tongueincheek

Aside from these three actresses being absolute top-shelf talent, the chemistry between Christina Hendricks and Manny Montana is absolutely explosive and so taut. It's what's keeping me tuned in as well. The back and forth between them is some kind of foreplay because you can tell they're both intrigued, and it's not necessarily sexual (oh but it is). For the first time, Beth is exerting her agency, it's about choice -- no matter how terrible her decisions are -- she is fully in a position of making them of her own volition and she doesn't have to answer to her husband. She feels like she's on some even playing field with Rio (even when she's really not), and his interest is clearly piqued by her always meeting him chin to chin. It's really fun to watch.

Jessica Rothe of HAPPY DEATH DAY is going to be a star. I give her a minimum of two more years of par-for-the-course type projects before she gets that breakthrough. And Blumhouse would be crazy not to do the sequel, which according to her, turns the movie into a BACK TO THE FUTURE type franchise that I'd be totally into.

Michael Stuhlbarg's monologue is one of the most visceral and breathtaking moments on screen I've seen in the past 12 years or so.

This was in my top 20 films of 2017 as well, and I agree that it was severely overlooked. The movie really creeps up on you, and its horrifyingly appropriate ending perfectly shows how the pendulum swings both ways with social media. Aubrey Plaza was pitch perfect - tragic and heartbreaking. I also thought Elizabeth Olsen and Wyatt Russell really carved out some nice nuance to their roles as well. And O'Shea Jackson, Jr. was an absolute prince. If you haven't seen it yet, or want to watch it again, it's streaming on Hulu now.

Considering Culhane has been with the family for ten years, and Monica and Fallon have been close friends (if not "best friends") since they were young, I'm assuming the two have had some casual exchanges over the years. I love that they're seemingly heading into the direction of having the Colbys become (hopefully worthy) adversaries to the Carringtons, with Jeff working to avenge for his father and family. Monica's just being straight petty, but I'm glad she's finally in the game here. Regarding her and Culhane, he should really know better, but I guess he doesn't really owe Fallon anything at this point. It's very obvious they're working towards Michael being Fallon's long (end)game. I suspect they'll be reunited, or at least on that path by the end of the season.

One of my favorites of the year. Just a gem of a directorial debut from Greta Gerwig. I've actually seen it twice. I had to call my mom after I watched it -- I cried (sobbed!) and thanked her. The film really hit close to home - I also went to Catholic school in Sacramento, and shared that same romanticized lens of the world that Lady Bird had. The mother-daughter relationship humbled me: I can't recall a movie in my lifetime (I'm 29) that so clearly conveyed my own relationship with my mom. It made me feel a little exposed. Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf were pitch perfect (Laurie EARNED her pending 'Supporting Actress' nom), and Beanie Feldstein elevated every scene and moment she had. The whole cast was really fantastic. And Empress1 - I completely agree with your points about Danny's sexuality and Miguel - those elements of the story were handled just right. The movie's just hysterical too. I went from crying because I was laughing too hard, to just plain crying. Also, Tracy Letts', "Oh fuck" towards the end of the movie is one of the best line readings I've seen on screen this year.

I also got from the chokehold that it was a callback to the earlier conversation during dinner, when Jeremy is talking to Chris about MMA fighting and how you have to be three steps ahead of your opponent. Chris observes two times Jeremy's move to block him from grabbing hold of the door to open it; on his third attempt to grab open the door, he knows Jeremy his going to use is leg to kick it back closed, and that's when he stabs him.

Every single day Sarah Gadon isn't cast in everything is another day of misfortune to me. How she hasn't broken out yet when she's generally the highlight of anything she's in is just gobsmacking to me. Hoping "Alias Grace" is what will do it.

Agreed, though I'm still fine with that last scene being interpreted as either a dream of the day he's released, or his actually getting out on parole. The film deliberately plays into the tropes of the very movies that inspired it, so of course we were going to get that perfectly packaged ending with its strong, moral message. I think a more realistic ending would've been having Baby come back to the diner after 5 years to see Debra, or have him seek her out, finding her some place else with some ambiguity as to what their connection would be after that time has passed.

Fabulous news! Echoing this to also shout out that their entire creative team is all women.

I actually loved Excess Baggage - I thought she and Benicio had hot chemistry.

I really love Mandy Moore's career trajectory -- it's been up, down, all over the place, but she has been working consistently since her teen, pop star days and it's finally paying off.

I mean, I definitely would've appreciated if the female characters had been given much more depth, and speaking specifically to Debora - Lily James is charming enough with such an engaging screen presence (I realize this is subjective), I was with her from point A to B. Some of my favorite dialogue in the film was between her and Baby. I think the only thing that really threw me off was trying to give her that little (BARELY) "badass" moment when she attempted to hinder Buddy and went after him with whatever that was...Baby still had to shoot him to protect her. I wish Eiza Gonzalez and Lily James had more interactions on screen as well. They were so cute together during the press tour and have been peddling a Thelma and Louise version with their characters. I'd LOVE that.

The Bronco? More plausible to me than the fact that even if 5 years had passed, Debora could afford a classic car like the one she picked him up in at the end.

On this front -- I'd so be down for a spin-off prologue that revisits Buddy and Darling's story -- how they met, what led to their falling madly in love and into this underbelly of Atlanta crime. Edit for additional thoughts... I think a proper sequel could be done catching up with Debora and Baby (Miles) -- I can buy that perhaps Baby has kept his eye on Doc's nephew Sam. Perhaps it's a good 10 years since Baby has been out of prison, Sam has gotten himself pulled into the undercurrent of the same world that his uncle was embedded in. Now he's trying to get out, and Baby drives again with the goal of helping Sam get out.

This is precisely the genius behind Jordan's writing: taking the horrific realities of the black experience and playing it against the horror trope the audience expects.

I'm a fan of the show and I'm not a book reader. I'd probably prefer what the show is at this point to the book because of the expansion of peripheral characters -- especially the women. I appreciate that they're giving the women such nuance and we're seeing them portrayed in ways we never really get to see. I also don't mind the pacing because I love character-driven stories -- I'm ready to develop when they are. Plot is important for sure, but give me interesting characters, and I'll happily watch them try to navigate their way out of a paper bag.

Bryan Fuller and Yetide Badaki (Bilquis) ship "Swoon" too. I like how in that interview and a few others, Bryan, Michael, and pretty much everyone else in the cast agreed that there really wasn't anyone else who could've played Essie. To quote Orlando Jones: "It has to be the same woman."

For those digging the Mad Sweeney/Laura back-and-forth, it appears that Emily Browning is also going to be playing Essie McGowan (Essie Tregowan in the book) in Sweeney's "Coming to America" story in the next episode, which feels completely full circle considering Laura and Sweeney's current dynamic. Essie was the responsible for bringing Sweeney to America. Having Emily play her in addition to Laura is kind of a stroke of genius. ETA: Harper's Bazaar posted an exclusive clip and details on the casting decision (which was announced at SXSW in March) here: http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a9983023/american-gods-episode-7-essie-emily-browning/?utm_campaign=crowdfire&utm_content=crowdfire&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter#3309547732-tw#1496792848535

It is 'puppy' - not sure if it's an acting choice on Emily's part, or if that's just her American accent pronouncing it with that affectation. Either way - I like how annoying she sounds saying it because it's so fucking condescending to Shadow, fits perfectly with how their dynamic is/was. In the book, she calls him 'puppy' because they couldn't have one; here she calls him that because she said he looks at her like one. Even Audrey made note of her treating Shadow like her "pet."

She's not supposed to be likable and Emily Browning isn't trying to portray her as such -- and that is what I LOVE about Laura Moon. She is allowed to be unapologetically unlikable (I hate that word, but whatever) and vile. She feels real and honest, and to watch a woman be this person on screen is always welcome to me. MORE OF IT. I mentioned in last week's episode thread, I don't have to like Laura - to like every single character isn't real - I just need to understand what motivates her and where the roots of her actions lie. Emily Browning and the writers are doing a beautiful job at creating a nuanced character, that on paper, would be merely thankless (in a way she still is, but I appreciate that). I appreciate Emily's portrayal of Laura's obvious depression, and her general malaise at life. That feels authentic. Hey! You can be an asshole AND suffer from depression - what a concept! She's essentially always been dead inside, now her outsides match her insides. This episode, she definitely felt more alive, and as cliched as that may be, I welcome the irony. One of my favorite things about her is her audacity - it is stunningly impressive, and hilariously maddening.

This is what sealed the deal for me. I love Laura. I love "unlikable" women more. I don't have to like a character; I just have to understand their motivations and what makes them tick. That's real and that's interesting, and that is Laura to me. Love that she stuck to her principles (for lack of a better word). I would love a Laura/Audrey postmortem buddy comedy too. That whole car ride with the two of them was hysterical.

I love that Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch are reuniting for a Netflix project. I previously watched the interviews for the film's press tour, and they had fun chemistry.

I found the movie to be a glorious, genre-bending flight of fancy: zany and harrowing. Subversively explored female agency, toxic masculinity and addiction. So much charm, I really didn't care how flimsy the plot got. Hathaway expertly anchored the show, assisted by an impressive face-heel turn by Sudeikis. Also, the five shorts about technology at the top of the movie were fucking terrific and populated by Degrassi alums!

I actually really liked LONDON as a format/concept. Chris was good. And I liked the study of the relationship. Jason Stathom stole that movie though. He had a very specific monologue that I was impressed with -- mostly because I had never seen him in a straight drama before that required zero action sequences. And...he had...full hair...