Luckylyn

The Canada excuse is ridiculous. There are plenty of people of color in Canada. The excuse that they already have deals with actors also doesn’t fly because although they like to reuse the same people a lot they do cast new people as leads too. They make a huge amount of films a year. The lack of diversity in leads is glaring. They cast people of color as supporting players and so clearly they do have a talent pool they can tap into to have more diversity in leads. They’ve taken supporting players from previous movies and given them the lead. It’s just weird they way they act like casting people of color is so arduous.

The crazy amount a films per year and quick shooting schedule don’t leave enough time to make quality films. There are a few gems here and there but it’s a huge contrast in quality from previous years. Hallmark movies used to be an event that people talked about. It had impact and were some of the best movies. Now quanity is valued more than quality.

I love the film Fill the Void. It’s a great example of a film keeping characters chaste but still being sexy. I think of that scene where she tells him he’s standing too close and he replies “I could have been closer.” You’re wondering if he’ll actually go for a kiss but he just walks away leaving her kinda stunned. They don’t even touch but that moment sizzles. This is why the lack of chemistry in the Hallmark movies is baffling to me. I get that for Hallmark premaritial sex is not part of the brand but the characters can generate heat without being sexually explicit. It starts with casting and then the right director/screenplay to build up the spark the actors generate. Even when the actors spark I feel like Hallmark doesn’t try enough to get the most out it but diminish it instead. I feel like if there is a spark it’s almost inspite of Hallmark. The right actors and director can make characters heat things up with just a look and still keep things chaste. There’s a great film called Dear Frankie and there’s a scene where the leads just stare at eachother for the longest time before finally kissing. I’d love to see Hallmark make more of an effort to not only cast with chemistry in mind but to really maximize it. edited to add: Loving Leah is an example of Hallmark getting it right. I love their first kiss where they just look at eachother like they are having a silent conversation and then can’t take it anymore and basically jump each other. I wish Hallmark still made movies like that.

Xanadu is not a good movie, but I adore it. There a couple of sequences that are great to watch and the soundtrack is wonderful. I love ELO. Yet, there is so much to nitpick about it. It's so dated and very much a product of it's time. It's very watchable even if you hate it because it's fun to poke at. My sister took me to see the Broadway version as a Christmas gift years ago, and the cast had a lot of fun mocking the story on stage. Friends and Xanadu

Xanadu is not a good movie, but I adore it. There a couple of sequences you highlight that are great to watch and the soundtrack is wonderful. I love ELO. Yet, there is so much to nitpick about it. It's so dated and very much a product of it's time. It's very watchable even if you hate it because it's fun to poke at. My sister took me to see the Broadway version as a Christmas gift years ago, and the cast had a lot of fun mocking the story on stage. Friends and Xanadu

I really loved it. It was visually gorgeous. The music was anachronistic but fantastic to listen to. It’s a soundtrack I know I wil listen to over and over. I know there are historical inaccuracies but it was so entertaining and heartfelt. I do want to read the book to find out a more accurate history.

Her character was 17 and I think it was a twenty year age difference. I agree that the movie is so disturbing. He’s old enough to be her father. Sometimes May/December romances work for me but in the case of Susan Slept Here it just doesn’t work at all.

This movie made me think about the scene in Return of the Jedi when Luke insists that Leia is the strong one. He’s right. This is a woman who has experienced tremendous losses (her parents and entire planet destroyed in front of her, not being able to stay with the love of her life, finding out her biological father is the monster who murdered her family, losing her son to his evil choices, being abandoned by her brother). Yet Leia has never wavered or walked away from the fight. The loss of Carrie Fisher is such a blow because Leia more than anyone has represented perservence and hope despite difficult odds. What was Luke’s bigger error? Seriously considering killing Ben or hesitating and utilmately changing his mind? I can completely understand Ben lashing out at his uncle after waking up to find him standing over him with a light saber but that doesn’t excuse the innocents Kylo has killed. The harm he’s done is on Kylo’s shoulders. Luke talking about Kylo killing some students but taking the others with him seems like a loose thread to be picked up later. I still need more back story info to find out how Snoke got access to Kylo to turn him before Luke could complete Ben’s training. Luke trolling Kylo was pure joy for me. I got teary eyed when Leia and Luke reunited but totally lost it when Luke died watching the horizon like in A New Hope. Luke tossing the light saber was hysterical. Some of cranky Luke was fun, but I feel like it lasted to long. I feel like Rey’s training was shortchanged. In Empire Strikes Back the bits of Luke training showed his learning curve. We saw Yoda challenge Luke physically, mentally, and emotionally. I understand that Rey is supposed to possess an unusally strong ability with the force, but still I would have like more scenes of Luke training her. I like that she stole the Jedi texts and that Rey absolutely refuses to give up. She is like Leia in that way. I’m on the fence about Poe’s mutiny, on the one hand Holdo was so close lipped about her plan that it seemed the situation was hopeless from Poe’s point of view. On the other hand when you have a command structure there are going to be times when the head doesn’t keep other people informed and soliders have to trust and follow orders without knowing all the details. I think the story would have benefited by establishing that there were concerns about a spy within the alliance which would help explain Holdo’s refusal to share the plan and appear so ineffectual. It was odd that she didn’t speak up once the mutiny started to stop it before it went so far. Her brief scene with Leia talking about loss. Such a small scene but both actresses were able to convey a great friendship. Holdo’s lightspeed into the enemy was stunning. Finn, Rose, and Poe’s actions ended up getting people killed because Finn and Rose inadvertantly are the reason the First Order were able to find out about the cloaked transports plan. That’s a huge mistake to have the characters make and a risky narrative to go with. In the end, I like that the heroes are fallible and errors happen as long as they learn from them. Poe needed to be humbled a bit. Finn needed to committ not just to wanting to protect Rey but also to becoming a true member of the resistance. I’m uncertain what’s going on romantically. Elements (ex:shirtless scene) of the Rey and Kylo scenes could be interpreted romantic but then they had him go from saving Rey to committing to being fully evil. I loved her shutting the door on him and letting go of the idea he could be saved. The camera made a point of lingering on Rey watching Finn with Rose which is open to interpretation. There was no Finn/Poe fliration that I was hoping for but then there was a spark of something when Poe introduced himself to Rey. Poe is a chemistry machine and could probably be paired with almost anyone and make it work. Rose kissing Finn was a bit of a surprise. After thinking about it, it didn’t totally come out of no where. It was established in their first scene together that Rose had some hero worship happening which dimmed when she realized Finn was attempting to flee. Working with Finn and all the danger they faced allowed her crush to reassert itself. Overall I really enjoyed this and am excited for the next installment.

This trailer is so much better. The first one didn't make the plot clear for people who were unfamiliar with the book.

Battle of Ideologies: Ned vs Jon vs Sansa

Love, Simon

Hint please

New and much better trailer for Love, Simon

Chuck - Tom Sawyer

Thank you!

The observation that Don might have been subconsciously been using Faye as a therapist is interesting. He did seem to be going through a reflective self improvement period at that point. In Don's mind the choice between Megan and Faye was about the easy fantasy over the more challenging reality. Faye wanted Don to face his past and Megan was willing the enable Don's desire to try to escape it. Don wanted a quick fix for his unhappiness and imposed this fantasy idea of who Megan was and could not handle it when Megan turned out to be a flawed person. I feel like Faye took Don's children seriously in a way Megan didn't and that's part of why Faye struggles with taking care of Sally. Megan was willing to babysit but not co-parent Don's kids.

I love this show and how the oddness just works. Bart being such a remorseless killer one minute and the expressing childlike joy the next is so fascinating to watch. I loved the scene of them professing how much they mean to each other. They've all come such a long way and are becoming a family. For the first time in his life, Dirk has bonded with people and it's made him afraid in a way he has never felt before. The thing is Dirk's let's do things like real detectives is doomed to fail because the universe will nudge him to where he's supposed to be even if he resists. I wonder if he'll end up trying to do things alone in an effort to reduce the risk to the others. I'm so happy over the Rowdy 3 reunion and am looking forward to Todd and Amanda finally being able to talk. I wonder if Todd and Amanda having the same condition will allow them to communicate across worlds. Btw, does anyone know the song that was playing when everyone was professing feelings and the Rowdy 3 got back together?

Chad & Sonny - I’ve Got You Brother I really loved how this was edited

Love, Simon It doesn’t sound particularly original but I do enjoy a good coming of age story. I’m also a sucker for romance. I suppose what makes it different is that it’s not an independent film but a major studio. http://ew.com/movies/2017/10/31/love-simon-first-look/ The trailer ignores the plot which annoys me.

I really liked the short film so much better.

I laughed when I saw this because as a kid it was a family tradition to watch the original trilogy on Christmas day. I think it was the Syfy channel when it was still Scifi that used to air it every Christmas. So I tend to associate Star Wars with Christmas. As a result the December release dates make total sense to me.

Mel Brooks and the Ethics of Satire

TCM is having A Star Is Born marathon of all three versions on September 29 starting 8pm. I'm thrilled to finally get to see the first one.

Me too. I'm thrilled about Linda returning but I think the overreliance on Arnold hurts the franchise. His story ended in T2. Keeping him involved still is so forced. It was always Sarah and John's story that was compelling.

The Adorkable Misogyny of The Big Bang Theory