tennisgurl
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Posts posted by tennisgurl
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I thought all of the bubble cakes looked great, even the one that ended up losing was still cute. The mimosa one definitely deserved to win, it looked so good! While those seemed great and I thought the Baked Alaska's looked mostly nice (loved the igloo), I was underwhelmed by the bug desserts. It felt like most of the bakers didn't really get how to make bugs look nice and just gave up and made them way too abstract, which is too bad because I would think there are tons of ways to make bugs cute or elegant.
If he wasn't paired with Zoe Sandro would probably still be here, but he really should have done more to work with her instead of around her. I like Zoe, but she was definitely the right person to send home. In general it seems like they are doing a good job at getting rid of the right people and rewarding people who are doing a good job, no one seems to be getting special treatment or kept around past their expiration date.
I really need to find a Baked Alaska, every time I see it on a cooking show it looks delicious but I never see it on menus when I go out.
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I'm really glad I finally got a the chance to see this, it was just as good as I wanted it to be. A lot of really funny bits, but plenty of serious moments too. My only real complaint was not getting enough Tracee Ellis Ross and Issa Rae, when you advertise Tacee and Issa, I want Tracee and Issa!
Even if Monk was clearly making everything up in his book to troll the white publishing establishment, it did seem like there might have been a bit of his own life there, mostly with the scene where his characters act out a scene between the main character and his father, seemed to be him working out his issues with his own dad's affairs, which he had just found out about. In general I really liked the family dynamics, they felt very complicated and very real. I also loved the multiple endings, complete with mega dramatic slow motion shooting.
If they ever make a film adaptation of Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, that would make a great double feature with this movie.
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Poor Jack, he just cant catch a break. Firefighting is such a huge part of his life and identity, this is going to crush him even more than his last five traumas.
Wow, the 19 really has had a lot of captains, no wonder Andy is so ready for her turn, its like they had to promote every single person in Seattle before she got her turn. I almost expected them to offer the captaincy to Marcia before they finally offered it to Andy.
Travis sleeping with his grieving ex in the same house as his mom while he has a boyfriend can only end poorly, like so many of Travis's messy choices.
I love how in TV land you can just call dibs on any random orphaned baby you happen to find.
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That was a really good episode for Judy, she learned a good lesson about getting people to listen to her. Nice call back to her ban on curling!
I love that Delmer was Honeybee and Wolf's first customer, but of course they both called the authorities on their clearly not up to code business. Way too much work.
Aunt Dirt is a really fun addition to the show.
"I don't even have a flimsy excuse, I just don't want to go."
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Those cannons were so brutal, people were just exploding left and right. Toranaga's son went totally off script, it seems like his father wanted to keep the peace, at least for now, but he decided that he wanted to flex himself and show what a big boy he is in classic nepo baby style.
Fugi and the guns was great, she's been taking a lot of shit and is right to be ready to throw down. At least she and Blackthorne seem to be awkwardly trying to get along and understand each other a bit, even if Blackthorne is making heart eyes at Mariko.
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When I saw a preview for this episode I honestly laughed about how the show was running out of disasters to throw at our heroes during season premiers so they had to take to the sea to do a Poseidon Adventure, and then it turns out Athena and I are on the same page! And of course there ship cant just be capsizing in the middle of a massive storm, they're also going to get attacked by thieves/terrorists right before the storm hits! The real reason Athena should be anxious about traveling shouldn't be her relationship with Bobby or even her being traumatized by 70s disaster movies, it should be the fact that these people cant do anything without some sort of disaster happening!
I don't really buy Athena being worried about being alone with Bobby after so many years, and even less that she's being weird about it instead of being upfront, but I do completely buy her letting their honeymoon be derailed by solving a mystery.
It was fun seeing Lola and Norman again, I'm glad that they're doing well but unfortunately they've been dragged into the two parter which is always dangerous for a reoccurring character.
Its so funny to me that we can cut from normal domestic stuff with Chim/Maddie and Buck/Eddie/Christopher to Athena and Bobby fighting terrorism on a cruise ship, its such amazing tonal whiplash. I quite liked both plots, the stories all tied together nicely and I like what they did with Christopher and his lingering issues with his son, even beyond her dying. That really is a lot to unpack, especially for a kid, its rough for someone you loved but had a complicated relationship with to die before you can resolve your issues with them.
Nice to have this show back.
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I can see George being a bit more alright with them donating to a local church than to some televangelist in Dallas, at least they could say that the money will go to practical things like church upkeep and local charities, which is what that money is usually supposed to go to.
God really wanted Mary to know what he thought about that televangelist with the stupid hair! Her showing up at church with an eyepatch was a great joke, as was Missy hurling into the collection box.
I went to my first beer party when I was fourteen, my friends college aged sister provided the beer! Luckily I didn't drink enough to have a hangover because I thought the beer was gross, but I did feel pretty cool. Georgie had a point about the fireworks, those bottle rockets sounded like a hit, pun not intended. Sorry Mary.
This is why we don't play God Sheldon.
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Jay was out of line when he said that Isaac wasn't a real person, but I can understand him losing his cool. He puts up with a whole lot without much complaint beyond some snark, and this restaurant is his dream, I can totally understand him getting angry when it seemed like he was going to lose that dream due to ghost hijinks that he's always on the outside of on some level. Making the ghost table was a nice gesture, he can have his dream restaurant while also taking what Isaac wants into account, to an extent. Probably don't want to break any maritime laws for the sake of whale oil
Isaac being a lawyer in life makes a lot of sense, no wonder he likes to argue semantic so much. I also really enjoyed Trevor getting all excited to take charge of Isaacs finance, he actually did do a pretty good job. I guess that's what an education at Wharton gets you.
"We all know Trev!"
I'm really glad that Pete called Carole out on her cheating, Alberta's right, that does make her the lame one. She's still trying to lie to him, even after death, that's not cool at all. Carole is funny in small doses, but I hope we exchange her for Flower soon, maybe after she finally apologizes to Pete for how she treated him. And now Alberta might be into Pete?!
"They are as dumb as Danes, but I love them." Awwww, both insulting and sweet.
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It took me a minute to figure out who the librarian was, so fun to see Cree Summer in the flesh! She's a voice acting legend, and they even found a way to let her do some voices here! I loved her and her giant hats, I hope that she sticks around even if she isn't a regular.
Barbara was being frustratingly stubborn but it was very in character. Barbara might be an experienced classy fountain of wisdom but she is also very set in her ways and her experience can lead to her thinking she knows better than everyone, this upsetting her routine was definitely going to set her off. Some of her complaints made some sense at first, not being able to take all of the books she wanted would certainly be frustrating, but pretty soon it was clear that she was just being obstinate. I loved seeing Janine standing up to her and sticking up for her program, her glow up hasn't just been her wardrobe! Gregory gave her good advice, just because Barbara is wise doesn't mean she's always right.
I knew Janine would crush her talk with Barbara as soon as I saw her shoes. Those are crushing it shoes!
Gregory practically being in tears of happiness at how organized the library has become was great, as was the whole plot where Melissa and Jacob became roommates. Who wouldn't want want a friend to dish about housewives with?
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That was a very bittersweet ending to a beautiful show, my heart hurts but I think mostly in a good way. I hate that Em died just when she and Dex had finally found happiness, but I get why the show/book ended that way. The whole story was about the messy ups and downs of life, and while this is a big down, I hope that spending a day with his family exploring where he and Em first met can help Dex finally move on. Dex was so frustrating but I felt bad for him, even before he lost Em, he just seemed so lost, even more than Em when she was in her "giving up on writing" phase. Even when Em felt stuck and not living up to her potential, she at least always more or less knew what she wanted, Dex never seemed to find his real passion, just coasting on his looks and charm.
I'm really glad that both Sylvie and Ian were both shown to be perfectly nice likable people and not just road blocks to the Em/Dex endgame. I'm glad that Dex and Sylvie found a way to be friendly co-parents and that Ian found love, they both deserve happiness.
I really enjoyed all of the characters, everyone was messy and could make bad choices but were doing their best and I had a great time watching how Em and Dex's friendship grew into real love, they just had to mature a lot to get to the point where they could be together.
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I was really amused by the scene where the doctor told Blackthorne that he needed to get laid if he wanted to get better, and his eyes about bugged out of his head when Mariko translated it for him, and they only got bigger when she asked if he wanted a man instead. Cultural differences!
I think its kind of weird that they don't have the Portuguese speaking Portuguese amongst themselves, they have the Japanese always speaking Japanese so they clearly aren't afraid we wont read subtitles. The captain is a short sighted idiot, he keeps grabbing for what's in front of him instead of thinking about what he could be getting long term.
Mariko pulling out that naginta was pretty awesome, even if it was hard to appreciate when it was all shot in the dark, as shows love to do now for some reason. A good fight scene overall though.
I continue to really like the performances, everyone is doing a whole lot, even the minor characters.
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You have to love a season finale that is 90% dream sequence. There was a lot about this episode and this season that I liked, but I left the season wishing that we had some more substance over style. The style was wonderful, I adored the clothes and the vibes were immaculate, but I so wanted to know more about these characters, we just barley scratched the surface here. I know we've all said it over and over, but this would all mean so much more if we actually knew these people and their relationships, I would be so much more moved by this bittersweet ending if I had actually had time to care about these relationships.
Of course we cant get through this season without one more episode featuring Jessica Lange doing her one woman Tennessee Williams play, and as predictable as all this is, I wish we gotten more of Truman's life before the Swans, it would have given more context as to why he became the way he did, and even explain more about why he betrayed the Swans if they wanted to make it more complicated than money. A lot of this shows characterization has been basically carried by the great performances, I just wish that the writing had done more heavy lifting.
Good on Jack for not only aging well but finding a hottie at least half his age, he deserves it.
I think that the Betty VS Joan season was more fun but less historically accurate, while this season was a bit more accurate but less entertaining. I was really expecting a lot more bitchtastic cattyness but a lot of this season just felt slow.
So do we know who ended up getting Truman's ashes? Its all very ghoulish but I think the auctioneer had it right when he said that Truman would have eaten that drama up.
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I finally gave in to the hype and caught this one, and I can see why people are so love it/hate it. Honestly, I thought it was going to be WAY weirder than it actually was. You have endless scenes of Oliver at school, him lurking around while the Catton's lay around being the idle rich, and then out of nowhere you get the period oral, the grave humping, and of course, the naked dance of victory. It was like jump scares, the whole thing sort of felt like a weird gothic horror story but with an early 00s gloss. I am really not sure if I liked it or not, but its left me with a lot to think about, so that's certainly something.
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Michael was a lot of fun but he was the only choice to go home. That cake looked like even something I would have been embarrassed by, and I'm not even a good baker! Some people are just not good at baking under pressure, I wish him nothing but the best.
There are so many people I haven't had time to pick a favorite yet, but everyone seems nice so far, no one is mugging too much yet in my opinion.
Add me to the chorus that wishes they would tell the bakers about the twist earlier, that could change the whole bake, of course they struggle a lot to find ways to incorporate them into their bakes when they're basically finished!
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Poor Rachel, it looked like she really hit her face wrong, even if she's fine that can really sting, especially when your supposed to be on a date. I like Rachel but I get more of a friends vibe from her and Joey than a romantic connection. They have fun and like teasing each other, but they seem more like buddies when they hang out.
The scuba diving date looked like so much fun, love those underwater shots of the adorable marine life! That turtle and his yellow fish friend! Joey seems to have the biggest connection to Kelsey, they seem so natural together, both all giggly and flirty. He seems to really lean into her in a way he doesn't with the others. She's quite cute and I can see them being a cute couple, a couple of puppies.
Joey seemed kind of nervous around Daisey, they do have good chemistry but there seems to be some things unsaid between them.
They are really going hard on they sage wisdom of the Golden Bachelor ladies aren't they? Damn it Leslie, why would you put that evil into Kelsey's cute little head?! Its so clear that she's the front runner, but I guess its a lot more obvious to us. I definitely think that those were Leslie's own words, but the producers were certainly hoping for some last minute drama with this note. Everyone is so nice and chill, there just isn't that last minute crying and yelling that they crave.
A cliffhanger?! After that?!
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I always feel awful for the first person who gets sent home, but they made the right call. Not only did her cake apparently not taste good, but it didn't have anything to do with the theme. I know that the judges can get nitpicky about what is "on theme" and what isn't, but that had nothing to do with spring break adventures, even if it was pretty.
Seems like a good start to the season, its my first time watching Spring Baking!
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I'm sorry, aren't these guys supposed to be super smart? Then why the hell would they write down the names of their victims/hook ups on lab tubes? Why not just out the country? Taking DNA seems stupid in general, especially considering they had to know that gathering DNA without consent is illegal in New York State and that two of them were rapists.
This was probably the best episode of the season, which is admittedly not saying much. The case was pretty interesting and unique, the guest stars were all good, and it was great to see a full squad again. I still think its absolutely ridiculous that a captain and an FBI agent would want to work as detectives just be be under St. Olivia, but they were both fine and it was just nice to see more than three people working this case.
Not too much St. Olivia workshop, especially compared to the Maddie Saga, but still a lot of her being the most expert expert on literally everything, and it still boggles the mind that a captain would have so much time to run around solving cases all of the time instead of actually running SVU.
Velasco/Bruno playing good cop/bad cop was nice, and while I guessed that the third awkward guy might be the rapist, I thought it was also just as likely that he's a red herring. SVU is really lucky that the guys were dumb enough to take DNA samples for their game or else it would have been really hard to charge them for anything if they couldn't get them on the rapes. The game itself is sleazy and gross but not illegal if everything is consensual.
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Even when Janine comes back to Abbot full time, I hope she keeps this new wardrobe, she looks so good in blazers and sweater dresses. It still feels very Janine, but a more polished professional Janine than the Janine who dressed like some bizarre hybrid of a kindergartener and a grandma.
Gotta love that Oscar synergy, Bradley Cooper was a good sport and everyone getting the Oscar movies mixed up was funny. It also tied into the main story, chasing that recognition even if its all ceremonial.
I knew that Willard R. Abbot would turn out to be racist or something when they started putting so much emphasis on him, it really can be hard to find people, especially people from the past, that don't have some kind of problematic history. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop with Willy R Abbot, but I didn't see him being a flat earther coming. That's why you vet any script a speaker gives and don't let them go off script! The moon is a space ship!
I know that Barbara and Melissa have been teaching for a long time and its understandable that they're cynical, but I wish they didn't always have to put down so many of Janine's ideas so quickly, especially ones that don't seem to hurt anything like making Abbot a historical site. It might not be a big thing but its nice to celebrate the wins where you can get them, even when this time it didn't turn out well.
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I love that Aunt Dirt joined everyone in the car to help Cheesecake at his new job and she just sat there, and only spoke later to say that she would continue not contributing, I'm so happy she's sticking around.
Cheesecake is such an absolute wreck of a person, he's lucky he has Wolf, as well as constantly finding himself in dangerous situations where he can get payouts.
I'm so glad that Beef is back with the divorcees, and he actually had some game with Carissa! Love that Beef is basically a tourist attraction, the Most Authentic Alaskan Man.
Not surprised that the guy who's laptop Beef watched was writing a fantasy story about a sex dragon.
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That was great, I loved both of the stories. I love that Linda and Louise got a story together, as Linda herself said they don't tend to go on a lot of adventures just the two of them and she wanted to make it count. Tons of call backs in this one, the hotel from Halloween, the tunnels that are much more fun when no one is trying to kill you (like most places), the towns history of bootlegging, and even bratty Logan and his annoying mom.
The secondary plot with the street performers was fun too, that balloon dragon really was cool, I thought that the balloon lady was in the lead until the pipe guy stole the show.
I was sure that Louise would drop the statue into the ocean, I liked the way it actually played out much better. Mr. Fischoeder took the statue, it was a fake anyway, but Louise did end up getting some money to hang up!
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A big cookie for everyone who guessed, seriously or jokingly, that the blond who George supposedly cheated on Mary with was actually Mary in a blond wig. Its obviously a retcon and I am not sure how I feel about that, but I am also really happy that we wont have a whole depressing story where George has an affair, George and Mary's marriage falls apart, and then George dies.
Germany was certainly good for Mary, she has really loosened up! She was so cute at football practice and now that her beer pallet has been fancied up, I just want her to open a hipster mico-brewerery.
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I love the Halloween episodes, even when they're in February! I missed the step-brothers costumes but that was a pretty seamless way to get around Rose's pregnancy, this season its like we can all play a game of "how will they cover the bump this week?"
I'm not all that surprised that Flower is just stuck in a well, I thought it was weird for a main character to get sucked off offscreen with no closure. I can see why this can feel cheap, but I'm interested in seeing where they take this. Especially if we get Flower crawling out of the well ala The Ring! She already has the hair!
The hijinks with Sam and Jay's cool friends thinking that they killed Carol was great, it just kept getting worse and worse. is Carol going to be sticking around? I hope she gets sucked off soon, maybe after making peace with Pete, a little of her goes a long way. I feel bad for her family, especially her daughter and little Pete. That place is a Martino family death trap.
Poor Jay is truly the most long suffering man on television. "I guess I'm going to dig up another body because my wife fell down some stairs once."
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On 3/6/2024 at 10:12 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:
I absolutely LOVED Blunt’s Kitty’s look of utter CONTEMPT toward Teller at the end, and refusing to shake his hand. As if awarding the Fermi award to Oppenheimer was enough for his treatment and “bygones!”
That was awesome, nobody can give a look of utter disdain and loathing like Emily Blunt.
Watching this movie and Manhattan, which was on TV a few years ago, must make for a really interesting very intense double feature. Probably not as fun as a Barbenheimer double feature, but certainly gives a more complete picture of the era and everything surrounding the Manhattan project. This movie is more about Oppenheimer himself while the show is more about what else was happening while the bomb was being made.
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I was really disappointed when I missed this in theaters so I was thrilled when this came to Hulu. Yorgos Lanthimos is very hit or miss for me, which is probably on purpose, but I have to say that this is probably my favorite of his films. Even his movies that I have liked I haven't really liked, they're deliberately off-putting, awkward, and gross, and while this certainly has a lot of that, it was also a lot more...fun? It was super weird and gross at times but the costumes, the trippy steampunk world, the gorgeous clouds, and Emma Stones go for broke performance, made this one of his more weirdly approachable movies, which probably says a lot about Lanthimos movies, a guy who can make what seems on paper like a typical based on true events period piece into some kind of bizarre gross out horror comedy.
Like I said, I adored the look of this movie, a weird steampunk Victorian gothic horror world with tons of color and where mad science is apparently just something people can do sometimes. The whole cast was great, it was fun seeing Mark Ruffalo in this sort of role and Emma Stone absolutely deserves that Oscar nomination and it would be fun to see her get a win.
The feminist message was great and I like how the theme seemed to be that women, just like men, need to experience as much of life as they can to be a complete person.
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What Are We Currently Reading?
in Books
I just finished:
None of This is True by Lisa Jewell, its a wild ride that is in desperate need of a sequel. When I finished it I desperately needed more closure.
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia was a really good read, it combined a lot of things that I am fascinated by (mysticism, old cinema, cursed films) and both of the leads were flawed but likable. Mexican Gothic is still my favorite book by her though.
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter and Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson were both a lot of fun and had very different vibes than most of his other books that I have read. Both are very whimsical in their own ways, Tress is very fairy tale while Yumi is clearly very influenced by manga/anime, I had a great time reading them back to back. I know that some people are not the biggest fan of Sanderson's prose, that his strengths are world building, magic systems, and characters and not writing style, and I also think they can be a bit mechanical, but these are so different its clearly a stylistic choice he's making and not something he's just not good at.