TV/Film
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Wait, This Isn’t the 5SOS Song: A Babylon Ramble
A few weeks ago [one month actually, now that I’m getting around to putting this up for y’all], I took the plunge and finished off a full weekend of moviegoing with Babylon, written and directed by Damien Chazelle and starring Diego Calva, Margot Robbie, and Brad Pitt. I’ve since had a few conversations about the film, and the more I think about it, the more I have to say about it. Being that I don’t know how to shut up, I won’t. I’ll start by boiling it down. If you don’t want to read further, just stick to this paragraph. If this movie wasn’t as long as it is, or…
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Ode to Movies: The Holiday
Ignoring the unfinished 2022 reflections document on my computer, it’s Christmas Eve, I’m in the middle of a Christmas movie marathon, and I’m trying to pack for my trip. The other night I watched my favorite movie of the season, The Holiday. Let me start by saying: thank you, Nancy Meyers. It’s been a cool minute since I’ve done an Ode to TV Shows piece (or any piece—look, it was a rough year!), and as I watched, I couldn’t get my mind off of all the reasons I love love love this film. I truly think it’s one of the best Christmas movies out there, sorry to Love, Actually. It…
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Ode to TV Shows: psych, from a psych-o for life
One of my favorite TV shows of all time is psych (2006-2014). And I mean of all time. I still rewatch all eight seasons constantly, and I still laugh every time. Do I know how every episode ends by now? Yes. Does it take the fun out of it? No. Do I cringe that I’m still grossly obsessed with a cop show? Yeah, f*ck them. But I’ll be damned if I am not still fully in love with James Roday (Rodriguez) and Dulé Hill (and Maggie Lawson). When COVID had just begun to take over our lives, I had just gotten back from Paris and had to quarantine. To fill…
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Ode to TV Shows: The Haunting of Hill House
You know it. I know it. My friend Emily knows it. One of the best shows I’ve ever seen is The Haunting of Hill House. Warning: spoilers ahead. So if you haven’t watched it yet, first off, what are you even doing, and second, go ahead and watch it. I’ll wait. Okay, ready now? Let’s go. The Fifteen Minute Test The first ep is cheating a little bit because Steve is the focus, but I think it does an excellent job in setting him up in relation to the house, as well as in relation to Nell (both as far as oldest and youngest siblings and for their connection to…
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Keeping Busy in the Q: Favorite Watches
Happy August, y’all!! It’s birthday month, and we’re still hanging in there. I’m reading a lot slower than usual, but it’s made way for my other vices: TV and movies! We’re all binging copious amounts of media while locked down, let’s be honest. There’s not much else to do besides reading, social media-ing, and watching tv and movies. I mean, most of us are also drinking (please be responsible!) and some of us are working out (me reluctantly), too, but even while we’re doing all that, we’re consuming all sorts of media. I’ve done some Marvel watching, some light Friends viewing, a bit—okay, a lot—of Criminal Minds background-noising, gotten to…
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Ode to TV Shows: Breaking Down One of my Favorite TV Pilots
We’re all watching a lot of television right now, and I have to say it: I really love TV. As a kid, I watched way too much of it. Sort of out of laziness, but also because I simply loved it. My opinions weren’t fabulous for a long time, but my tastes have refined with time. When I studied abroad in college, I took a screenwriting class. I’m a prose writer through and through, but screenwriting is awesome. Truly a great skill in the craft of writing! We watched various short films, beginnings of movies, and pilots. It really made me appreciate both the writing and the filmmaking, and I…