**** = Really good
*** = Worth seeing
** = A waste of time, but one or two good moments
* = Not worth your time
-0 = Less Than Zero: viewing this is likely to result in a dramatic loss of IQ points.
1. Dear Santa (2024) Y'know...this wasn't a very good movie, but Jack Black (as Santa / Satan / That Demon Guy) is always entertaining to watch, and there were at least a dozen or so laughs along the way, so this wasn't the worst way to start the New Year's viewing. ** That said, this was Joe's choice, not mine. And despite the fact that he is freaking out over a weather report that says we have major incoming snow, he pretty much paid attention and even laughed a few times. (Laughter is not all that common for my Joe.)
2. Wolf Hall (2015) ***** Superb show. Waiting For PBS to get around to broadcasting the long ago completed season two.
3. Bridge of Spies (2015) Great movie, ****. Tom Hanks was Tom Hanks, which is almost always good, but Mark Rylance, who played Thomas Cromwell to perfection in Wolf Hall, was fanfuckingtastic. Such an understated, nuanced portrayal of A Russian spy who really just wanted to paint.
4. The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981) **** Always worth a rewatch.
5. Reacher Season 1 (2022) It took me a while to get interested in this one, but my sister liked it, and the guy from iZombie was in it, so I persisted. And? Well...***. Maybe enough to watch the next season. I don't really like the guy who plays the lead very much, though. I'm hoping that The rumors about him being the bext DCU Batman aren't true.
6. Deadpool and Wolverine (2024) *** U think I liked this more the second time through. Really funny, with lots of great in-jokes. Could've done without the gore, though. 1/8/24
7. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (2025) Another heist movie. Some clever bits, but nothing "extra." 1/10/25
8. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024) *** Not the best W & G, but still fun and worth a viewing. 1/12/25
9. Reacher Season 2 (2024) Apparently the writers think that the way to attract a bigger audience is to up the ante on torture and cruelty. I'm out.
10. Moomin and Midsummer Madness (2013) You kniw, I like a fair dose of weirdness in my entertainment, but this suit was just stupid. 1/17/25
11. The Wheel of Time Season 1 (2021) Getting ready for Season 3. Enjoying the review enormously. So much so that I'm actually considering rereading the first book. 🤯 Oh, yeah: **** 1/24/25
12. This is 40 (2012) I wasn't expecting much from this, but I didn't even get that. It's of good actors, but to very little effect. I think I like Paul Rudd significantly less after this. (Plus it was pretty mean spirited.) 2/2/25
13. The Brutalist (2025) **** A long (3 1/2 hours) and strange movie, with a surprising amount of vivid sex. That's not what I enjoyed about it, though. But in terms of technique and story and acting, I thought this was just brilliant. Pretty close to a must see before you die. 2/8/25
14. The Wild Robot (2024) I'd heard a lot of good things about this one...including a personal recommendation from a loved one who told me that it made her cry. But I'm sorry to say it didn't do much for me. In fact, 30 minutes in I was checking to see how much longer it had to go. I think a large part of my dissatisfaction was that it was bad science fiction. But it was more than that, too. I mean...a fox who for no reason whatsoever stops being a predator to help a baby goose? Give me a REASon, at least. This was a ** for me. Maybe even a *. 3/1/25 P.S. 96% on Tomatometer? WTF.
15. Elevation (2024) ** Actually, a pretty exciting movie with some nice touches. Anthony Mackie did a good job as the devoted father and Morena Baccarin got to be a bad ass AND a scientist, instead of her usual, just a pretty girl roles. Unfortunately, this movie was also predictable at every single turn, and the Big Question (where'd the monsters come from) was left completely unresolved at the end. Perhaps they think there will be a sequel, but I sincerely doubt it, as this one lost almost $15 million at the box office.
16. Drowned Out (2002) ***** A heartbreaking story about people displaced and impoverished by a dam project. Arandhati Roy narrates. 3/7/25
17. The Pirates of Penzance (1983) ** Alas, this was a pretty wretched version of this operetta...but it's worth watching for Linda Ronstadt, who has one of the greatest voices of our times...and who is just so lovely.... 3/9/25
18. Paddington (2014) *** and maybe half of another *. A fun movie with more than a little bit of heart on it. Though the ear wax bit was pretty disgusting. 3/10/25
19. The Gorge (2025) * An absurd premise, and it just gets worse from there. Not worth your time...or mine, for that matter...though I have to admit there were a few good moments...as long as logic isn't too important to you. 3/11/25
20. The Last Supper (2025) ** Some nice bits here and some good acting, but poor writing sank this movie for me. Part if this was corny voice overs, part melodramatic scenes, and part the absurd rewriting of the Biblical story. Don't pay for this one. 3/15/25
21. Wicked Part 1 (2024) -0 Couldn't finish it...it was just so awful. Why do people like this?
22. A Brief History of Time Travel (2018) Hey, it's not great, but it's free and it's got some Ted Chiang bits. I call that a win. **
23. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022) The 3rd or 4th time for this one. Still ***** for me.
24. Arrival (2016) 4th for this one. Still ***** Every time I watch this film it hits me how intelligent it is. There is no attempt to condescend to the lowest common denominator, even though some pretty heavy concepts are discussed. And those aliens...so much more alien than most O.S.M.s.
25. Warrior Nun Seaon One (2020) **** I love this show. Funny, I told one of my friends about it, and I only got to "Then they put the angel's halo into a dead girl's body to hide it from the bad guys" before he said "I'm out." Talk about things and nobody cares, wearing out things that nobody wears."
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