metaphor

Just saw the movie in IMAX 3D and really loved it. The musical numbers flowed so much better within the film than in the sneak peeks and even on the soundtrack. For instance, I thought the soundtrack's version of Belle felt disjointed, but in the movie, I was impressed. The visuals also helped a lot and got me to stop comparing the songs against those of the animated version. I particularly enjoyed Gaston and The Mob Song for this reason. I think Emma made an excellent Belle, and the Beast made me laugh a few times. I appreciated the added levity and the fleshing out of backstories and personalities, both of which enriched the romance between the two. I also agree with the positive reviews on Luke Evans, even as He had such a good presence and singing voice. I enjoyed all of the castle's animated inhabitants, with Mrs. Potts and Lumiere being the highlights. Ultimately, the only downside for me was Josh Gad, whose Le Fou felt a bit too in your face. The dance was beautiful, though The yellow dress also looked much better in the film than in stills, I thought, perhaps All in all, as a big fan of the animated version who also loved the musical, I am glad for this addition to the story. It definitely wasn't a letdown, and I'm looking forward to seeing it again this weekend and appreciating the film in even more detail.

Loved this episode. I thought Alex, Dana and Cassie had really engaging storylines. Dawn has become such an enjoyable character, and I look forward to seeing where Maggie will go this season. Sad about Alex and Charlie's broken engagement, but I had the feeling it was coming after reading some interviews with the writers and Erica that were published pre-premiere. Like Lady Calypso, I'm figuring on a reunion at some point down the road, so I'm not too heartbroken. The love is obviously there and I'm interested in seeing where Alex's decision takes her for now. Hopefully their union will end up stronger for it. I'll miss this show when it's over, so I'm going to savor this final season.

Saw this yesterday and really enjoyed it. The music isn't on the same level as Hamilton, of course, but I think the songs are super catchy anyway. I was humming "How Far I'll Go" hours after I'd left the theater, and now all soundtrack is on repeat on my laptop. Moana and her grandma made me cry a couple of times. Maui was a lot of fun. And I enjoyed the "twist" at the end. Auli'i Cravalho and the rest of the cast did a great job at both the voice acting and the singing, and the animation (character and location) was gorgeous. I think I might try to catch this one again before it leaves theaters with a different group of friends. Nicely done, Disney.

I loved this season and would really like to read more about the period covered, in relation to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II. Does anyone have any particular book recommendations in this regard?

Per the EW feature, Emma wanted a dress that wasn't too constrictive due to the more active nature of the reimagined Belle, but I do think they could have gone with something more impactful. I guess we'll see how it all looks during the dance. Several interviews with Alan Menken quote him as saying that

The official trailer is here. I must admit I grew a teensy bit wary after reading the EW feature due to supposed changes to the story, but seeing those animated scenes (especially ) in live action was so exciting. Cannot wait.

Just started watching this show, and I was so impressed with the first episode. I thought Jared Harris (Hi, Mr. Jones!) was the standout. What a moving performance, with the highlights being his singing with the carolers, his discussion with Elizabeth about being king, and his chat with Philip about his duty. I'm kind of glad this is on Netflix, so we have the whole season at once. Really hope the quality is maintained throughout the season and in the coming ones as well.

Really quite eager for this one. The older cast is also great, what with Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson and Kevin Kline. I hope one of the new songs lets Audra McDonald really show off her pipes.

Per this review, Nathan Fillion, Molly Quinn, Tamala Jones, Toks Olagundoye, and Jon Huertas are involved in the locked room feature.

Stana will also be participating in a play in New York for one night in September. Her night has sold out since the announcement, though.

The only thing I appreciated about that article was Hawley's reference to a time jump to the happy family. I never subscribed to the "Castle and Beckett are dead and that tag was their dying hallucination/an alternate reality" theory, but it's out there. When the writers cancelled their post-finale interviews, I lost hope that that particular take would ever be addressed. And now it has. So there's that.

Is the fact that they're family the sole twist of the pilot? I'd have thought the comparisons to Lost and a la Shyamalan hinted at something a little more... supernatural. In any case, I'm looking forward to the show.

I have to admit that my interest in the season sort of waned these past couple of episodes, but I really enjoyed this episode. Richard Rankin charmed me as Roger. I thought he was especially excellent in that first whisky scene with Claire. Sophie Skelton was a pleasant surprise. I was expecting the worst after reading some comments of people who'd gotten to watch earlier, but I liked her Bree and look forward to seeing more. I thought she had a good chemistry with Richard, and she ably conveyed Brianna's love for Frank. I liked the reveal of Geillis/Gillian. I've missed Lotte Verbeek. "I said I won't have you dying for nothing." / "I won't be; I'll be dying with you." marked the first time I teared up watching the episode. Oh, Murtagh. Caitriona was excellent as usual, both in the "present" and the past. Claire refusing to leave Jamie was fantastic. The way her eyes searched his, desperately trying to find another way out of the unfolding tragedy... so moving. It was the emotional highlight of the episode for me. And Sam was wonderful as well with Jamie's speech at the stones. I missed the carving of initials because it was such an moving moment in the books, but I liked how Jamie helped Claire touch her hand to the stones. Partners. Will have to watch this episode again to take it all in, but overall, a good end to the season. Looking forward to S3.

Great episode. The music was especially lush and fitting. Jamie was great, and so was Claire's PTSD storyline. Lord John Grey was intriguing. I'm really enjoying the build-up to the war.

I think TVLine is just spitballing, but if that came to pass, I'd be thrilled. I love The Americans; it's been one of my few must-watch shows since its first season. It's so different in tone from Castle, but I find it so engaging because at its core, it's a study on marriage and family. It'd definitely be cool to see her thrown into that mix.

Rob mentioned that someone (he didn't say who) had decided not to hold an auction for Castle. And another person associated with Castle (it may have been Biermann) said a few days ago that the sets go into the trash heap after being taken down.

I think this entire debacle actually cast a new light on the way the writers shaped S8. Putting aside Beckett's previous character growth and development and increasingly reducing her screentime and relevance were supposed to help pave the way for having the character depart, and make it acceptable for the show to go along on its merry way with the writer solving crimes without his muse. While I really tried to give it a chance as it was airing, I think S8 was and this would-be S9 (with a Beckett who'd gladly run off on some mission while letting Castle and everyone else who loves her mourn her, no less!) would have been such a betrayal of the previous 7 seasons of the show. I'm just so grateful this purported storyline never came to be. And count me in among those who remain eager to read about married Heat/Rook. I wasn't too impressed with the most recent dedication (would have appreciated something fresh instead of a rehash of Castle's Hollander's Woods speech), but I'm definitely looking forward to the dedications/acknowledgements up ahead. Wouldn't it be great if one (or both) of the the upcoming books made some reference to Lily?

Caitriona was simply fantastic. Claire's despair, anger, and anxiety were all very palpable. And amidst all that, that "Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ" moment made me smile. I think the most powerful moment for me was the scene in which Claire was holding Faith, singing to her and unable to let go. Heartbreaking. Mother Hildegarde, Master Raymond and Louise will be greatly missed. Those last two scenes, of Jamie and Claire speaking honestly and reaffirming their commitment to one another, then saying goodbye to Faith, were wonderfully on point. Just gorgeously done, set to a beautiful score. And now, I'm very eager to see them back in Scotland.

Adorable indeed. @KaveDweller I think the holding hands thing was purposeful on Bowman's part to mirror the 7-years-ago scene, but I definitely did not feel that it meant to call the reality of the flashforward into question. It seemed to me that Beckett got shot in the chest and also somewhere in her abdomen. There looked to be two holes in that gorgeous jacket of hers. I think that there's some spec about whether Beckett could have been pregnant in Crossfire (the show was reportedly casting for a 7-year-old Lily), but I don't know how likely that would be given her seeming injuries. Maybe Lily is a superbaby. ;) Too bad we'll likely never get confirmation on any of the showrunners' choices.

I think the scene that drove this whole point home for me was the Castle/Alexis/Martha reunion scene at the precinct, with Castle hugging his mother and daughter and mouthing a thank you to Hayley. It was such a strong callback to Alexis being reunited with her father and mother and the look she shared with Beckett in Cops and Robbers. And since TPW cowrote this episode, it seemed intentional. It felt so odd that Beckett was so removed from that family scene. Odd and sad.

That's curious. Showrunners of other shows do post-mortem interviews after series finales, after all. And showrunners of suddenly-cancelled shows do so, too, often discussing what might have been. I'd have liked to hear their reasoning for the choices they made with regard to the season as a whole, or even just the finale itself. Do they really not want to answer questions at all?

Ha. It is kind of funny how a good number of fans (including myself) are going, "wellll, that wasn't great, but since the alternative is worse, I'll take it!" One would almost think that fans' knowing Beckett could have been killed off in S9 ended up being a boon to TPW and Hawley. Then again, given their silence amidst all the backlash in recent weeks, I guess they would rather have gotten that S9 greenlit no matter what.

I agree. Could it have been done better? Sure, but I think we could say that about many things that have unfolded since 6x23, and more specifically, things that have happened this season. I'd have been glad for them to have skipped that present-day loft scene altogether and come up with a more fleshed-out happy ending, but if that couldn't have been done (maybe they only had extra time to film that short tag), I'm still grateful this is the ending we got. Castle and Beckett and their three kids, seven years hence. It's the happy ending that could very easily not have been. And I can only hope that good fanfic writers can fill in the seven-year gap. The less said about Loksat, though, the better.

Agreed. I randomly picked Cops and Robbers to rewatch the other night, and that episode was excellent. I understand they had constraints this season, but it's hard to believe this was the best they could do in light of those. I also watched bits of 7x01, 7x02 and 7x23, and even those felt better and more right than anything I've seen this season. I was also disappointed in that message from the showrunners. It felt very perfunctory and never really addressed anything. Meanwhile, Marlowe's tweets to each regular cast member and to the fans prior to episode airing were much more meaningful. Oh well. I'm just glad that that image of Beckett bleeding out on the floor clutching Castle's hand didn't have to be my last image ever of Kate Beckett on this show. No matter how poorly handled this entire season was, all the way to that rushed tag, I feel like I can still look back with fondness. It's a better ending than what could have been.

That ending was so obviously tacked on, but I guess it's better than anything we could have looked forward to in S9, with that "both of them have been shot" cliffhanger. I wonder if they really intended to kill Beckett off in S9. Two boys and a girl... were there any signs of Senator Beckett in that pan through the loft?