managed to see so much, because the story this week has been all about my rewatch of The Wire. In short, it's been a good week.

True Detective Finale
I wish I wasn't so confounded by the story. The actors put in the needed effort. The direction was solid, but scattered. Individual beats were at times very thrilling. The story just lost me. It was too complex in the macro and not engaging in the micro. I still plan to be watching season 3, but that's to determine if season 1 or 2 was the outlier. Another season like this one and I'm out.

Disney Night (Up, The Great Mouse Detective, Hercules, Meet the Robinsons)
The idea for the night was "Everyone's favorite Disney animated feature". More or less, that's what we stuck to. It was a very solid lineup. That + all the movies I went through driving to and from Disney World earlier this year have served as a healthy refresher on everything that's right with those movies.

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Yearbook"
This was an excuse to let everyone play dress up. They all had fun with it. The question is, is this going to be for Farkle, what the first day of 7th grade was for Topanga back in the day? He didn't revert back to who he was by the end, so I wonder.

The Wire Season 3
One word: Hamsterdam. God I love that season. I watched almost the whole thing on Saturday alone and didn't really do anything else. Ok, that's a lie, I also ate way too many wings, but that has nothing to do with this.

Fantastic Four
Believe the hype. The people crucifying this movie are right to do so. Bummer.

Hannibal "...And the Woman Clothed in Sun"
I don't know the Red Dragon story well enough to really judge the execution of this. It has been interesting following a non-Hannibal villain for an extended time though. Not as a distraction like the Vergers, but as the other side of a story.

Rise of the Guardians
This is one of those quickly forgotten Dreamworks Animation movies and I see why.

The Jim Gaffigan Show "Super Great Daddy Day"
Like Jim Gaffigan the person, there's nothing edgy about this show although it's not entirely wholesome. It's structurally a completely traditional sitcom, yet I don't mind the beats at all. I knew every beat of the episode after the end of the first act and still enjoyed every bit of it. There's something to be commended about that.

Alien Nation
Wow. That's some subtle commentary right there.

Last Week Tonight
Given what we learned this week, it's amazing that anyone figures sex out right.

Weekly 10: 7/31-8/6

I watched a lot of bad movies this week. I spared you from the mention of many of them. You're welcome.

Review Premiere "Brawl, Blackmail, Gloryhole"
It's good to have Forest MacNeil back. I completely lost it when the "Get in a brawl" segment went off the rails. Allison Tolman was great and I'm sad that she won't be around longer.

The Wire Season 2
I still don't like Ziggy that much, but damn that show puts together a satisfy season/story.

The Neighbors
I can't believe this show exists. For anyone who doesn't know, it's a sitcom on Hulu made by Tommy Wiseau, mastermind behind the epic failure of cinema, The Room. This show is awful in every way. I will not be watching another episode.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
It's nice to know that just because something is very familiar doesn't mean it still can't be a lot of fun.

Halt and Catch Fire Finale "Heaven is a Place"
Yeah, this show got very good. That was as satisfying an ending as I could hope for. I didn't care for most of the Gordon stuff throughout the season, but it's clear we needed to go through that to get to this point with him. Kerry Bishe though. She's so damn good. Moving her to a lead is the smartest thing they could've done. I fully assume there will be no third season (the ratings for this are atrocious). That doesn't mean it wouldn't excite me if there was one.

The Perfect Murder
That's a bad title. It was never a perfect anything.

Hannibal "And the Woman Clothed with the Sun"
Simply put, I like Abigail, so I'm glad they keep finding excuses to use her.

Innerspace
This has been a bad week for me watching movies with likable stars (Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, and Meg Ryan are a good place to start) that felt like they were an hour too long.

True Detective "Black Maps and Motel Rooms"
The case still doesn't make any more sense to me. The rising tension is doing a good job distracting me though.

Betrayed
Listening to the little girl being all racist and bigoted reminded me one of of my favorite talk show interviews ever.

Weekly 10: 7/24-7/30

So far it hasn't been all that hard coming up with 10 things each week. When the TV schedule starts back in full, I'm worried that 10 won't be enough.

Dr. Who Season 8
I watched this in two days. That might've been too quickly. "Listen" certainly didn't have the impact on men that it should've. I've determined that this is my favorite of doctor-companion pairing since the '05 reboot. Pete Capaldi is having such a wild amount of fun. You can virtually see his giddiness between takes.

Hannibal "The Great Red Dragon"
I'm so glad that we got the European vacation out of the way. Ending the series on the Red Dragon seems appropriate.

Southpaw
Jake Gyllenhaal tried so hard. I just wish it was worth the effort.

Battlebots Finale
I thought Bronco will be able to handle Tombstone. I nailed Biteforce winning the whole thing. The simple bots aren't as sexy, but they tend to be more effective. That final match though. That was close.

Halt and Catch Fire "Kali"
Brilliant payoff with Cameron bugging the system with Gordon's virus. I'm still so bored with Gordon's story though.

Harry and the Hendersons
Certainly one of those movies that I didn't have to see to know everything about it. It was charming. I'll leave it at that.

True Detective "Church in Ruins"
I hate will a bad plan gets pulled off successfully. After that sex party, I'm turning my brain off for the rest of the season. It'll make it a lot easier to enjoy the parts that I do like.

The Jim Gaffigan Show "A Night at the Plaza"
Vintage sitcom structure with a few tweaks to keep it from feeling tired. If you are going to over-direct a story, including recurring gags (like the door being broken) that are versatile is a nice touch. More than anything, I like that all the craziness isn't conspiring to turn Jeannie against Jim. The handling of their relationship is the best thing about the series so far.

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Fish"
Boy Meets World wasn't immune to a theme night. That doesn't mean I have to like them in Girl Meets World.

Singin' in the Rain / Weekend / Stranger Than Fiction
I did a favorite movies night with some friends. That was a great triple feature.

Weekly 10: 7/17-7/23

A lot of movies. A lot of The Wire. A healthy mix of new shows.

Ant-Man
Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World were disappointing. The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy were pretty good. I have mixed feelings about Age of Ultron. I think this favorably tipped the balance of whether or not I found Phase Two of Marvel to be a success.
(Side Note: I love that I've been doing this blog long enough too have Reactions for all those movies)

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets the New Teacher"
Last week was one for them (young viewers), even with the return of Eric [and Tommy]. Bringing back Mr. Turner, with heavy referencing of old episode was definitely one for us (The Boy Meets World fans).

The Wire Season 1
My god! This show is great. I forgot how well the seasons wrap up. I'm even finding what I've seen of season 2 less imbalanced than I originally did.

The Dead Pool
While I don't much care about Dirty Harry, seeing a young Liam Nesson and Jim Carrey was worth it.

Battlebots
Witch Doctor put up more of a fight against Tombstone that I expected. That ultimately didn't matter. I was right about Bronco beating Stinger the Killer Bee. I didn't see the KO coming. I called Bite Force beating Overhaul barely. The only thing I missed was that Ghost Raptor somehow beat Icewave. To be fair, how was I supposed to see the de-icer (or whatever it was called) coming?
Let's see. This week...Bronco is going to find a way to flip the crap out of Tombstone and end in a KO. Biteforce is going to handle Ghost Raptor in a runaway judge's decision. Bite Force will then handle Bronce, although it will be close.

Trainwreck
Amy Schumer is pretty much sitting on top of the world right now. I wonder how quickly she gets another chance at a screenplay. I'm still waiting on Kristen Wiig's follow up.

The Jim Gaffigan Show "Unnamed Red Velvet If You Please"
I want to thank this show for reviving my slight obsession with Ashley Williams. She sure is delightful. Jim's pretty nice too.

True Detective "Other Lives"
I'm officially watching this for the actors and performances because I really have a limited understanding of what is going on.

Halt and Catch Fire "Limbo"
Well, shit certainly hit the fan no that Mutiny is essentially no more. And, again, I saw this wit no ill will for Scoot McNairy but Gordon is a drag every time the story shifts back to him.

Like Father, Like Son
It makes me miss the subtleties of Freaky Friday.

Weekly 10: 7/10-7/16

A nice, busy summer week, only slightly propped up by a DVR purge Thursday.

Saved by the Bell "Jessie's Song" / Showgirls / Saved by the Bell Vegas Wedding
Yeah, I had an Elizabeth Berkley night. Jealous?

True Detective "Down Will Come"
I feel bad for this season. So far, everything about it is compared to last season. For example, last week's big gun fight with that infamous tracking shot was better. But, you know what, this season's episode 4 gun fight was pretty spectacular. When was the last time you saw modern warfare this good on a TV show? I guess you could quibble over "Of course the only three survivors were the main characters", but isn't the point of the season that it's their story?

Battlebots
Let's ignore my picks last week. It was a fluke. This week though, I'm sure I'll nail every pick.
Tombstone over Witch Doctor in seconds.
Bronco over Stinger The Killer Bee not in a knock out although in a one sided match.
Bite Force over Overhaul in a nail-biter.
Icewave over Ghost Raptor slowly and decisively.

Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Mr. Squirrels Goes to Washington"
So far, this show has followed a "one for us, one for them" approach to episodes. Up to now, season 2 has been far more for us (Boy Meets World fans) and, despite Eric's return looking like an "us" move, this was very much for them (the Disney Channel target demographic). It was an awful episode in nearly every way. I'm done talking about it.

Married "Thanksgiving"
I wish I didn't like Judy Greer and Nat Faxon so much. Otherwise, I'd be done with this show. They are giving good performances (I loved the opening tag where they dog on their daughter's clothing), but I don't enjoy the show. Odds are I'll give it another season due to inertia.

Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll "Don't Wanna Die Anonymous"
Nope. I'm done with this. I don't have affection for anyone in the cast. The plot is beyond contrived. I don't believe the timeline the show is putting forth. It wasn't funny. I won't go as far as calling it bad. I will say that I'm absolutely not a fan of whatever it's doing.

Bob's Burgers Season 1
A friend of mine keeps referencing the show and I'm running into other random podcast reviews about it. There's not point in trying to fight it. I can't promise I'll keep up with it. I like what I've seen so far.

Minions
I hate the minions. This confirmed that. That has value.

Halt and Catch Fire "Working for the Clampdown"
Seriously, I was all ready to give up on this show. Except for Gordon though, I'm completely sucked in. I hate the Mutiny business model, but I love the characters.

The Wire
I'm starting a rewatch. I realize that I was so lost when I watched it originally that it's like I'm seeing the first couple episodes for the first time since I recognize everyone immediately.

Weekly 10: 7/3-7/9

This was a pretty lame week in terms of new shows and movies. Thankfully, god and/or revenue streams created reruns.

Halt and Catch Fire "10Broad36"
Is it weird that I both think this is a strong season and hope that it doesn't get a third season? They've been doing a lot of great stuff this season. Cameron and Donna are somehow the emotional core of the show, which is fitting since they are the best characters by far. Joe is great this week, embracing being the antagonist even though he's really on Mutiny's side. I'm done with Gordon for now, so the more they keep him on the sidelines, the better.

The Leftovers
I finished rewatching the season and damn does it hold up. It's at times oppressive and deeply nihilistic. It's also darkly comedic with powerhouse performances from Carrie Coon ("Guest"), Christopher Eccleston ("Two Boats and a Helicopter"), Justin Theroux, and Amy Brenneman (Despite saying exactly one word for 9 of the 10 episodes). I love the hell out of this show!

Terminator Genisys
Since seeing it, I've felt that critics are using this a bit too much as a punching bag. It isn't a great movie. It has major flaws, no doubt. Still, there's things to like about it. The action scenes are competent and I actually thought Emilia Clarke does well in a role that Linda Hamilton casts a large shadow over.

Battlebots
Let's just run down this week's matches:
Bite Force over Hypershock decisively.
Lock-Jaw over Overhaul pretty easily.
Overdrive over Witch Doctor barely.
Tombstone over Radioactive quickly.

Roxanne
I'll have more to say about this whenever I get my delayed reaction up. This movie is charming as hell and one of my favorite Steve Martin roles.

True Detective "Maybe Tomorrow"
I should've known they wouldn't be bold enough to kill off Colin Farrell, and that's probably for the best. It's pretty clear that this season isn't coming out as strong as the first season but it is growing on me. I've already determined that the season will live and die by how it does by Rachel McAdams. Thankfully, I'm a big fan of shots of the LA freeway system, so that will hold me over for a while.

Review with Forrest MacNeil
Ok...um, I wasn't ready for "Best Friend; Space".
For the dozen people who have seen this show, you know what I'm referring to.
For the vast majority of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, all I can say is watch this and you'll know. This is a strange show: one that I very much enjoyed.

Parks & Recreation Season 7
I haven't even finished rewatching the season and already it's better than I remembered. You know in 2010 when Parks and Rec, Community, 30 Rock, and The Office were all on one night on NBC? I miss when NBC was so in the toilet that it could keep all of those on.

American Ninja Warrior
More inspirational stories. More me hoping all of those people will fall on their face. I stand by my stance that they need a comedian as one of the announcers.

What's Love Got to Do With It
They very smartly saved that for the end of the movie.