Widows

Last night Keith and I went to see the new film Widows. While I'll admit it looked interesting in the trailer, I'm still trying to erase all the disturbing visuals from my mind.

Now, I'm no Namby Pamby, but this film was VIOLENT. Like, uncomfortably violent. So much so that I watched a large part of it with my hand in front of my face blocking the violence. Yikes.

Overall it was interesting, but I didn't enjoy all the liberties the director took with his film-making. It felt more like he wanted to shock people more than making anyone be someone you'd care about. Plus, there were zero laughs. I prefer my films to have a healthy dose of action and laughs (bonus points for a good love story). Not my cup of tea.

Night School

Not long ago we joined a Film Group that holds screenings throughout of the year of new movies. So far we've seen two - Life Itself and Night School (and if we just watch one more with the group it'll justify the expense for the entire year - woot!).

As huge fans of Tiffany Haddish, of course we were going to watch Night School. She can pretty much do no wrong in our book. And, as expected, she was hysterical (as was Kevin Hart for that matter). The plot overall is a bit weak and it's not the best movie of the year, but I laughed a lot and was entertained. You can definitely wait for Redbox, but it's cute.

See This: The Shape of Water

There's no other way to say this, really, The Shape of Water is a true masterpiece.

Going into the screening, of course we knew it'd be good, and we'd most likely enjoy it, but we were so blown away the film we fell instantly and totally in love with it.

The story is about a mute girl, Elisa, who works as a maid in a NASA type place where they house "the asset" which is basically an amphipian man form that is also unable to communicate with words. Their chemistry is off the charts amazing and you find yourself rooting for them the entire time.

Every shot is perfect. Every word is great. Michael Shannon is an extraordinary bad guy. The film is a beautiful, wonderful masterpiece. Richard Jenkins is also great as her best friend, as is Octavia Spencer as her best work friend. Hats off to Guillermo del Toro and everyone involved in this spectacular ocular delight.

Skip This: Justice League

Normally I look forward to the film we'll see on Thanksgiving after dinner, but this year there weren't enough options. We'd already seen Thor, no one wanted to see Wonder (much to my dismay), and we were already seeing Coco on Sunday. With the time we were shooting for, it pretty much left Justice League.

I had absolutely no desire to see this film, although I will say I was curious to how they'd pull it off after being so satisfied with the Marvel films. Um, let's just say they were nowhere close to the fun and adventure found in the Marvel films. Granted, I haven't seen any of the standalone DC movies aside form Wonder Woman, but I just didn't care about any of the characters. It had all the special effects and a decent story, but I think it just lacked heart. And humor. Boo.

We Loved Love!

Last night we finished bingeing the second season of Love on Netflix and, just as we were last season, we are totally and completely in love with it. ALL the puns intended. Love it!

Gillian Jacobs and Paul Rust do a spectacular job as Mickey and Gus and you're simultaneously rooting for them to break up and get back together.

Sometimes they make really horrible decisions and other times they annoy the crap out of you. They just might be two of the most realistic characters on TV and sometimes that makes watching the show uncomfortable. It's also what makes it great.

As an added bonus (to me at least), David Spade was on the show this season. Squee! Already miss it and can't wait for season three.

Call Me By Your Name

So, I only ended up seeing one movie at Sundance which is, well, whatever. Honestly, I wasn't really there for films this time, so it was totally fine. Still, I wish I'd watched one that didn't confuse me so much.

The film was called Call Me By Your Name and starred Armie Hammer (who was supposed to be 24 in the film...ahem...) and Timothee Chalamet. Both were great in their respective roles and the scenery - set in Italy - was gorgeous. But the film didn't resonate with me the way apparently it is with everyone else. I keep seeing these glorious reviews which is confusing because Heidi and I weren't really fans. I mean, yes, it was beautiful. Yes, the acting was well done. But, it was slllllooooowwww. And it needed an editor. It just went on and on and on.

Still, I'm always happy to experience new things and see new films, so I'm really grateful for the opportunity to see it. I just wish I'd loved it a little bit more.

If/Then

The other night we had the opportunity to attend the opening night of the Broadway play If/Then as it debuted at the Pantages theater in LA.

We were super excited to see Keith's friend and former co-star, Anthony Rapp, as he appeared in the play. Anthony did great! And I was excited to see the show as I'd heard good things.

Overall, I thought the play was....meh. Although we loved Anthony, the plotline was a little confusing as it follows one woman through two different possibilities for her life (like Sideways the movie as a play).

Still, I'm really glad we were able to experience it in such a gorgeous theater and the "WTF" song is the best!

The Danish Girl

From the moment I saw the first trailer for this movie, I was transfixed and couldn't wait to see the film. In fact, we attended the actual premiere and I was more excited about seeing the movie than the stars (who are ridiculously hard to even see at a premiere for some reason). 

Now, I'm not sure if it's because I had such high expectations, but I have to admit it, I didn't love it. Don't get me wrong, it was a beautiful film and Eddie Redmayne is amazing in it.

I mean, WOW. Eddie is just incredible. No surprise there. Especially in this scene near the beginning of the film - you can just see on his face every emotion. Every hope. Every secret wish.

I also loved his co-star, Alicia Vikander, who played his wife. I thought she was lovely.

But, overall, I found it underwhelming. Yes, it was interesting and left me wanting to learn more about the real person it was based on, but I wasn't moved it in the way I expected to be. I thought I'd be sobbing on the floor by the end, but I was only glad the too-long movie was done. Is that bad? I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. I have friends who LOVED it, but Keith had the same experience I did. We both left just....MEH about it all. Eddie, though, was outstanding. Bring on the awards.

Redbox Weekend

We haven't just holed up and watched a bunch of movies for a long time, so it was awesome to do just that this past weekend. Some were much better than expected and some were, tragically, awful. Here are my quick reviews/recommendations:

GET HARD: This was MUCH better and funnier than the trailer made it out to be. We loved it.

FOCUS: I still couldn't tell you what this was all about, or how it ended. No, I didn't fall asleep; it just didn't make sense. Still, it was fun to watch for Margot Robbie alone.

ALOHA: This was one of the worst things I have ever seen. How they convinced the cast to make this piece of garbage is beyond me. Cameron Crowe should be ashamed of himself. We deserved better.

THE DUFF: Possibly my fave one of all, The Duff was a pleasant surprise. Fun, witty, romantic, and smart - everything you'd want in a cute little teeny bop film.

THE LONGEST RIDE: This was fine. It's Nicholas Sparks, so you know it's going to be sappy with some old story weaved in for who knows what reason. It was fine. I didn't hate it.

Of course, the main reason to watch is pictured right here. SLURP.

Watch This: Entourage Movie

As my dad and I watched the Entourage series together, it was only fitting that we went to see the movie together, as well.

I'm not going to lie to you here: I didn't have high hopes for this film going into it. Sure, I knew I'd enjoy it, but I didn't expect to like it quite as much as I did. In short, it was awesome.

Aside from the bit of confusion surrounding Vinny's marriage (did he get married in the finale? I've totally forgotten), I thought they did a great job of bringing the fun qualities of the show to the film version.

In addition to bringing back all the side characters we'd grown to love, they introduced a few others which were just as fun. Haley Joel Osment in particular was perfect in his role as the "bad guy."

If you loved the series, I think you'll love the film - especially the ending. But even if you never watched the show, the movie is still a lot of fun. Check it out! Enjoy the ride.

Shonda Still Sucks

I'd like to say that after a week to mourn the loss of McDreamy (yes, I'm quite aware he's only a TV character; shut up), I was feeling a lot better about the show and looking forward to what lies ahead.

But after a week, I was still pissed at the sloppy way they handled McDreamy's exit. I started to think that watching his funeral would help (since I don't recall seeing many funerals in the past on the show), but, alas, the whole TEN SECONDS of funeral they showed us really didn't help much at all.

In a bizarre time-jump episode, they bored us to tears with a stupid debate between Bailey and her hot hubby, while also driving us crazy with that idiot Amelia (who does NOT work on this show. She was fine on Private Practice, but I hate her character here). We barely saw Meredith at all the first hour.

I'm sure they skipped over the funeral so that they'd be able to avoid the whole, "Why isn't Cristina there?" tirade that'd be coming afterwards. But, they missed another opportunity for closure and that's truly a shame. As I said last week, if they had to kill McDreamy, fine, whatever. But we all deserved better than the crappy way they did it.

At this point, I'd be fine with the series ending after next season. We've all lost our happy endings anyway; what is there to look forward to?

The characters who are left are missing the heart, passion, and humor that led me to fall in love with the show to begin with. So, for all I care, it can just end. Why continue to ruin what used to be a good thing? You suck, Shonda. I hate you.

Screw You, Grey's Anatomy

I apologize in advance for the rant that's about to happen, but I'm really, really, really angry (also, SPOILER alert. If you haven't watched it yet, please stop reading until you do. I wouldn't want to ruin such a horrible episode for you). I feel hurt, betrayed, and completely dismissed as a fan. Last night's episode of Grey's Anatomy left me emotionally scarred and I blame Shonda Rhimes personally. She can suck it.

Yes, I realize it's just a TV show, but just as Cristina Yang is Meredith Grey's "person," Grey's Anatomy is MY show. My love. My guilty pleasure from week to week. Sure, there are others that I love, but for ELEVEN years I've been hopelessly and endlessly devoted to Grey's Anatomy. It's my "must watch" thing every week and I own every episode on DVD. I used to watch every episode twice to be sure I didn't miss anything and then read all the writers' blogs to catch up on their inspirations for the show. That's how much I love it.

But last night they killed off McDreamy. THEY KILLED MCDREAMY!!!! Who kills McDreamy? Who kills the heart and soul of the show? No matter how many people they've killed (and, trust me, it's been a lot), the best part of the show has always been the love story between Meredith and Derek (or MerDer, their cutesy couple name). They're my favorite. And I'm devastated.

Now, granted, McDreamy has been gone most of the season and I've totally missed him. But then they finally brought him back only to KILL him?!? And not just killed him, no. If they'd just killed him, I'd be OK. I'd be bummed, but I'd recover. Others have left/been killed and I didn't hate the show. Because it was done in a graceful, loving way. But, this? This was tragic.

The show started with a car accident. Not McDreamy's, the cars in front of him. So, for the first half hour, he was shown as the hero that he was - rescuing all the victims and saving their lives. He wasn't injured, he was fine. Then, as they drive away in the ambulance, he reaches down to get his phone and a semi-truck PLOWS into him. Um, what?!?! First of all, come on. Second of all, they should have just killed him then. But, no. They did the worst possible thing they could do: they let him die when he didn't need to. They took him to some stupid, idiotic hospital that we've never heard of with incompetent doctors and then showed him narrate his death as they never got the CT they should've ordered to save his life. COME ON!

I was literally screaming at the TV. Here's this award winning neurosurgeon who died from a slow brain bleed because some moron doctors weren't good at their jobs? Why wasn't he at Grey-Sloan memorial surrounded by friends? At least they would've done all they could to save him. If he died because there was nothing left to do, fine. But, these doctors were the WORST. He was stable and then died of a brain bleed. He was braindead and Meredith had to PULL THE PLUG. Are you kidding me?!?!? McDreamy deserved better. The fans deserved better. Everyone else had a hero exit - even Dr. Burke who was fired for using a gay slur - and yet McDreamy gets that sort of treatment?!?! Screw you, Shonda. Whatever personal problems she was having with him, she should have left them outside the writing room because that was just wrong. I'm so pissed off. I'm not even sure I ever want to watch the show again. For all I care, they can end it right now because it's OVER. Without McDreamy the heart of the show is gone, as is my loyalty. SCREW YOU, SHONDA. I HATE YOU. Please note the ALL CAPS was completely intentional. I hope you can see me flipping you off right now.

Men, Women, & Children

Last night we watched the new Jason Reitman film Men, Women, and Children starring Jennifer Garner, Adam Sandler, and Judy Greer.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure how I feel about the movie as a whole. It was quite dark and the characters were very all-or-nothing, yet still interesting.

I did love how they showed how digitally involved everyone is by showing their screens above their heads. It was brilliant. They used this device a lot - showing text messages, reading internet sites - during the film and that part I really enjoyed.

It does leave one with a haunting feeling, though. Again, I don't really know how to feel about this movie, but it is interesting, thought-provoking, and incredibly timely.

Cake Q&A

Last night we attended a SAG screening of the film Cake starring Jennifer Aniston. It was followed by a Q&A with Jennifer and led by Nia Vardalos (who was adorable, as always).

The film is very dark. I thought Jennifer's performance was great and I enjoyed seeing different levels of her character. The film, however, is not for everyone. While I wanted to see it, I'm pretty sure I'll never watch it again.

Still, there are plenty of good parts about it - particularly her maid in the film and Sam Worthington, who's great. It definitely stays with you long after the credits roll and makes you think.

Shame On You, Roy's Restaurant

I'm really upset right now regarding something that happened on our honeymoon. Actually, two things, but the other thing I'll cover on another day. 

We received a lovely gift card to Roy's Restaurant for our wedding from three dear friends who went on it together - my girl, Lindsay (from www.iamnotastalker.com), Lavonna, and Kim. It was a very thoughtful gift (since they knew there was a Roy's right by our hotel in Hawaii) and very generous; we were hoping to use it on a few occasions.

Aside from our waitress (who was terrible), our experience at the Kona Roy's was amazing. The food was great, the staff was friendly, and Roy himself (who, coincidentally went to High School with Lindsay's mom!) even came out to our table to congratulate us on our wedding. We couldn't have asked for a better time (and this was on the night of the Horrible Incident which I'll talk about later).

How many people get to meet Roy himself?!?! We were hoping to get a picture with the sign that said Roy's, but this was even better!

Oh, and did I mention the amazing dessert?!? To die for!

But then....the drama. Now, I should preface this by saying that while we had a great time at the Kona Roy's, this is not really the type of place we'd frequent on our own dime. It's just too fancy. It was a lovely gift and fun to treat ourselves, but we'd NEVER go there in a million years. When I want to have a "fancy dinner," my first choice is Outback, my favorite restaurant. The BEST part about our gift card (which was for $150) was that, although we tried to spend as much as we could, the remainder (which was going to be about $50) could be used at their sister company, Outback. Hooray! That's like the gift that keeps on giving.

So, the time came to pay and I handed them our CUSTOM made gift card - it had our freaking PICTURE on it for goodness sakes! It had just come in the mail before our wedding and had been in my wallet the entire time. The girl came back and asked me the balance. I told her I'd just received it and the full $150 balance should be there. She went back and forth several times and then finally the manager came over to our table and said that apparently someone had used our card THREE times at a Kaui Roy's before we'd even gotten to Hawaii and the balance was only $17. UM....WHAT?!?!? Thankfully Roy's in Kona was generous and comped our bill (well, they did take the $17 for the crummy waitress, which was WAY more than I would've given her), which I really appreciated. They didn't have to do that and I'm grateful. I really am.

What I don't like is how we were made to feel from their company about the identity theft which, let's face it, WAS A THEFT. I don't know how someone got our GIFT CARD information, but they used it in a different island that we've never been to and now we're paying the price. Sure, our dinner was comped, but we never got the balance to use at Outback and the whole experience has soured us on Roy's. Lindsay decided to call the company and tell them what happened and she was given nothing but crap. They accused us of lying and of using it, which I don't even understand. I don't know why they couldn't just accept that this had happened to a couple on their honeymoon and sent us the balance we should have had (which is a measly $50). We had proof that we weren't even in Hawaii when the card was used (as we were kinda busy getting married in Malibu and have PLENTY of pictures and witnesses to both), but they didn't care. Begrudgingly they sent a few conditional gift cards. I say conditional because the original card was good for anything - alcohol, tip, taxes. It didn't expire. It was ours. It'd been a wedding gift from generous friends and we could use it as we wished. The crap cards they sent us, however, couldn't be used for any of those things and when I went to make a reservation today to use them (since there wasn't one where we live it hasn't been an easy place to get to), I discovered that the crappy gift cards EXPIRED already. It hasn't even been six months! Who puts a few months expiration date on conditional crappy cards anyway?!?! Thanks for nothing, Roy's. You should be ashamed of yourself.