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Saw the first two episodes last night and I won't spoil anything but I will say things are a lot kinetic and flashy now. Whenever someone uses their powers, from Cyclops using his optic blasts to Rogue using hers to drain someone of their vitality, there's lots of flashy energy effects. I will say this much, though - Episode two is very emotional and none of you are going to be prepared for what's going to happen. UPDATE: Alright, I will spoil one thing -

OK, AFI has to do another special like the did in the 2000s to update their 100 top Heroes and Villains list and put Anton Chigurh in the top ten villains bracket. And that scene at the end of No Country for Old Men with Moss' wife and Anton is one of the saddest in film history. You know she's dead as soon as she opens the bedroom door. She does, too. She's a lamb, he's a wolf. The Big Bad Wolf. God, Javier Bardem truly earned that Oscar. They all did.

I've said this before but it bears repeating but the best moment in To Kill a Mockingbird is Scout showing up at the jail and stopping a lynch mob through the pure innocence of a child. She didn't see these men as soon-to-be killers, but as men she sees often, sometimes everyday, in town and how nice they are to her. This causes the men to back down and leave in shame. Scout - one of the most underrated heroines in movie history.

I keep thinking back to the opening text to The Harvey Girls and how they helped tame the West. I just trying to figure out in my mind how that would even be possible for waitresses to civilize the unruly frontier. I'm guessing Fred Harvey wouldn't do business with a town that was lawless or difficult for the law to control as that would have put the women who worked for his company in danger? Anyway, today Witness for the Prosecution was on. An almost perfect movie. Almost. That sequence in Germany goes on for a bit too long and drags the picture down slightly. Then we get to the trial and things pick up again. Surprised Marlene Dietrich and Tyrone Power didn't get Oscar nominations. I'm especially surprised with Marlene because she was batting a thousand in this picture.

Auntie Mame is on now. I doubt it'll ever be remade, but if they did, who the hell could they get to play someone so vivacious and over the top as she was?

Watching on On The Town right now and, Oooo, do Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munchin look nice in those sailor uniforms. Also, saw The Harvey Girls. Judy looked lovely in that Harvey Girl uniform. And she knew how to get steak, so more power to her.

Did Doris Day ever get a Best Actress nomination for The Man Who Knew Too Much? Because, if she didn't, she was done wrong. I've never seen this movie in full and she rocked! Another thing I love about the movie is how vital "Que Sera Sera" is to the plot. It's genius.

Well, I saw The Triplets of Belleville today and thought it was utter delightful. Seeing them, the grandmother, and the dog disguised as part of the mafia, along with the whole thing with hurrying to disguise the grandmother as the maintenance guy was hilarious. I also loved the grandmother was so determined to rescued her grandson that she used a peddle boat to follow the cruise ship. That's tenacity, right there. And "Belleville Rendez-vous" is definitely and ear worm.

There's one very small bit that never fails to crack me up. It's when the door opens in the library and he just leans in with his pipe in his mouth. It's just so silly. And I just realized the hierarchy of the police department is similar to the upstairs/downstairs system as the inspector is dismissive the competent constable when he's pointing out the broken coffee cup and a muddy footprints but is dismissed on both even though they're important clues. Talk about irony. Also, the constable is also downstairs with the rest of the servants around the end of the movie.

I think it's supposed to be a metaphor, like Lord and Lady Stockbridge go over potential investments and gave William the ones they thought were best. Well, Lady Stockbridge would. Her husband is something of a dolt.

Oh, Gosford Park. One of my faves. I love that it's more than a murder mystery but a look into the microcosm of the elites and the servants and, thanks to Julian Fellows' writing, the servants are more engaging characters. Several scenes stand out like when Elsie talks back during the second dinner scene, "I say, that is not fair. Bill-". Just a few words and the masquerade is broken. And the look that Kristen Scott Thomas' character gives her is chilling, as if she's thinking, "I'm flaying you alive in my mind." Oh, what a good scene. And I love the "Perfect Servant" monologue. Delivered perfectly, but, then again, I wouldn't expect anything less from Helen Mirren. And the second to last scene with her and Eileen Atkins is nothing short of amazing. From what Fellows' said on the DVD commentary, those two completely ad-libbed the whole scene. Now that's how you do acting. I do feel bad for Ryan Phillipe. He's a pretty good actor but he's never really had the chance to become bigger than he did. I'm a bit disappointed in that. One question, though: What did they mean that Lord and Lady Stockbridge "cut cards" for William?

Watching the Judy Garland version of A Star is Born. It's so troubling that Vicki is willing to give up her career to take care of Norman. It's like she blames herself for how far he's fallen and she must atone. And then she's berated for not going back to being a star and being told that Norman died for nothing if she doesn't go back. It guess it's just my modern sensibility, but this is so unfair to her. Oh, and Judy Garland was robbed of a Best Actress Oscar.

Bittersweet ending. I'm glad they finally cleared up the whole Katya/Slater thing. That thing was nagging me to no end. Kind of sad that Archer can never see AJ or Lana again. But he is what he is and if it means being a rogue spy, that's how it is. At least he has a partner in Pam. This wasn't exactly Venture Brothers level of closure, but it was better than nothing. Thanks for the journey, Sterling Archer. The show maybe over, but the adventures never end.

Surprisingly appropriate way to end the series - not just The Agency shut down, but every other private spy agency shut down too. Fabian being brought back seemed pointless. Out of all the many enemies they've made over the seasons, we go back to Fabian? Loved Cyril's speech. It's his big Crowning Moment of Awesome that unfortunately gets cut off by the drones. You know who I feel most sorry for? Mallory. The Agency was her legacy and the actions of her son, agents, and secretary destroy it in one season. I do wonder what they're going to do now. They're a bunch of people who have mostly been death defying scenarios, so can they ever have normal lives now. Especially Archer and Lana. Wish they'd do like The Venture Brothers and allow them a movie to give the show a proper set up.

See this is why The Simpsons and Bob's Burgers work - they use overarching narratives sparingly.

Please tell me this isn't how Archer ends. If it is, then it right up there with Game of Thrones and Dexter in terms of bad series endings. We had no closer with Barry, no big confrontation with Katya, know answer to Nikolai's words back in season three, "Nothing is what it seems". Oh, I'm mad about this. Really mad. Venture Brothers had a much better ending than this. It filled in a bunch of plot holes.

Saw Batman (1989) all the way through for the first time tonight instead of just bits and pieces like I had before. Loved it. Best superhero movie hands down. Sorry, Marvel, but Batman had something your movies severely lack - a memorable villain. Had anyone but Jack Nicholson played the Joker, it would not have been has good. In fact, it might be like the Marvel antagonists and be rather forgettable. Also, how amazing was that set design? I could actually feel how chilly Gotham looked. And I loved the bit with the news anchors without make up or styled hair.

I'm holding out hope for Torchy Blaine

Yes

OK, I checked the schedule for May and they're keeping the Saturday morning thing with the serial, cartoon, and then the movie. But I see they got rid of Noir Alley along with TCM Underground. Stupid merger ruining everything for everybody!

I could kick myself for missing much of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie last night. It's one of my favorite movies. The last ten minutes of the film are awe-inspiring, as is the scene where Jean is showing slides to her class and the "I am a teacher" monologue. Maggie Smith earned that Oscar. Not that the other actresses didn't, but there's something magnetic in her performance. I don't think the movie would have worked have it been done by anyone else. Yes, I think she did better than Vanessa Redgrave would have done. As for TCM Underground and the Saturday morning line up, it's frustrating. It was nice that TCM was giving a spotlight to the cult classics. They have just as much influence as any other highly regarded films. They couldn't have kept the Saturday morning stuff and found another host of TCM Underground?

Then don't look up Chris-Chan. Or Lowtax. Or The Spoony One. There's all sorts of sordid stuff on Youtube about them and they will make this documentary pale in comparison. There would be not enough showers on Earth to make filthy feelings go away. I'm dead serious.

My main takeaway from this mini-series is "Dudebros! Lots and lots of milky white dudebros!" Also, screw Limp Bizkit. Screw them straight to hell. Always hated their music. And it's pretty obvious this whole concert was a major factor in the MeToo movement. That part about the girl coming down from the mosh pit and saying "I hate men now" made me wince. But then came the part where, what was he? The head of security came across that van and found that sixteen year old girl unconscious and a guy pulling his pants back on? Yeah, that was nightmarish. And right in the middle of the fucking riot and inferno, kiosk sellers and MTV reporters running for their lives. One of the things that really got to me was the lady who was from original Woodstock saying "Keep cool, guys. This is supposed to be about peace and love." And all I was thinking was "You poor deluded woman. This was never about peace and love. A bunch of drunk white boys don't give a damn about peace and love when they're drunk out of their skulls and have a bunch of "white rage" in them and feel the need to trash the place." And, of course, the three people who put this thing together don't care what happened. That's the biggest part that infuriated me. Destruction, multiple injuries, rape. And they could careless. Now that I've seen this, I'm wondering if Hulu still has that Fyre Festival documentary on. I always want to call it the "Fire Island Festival", but no. If any LGBT got put through what happened at the Fyre Festival, it would be Stonewall 2.0 all over.

Does date the books a bit, doesn't it? But the whole thing is so intrinsically tied to The Corinthian, you'd be hard pressed to find a substitute. The kid playing Jed is phenomenal. Not one, but two tears came down his face when he's told his and Rose's mom had died. Some actors can't manage one. And all the hairs on my body stood on end when we saw the Vortex truly manifest itself and suck all of Rose's housemates and Jed down it. Also, sucks for Barbie to find out what Ken really dreams about. No pun intended. Unity has always been my favorite Sandman character. She's the MVP of "The Doll's House" storyline. And, like the book's Unity, I wished this Unity stayed in the Dreaming, too. But she had been in The Dreaming. She was in it for 100 years. Staying in the Dreaming after death would be hell for her. I'm just realizing that. Speaking of MVPs, Mason Alexander Park steals every scene they are in and they had better get a crap ton of awards for their performance, Emmy included.

OK, Jed passing by the punny serial killers was absolutely surreal. I was wondering how they were going to pull it off. I do see a weakness in this storyline though - Rose and Gilbert have spent very little time together, so I don't really see the rapport between them in comparison to Lyta, who spent a little more time with Rose. Every time I see Mervyn, I think of pumpkin pie and I get hungry. That is all. And, damn, Rose telling Dream off. That was something else. Whoever they got to play Fun Land was choice casting.