Traveller519

I'm feeling like the set-ups are starting to become increasingly frustrating, but the cast plays them off so well. Cam has lived in California for at least, what.... 15 years? He could never take the opportunity to go to Spring Training, maybe take Lily as a child? But once he and George Brett were together, there was some real fun. Mitch and Cam during the Silent Meditation was a classic Modern Family gag, and worked pretty well at diffusing yet another "Mitch and Cam" disagreement. Phil and Claire and Jay and Gloria's set ups were pretty predictable and nothing too unusual, but the banter of the Police Escape and Claire's "Still counts!" provided the laughs. I'm glad they see the finale on the horizon.

Matt Bradley peanut gallery for life! (plus, so good looking! Haha) His commentary about the bad ideas is always fun. I'm glad they didn't go the route of Murray suddenly loving the theater. The show can get a little too sentimental at times, so having to work through that was a nice third act twist.

I always enjoy watching Craig Robinson and Andy Samberg interact. They play off each other so well. That said, I'm starting to grow a little weary with Doug Judy Plots. You can see the "double cross" coming a ways out now. When Jake took off after the drug lord I rolled my eyes, there's Doug left alone... I really enjoyed the Holt/Terry/Hitchcock team-up to move Holt's plot forward. The less said about the food truck, the better.

Incredibly surreal, but I found this to be a lot of fun. The never-ending parade of WPA students (and alumni) coming through the door was great ("JTpooOOOOO"). I definitely did not see Lainey showing up either, which actually introduced some interesting drama into the mix. I was enjoying this notion of Barry inherently has chemistry with all of Erica's closest friends, but then introducing Lainey into the mix was well done, without overplaying the sentimentality there. I could have watched more of everyone's hijinks (Carla on a college campus!) had they been willing to basically go all A-Plot. That said, I liked that the B-Plot tied into the A Plot well with the empty house and the Mellors were pretty funny. Bill Goldberg has actually proven to be a pretty good actor in this role, and I enjoy they don't go too ridiculous with the obvious physicality of him. Having Bev melt over him would be so Trope-y and out of character for her.

January Jones did some great work in this episode with her physical reactions during the various goings-on. I think that's really her strength as an actor, and it's almost like the less Melissa has to say, the more we get of her character. I like that we already know her motivations for assisting Jasper with his living remotely, even though it doesn't need to be clearly laid out enough. We know enough of Jasper and Melissa's character from the context of the show (and have witnessed enough of Todd's actions) to get that whole dynamic, while it lays the breadcrumbs for whatever will come next. "...I know it's an anarchism for the Hamilton time period, but so is rap, and people seemed to enjoy that"

Like a soothing balm, following more than a month without B99 or The Good Place, this episode hit all the right notes for me. I enjoy Kevin's begrudging acceptance/respect for Jake, and that they didn't stick to a continued plot of Jake feeling like he needed to impress Kevin. Kevin knows Ray supports Jake, and that's all he needs to know. I never would have thought that Amy Santiago would be against puzzles, decrying them as needing no skill. That skill is patience, Amy. I think we can understand your issue with them. Though I think there's software now that can piece together shredded documents, I get the need for the visual gag, and competent Scully (!!!). That said, I do enjoy when they employ modern crime-fighting techniques like running algorithms and analysis. ... "He dropped her off at College last fall!!!!?!" "Yeah, it's really weird"

The poster release, which confirmed Peter Dinklage is in the movie also appears to not have Paul Rudd or Jeremy Renner on it, despite both appearing on the IMDB page. Interesting.... Seems they likely won't have a big part, if anything in the movie, perhaps setting up Ant-Man and the Wasp. By the by, despite having all the casting in place, this had to have been a nightmare for the executive team figuring out who went where on billing. Obviously Robert Downey Jr. is first, but Chris Evan's doesn't show up until fourth. Then following Zoe Saldana as the last of the "listed cast" we have "Featuring VIN DIESEL as Groot, BRADLEY COOPER as Rocket, with GWENYTH PALTROW, with BENICIO DEL TORO with JOSH BROLIN as Thanos, and CHRIS PRATT" Benedict Cumberbatch being stuck in the middle of the cast list is relatively amusing... "If it was any film but this!"

It was sweet that Bev's advice led to Adam focusing on wiring and not her zany antics forcing him to realize it. There's not a lot of times when the kids are able to heed the advice of the parents. Matt Bradley continues to be an outstanding addition to the cast. His "junky" behavior was a great little addition to Adam's issues.

I hope that board game is a real thing. Sheldon Cooper is the perfect person to send it up, and he did so in fine fashion. So beautifully earnestly. I do wish they would give the audience a little more credit at times though. Bernadette staring at Penny's Belly was plenty funny on its own. Her calling it out just ruined the visual gag.

I appreciated putting Missy in the spotlight this episode (basically from the beginning too, with her dancing at the lunch). Until now, she's pretty much just been a joke dispenser from the sidelines. So it was great to see her handle the more central role, and flesh out more of her character and relationship with Sheldon beyond "they're twins and share a room" The biggest shock/surprise for me, though was during the opening credits seeing the "directed by" being Howie Deutch. I had to do a quick check and make sure Howie was actually Howard and not a nephew or something. Maybe Lea trying her hand at directing, and his daughters having full-fledged careers of their own, motivated him to try his hand at a new form of directing.

I could kind of get Joe having a crush on Claire, as we've seen in the past, she gives him lots of attention. He's the surrogate for that one last shot at having a child she knows she truly doesn't want. So she gets to spoil him and fawn over him, and doesn't need to ever be the bad cop. And with the amount these people hang around one another, she's pretty consistently in his life. Still........................ It was really weird to see it play out. I've got to imagine Jay bought him the robe and taught him how to comb his hair, since he loves having his mini-Jay around. Claire trying to get her dad to shush-up about her high school ways was pretty good though, especially with the two call-backs. I did kind of like how well Jay took to the Role-Play, and Phil (and Clive) giving him the emotional support to continue. Alex and Luke. I'd really like to see both of them get a meaningful relationship, instead of just ones played for jokes

I thought they must have speed rushed the episode during the Olympic Hiatus following the Super Bowl victory but it looks like, at least elements of, the episode was in the works for a while. http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/celebrities/goldbergs-eagles-merrill-reese-mike-quick-20180222.html?mobi=true It's pretty great they managed to get the episode out as the first one after the Eagles Super Bowl win. So much joy watching the actual JTP play with their on-screen counterparts. I'd watch a full 30 minutes of that game!

I really really liked the movie. The cinematography was outstanding and felt very African, the acting was top rate through the secondary cast, the Nigeria assault and South Korea action scenes were very engaging. I think it was the best version of the movie that there could be. But for some reason as I left the theater I felt a bit underwhelmed. I didn't have that same tingling excitement I did at the end of Creed. Maybe it had a bit to do with they hype, maybe it was Marvel (and greater super-hero) fatigue. But sitting here a day later, I think it's the constraints of the MCU. The themes Coogler explores are very interesting and the perfect tonal ideas for this world and the actors completely deliver, but I think the plotting falls a little short needing to fit into the what Marvel needs to deliver in two major elements the need for a cinematic action sequence to close the movie, and fitting into their timeline. Killmonger was such a great character, presenting a viable alternative viewpoint to their issue, it's a shame that we don't get to see more of him develop as a child, what leads him to his military service career (especially if those black-ops were directed by Ross), and see him realize his motivation, rather than explain it through dialogue. T'Challa and Killmonger have an almost Xavier/Magneto dichotomy of vision of the same goal, but the only time they have an honest and earnest conversation about it is when Eric has the dagger in his chest. Being able to explore the intervening period between 1992 and present day would also have let us get a better feel for Nakia's motivation, see Shuri rise to Chief Engineer, and follow the ascensions of W'kabe and Okoye, but I don't know how you can effectively look at all that while also needing to focus most of the energy after the events of Civil War while setting up all the characters for the Infinity War show-down. So I think they did an excellent job given some of those inherent constraints. I'm looking forward to getting to more fully realize all the secondary characters in a few month's with Civil War!

No one looked good in this episode, except maybe Jack. Dre was obviously incredibly petulant throughout, and in typical Dre fashion approached his concerns in the worst way possible. Charlie's crush on Bow, which had always been played off in the past as largely innocent, or at least innocent enough to fly over Dre's head, really ramped up, and felt... for lack of a better word... icky. Bow's me time, while jutified was manifested and rationalized in the worst way possible. "This is the first break I've had in 18 years?" Really? Because we've seen you on vacation with your husband and without kids in the past, we've seen you on vacation with your family, and let's not forget that before Davante, your family's youngest children were 9 or 10, who you were helped in raising by your two older Children, your husband's parents, and a Paid Nanny. C'mon, Black-ish you're better than this. And the lack of supporting characters was really felt.

I adore that of however many takes they did of Christine Baranski delivering the "what makes you think you can solve a murder" in the novel dream-sequence, the best one they could get was her barely holding on from breaking. Leonard's outfit in the sequence was terrific too. It looked like multiple scarves with a sport jacket over those, and a lab coat on top. Perfect! It's nice seeing Sheldon have some more empathy, his character becomes more sympathetic when you can see him trying. Shallow end of the pool... Melissa in sexy-office outfits!

Two random things I loved: While everyone else's tickers appeared to be humming along, Jason's looked to have little to no activity on it. Maybe he's meditating after his push, but I really hope it just means he never does anything of consequence. Not good, not bad, just.... Jason. During one of her later "wake ups" Eleanor has a slice of pizza primed in a toaster within reach of her bed. I can't even be horrified, that's amazing! (props for bringing back Baby Plastic Surgery Nightmares magazine again too!)

I can't decide if I would have rather checked in on everyone immediately following their respective "push" or get the "year of Eleanor" that we did get. Initially was pining for the others but I like that we got the whole range of Eleanor. The "one year Facebook reminder" was a nice touch too. Those things are evil, but sometimes in the best way possible.

I loved it so much I rewatched tonight. There were so many good little moments like Jason getting dressed on the train. The pocket square that later became the molotov wick, and Janet giving him and subsequently taking back the briefcase ("take my credit card to the hedge fund") Writing for The Good Place has to be so much fun. Anything that gets on your nerves that week can be written straight into you script, as a Bad Place minor annoyance. Tears of joy for Mindy and Derrick!

Some heavy hitters in the guest stars this episode! Chris Geere, Sarah Baker, Riki Lindhome, and Cheyenne Jackson! It was nice to have a send off for the Earl with Jay, I'm glad he got one last dig in on his rival.

Oh my God! The second act! Between Geoff and Bev's date, the bagpipes, and the shop teacher that was a spectacular run of comedy that could have even put a smile on Murray's face. (I mean it did involve Donald Ducking) Can we move past this being the "first time I've heard you apologize" though? Those crazy Goldbergs are always finding understanding

Considering my biggest nits with the movie were the skiing scene at the beginning, I thought the overall movie was really well done. I think Chastain and Elba did the best job of turning in performances that made Sorkin's script not sounds like traditional Sorkin Dialogue since Jack Nicholson. There were only a few parts where it slipped in that it came across as Sorkin dialogue, but the fact that I noticed that speaks to how well they did with the knowledge. That said, it's too bad that the tale really required so much voice-over narration as it was a little distracting at times. While there may have been legal implications for not using actual names, the choice to not use them is quite obviously one of the points of the film. One of the themes of the film was how the salaciousness of Molly's actions were what drove her indictment. The prosecutors hoped that it would draw more eyeballs to the case. The film is decrying the pervasiveness of celebrity gossip not only as published "news" but as a nefarious use to solicit attraction. The script can't simultaneously decree that gossip, both implicitly and and explicitly, and also get off on naming names. The number of "the real stories behind Molly's Game" articles out there, which are simple re-telling of the anecdotes in her book speak to this. But the film is Molly's story, and it's an incredible story. She saw an opportunity to monetize something that was already happening by providing an experience, and built herself an incredible business. It's something that seems so obvious and apparent, but she was the one who applied a little common sense to a meathead meetup and just enough allure to turn it into an enterprise, but her passion pushed her to the point of blindess, something we can all relate to on some level. It certainly ranks right along Moneyball and The Social Network for entertainment, and will likely be just as re-watchable as those films. . . . Okay, who wants to hear ski nits?!?! It's important to know that Molly didn't actually crash in qualifying for the Olympics. She just wrapped up her time in the sport having achieved as much as she could, but that's nowhere near as dramatic. First, a moguls course is nowhere near 52 degrees. That Deer Valley Course she was on sits at just over 26 degrees, which is the average course slope across FIS mogul courses. It admittedly doesn't sound all that impressive, but that's because ski slopes never do. The most significant slope you would see at most ski resorts normally top out at about 46 degrees. anything above 50 degrees really struggles to hold snow. Her flip on the top jump, which she describes as a "D-spin" is actually just a crossed-up back flip. A D-spin requires, as the name suggests, involves rotation in the trick. It's more off-axis. But the bigger piece here, is that inverted tricks (where your feet go higher than your head while you're in the air) weren't allowed by FIS until 2005. Finally, there's no way one of those boughs would have been able to dislodge a boot set at a DIN of 15. There's really no way for it to interfere with the binding system and at the speeds and forces would have been much more likely to just be dislodged than catch anything in her bidning. That said, it all amounts to about 3 minutes of the film. It's just the stuff I know

There was a really beautiful establishing shot in this episode. Setting up the evening party with "all of Janet's booze" they were all outside among the lights. Eleanor and Chidi were casually chatting, Michael was sitting back in a chair staring into space with a defeated look on her face and Janet was standing in a "power-down" mode and that's when Tahani walked up to Jason. It set the mood, and looked just spectacular.

Absolutely one of the best episodes they've done in a while! Call it a concept episode or bottle episode, but it worked! Having the whole cast interacting nonstop with no sub plots really brought the energy! Murray and Pops were the standouts, but everyone did amazing in their roles. Barry subdued dropped in just enough humor every time he had a line. Live that they can still bring something new and fresh!

I kinda felt like they needed to flush out the inheritance plot a bit more. It felt like it was dealt with very sporadically. Didn't we have an episode previously about Dre and Bow drafting up their wills and estates? Maybe what would have made sense was to see those being finalized (or amended with the addition of Davante) and it prompting Dre to look at his own parents estates. Is Diane getting dumber. I seem to recall she was overly-precocious and quite smart early on in the series, but since they've decided to start playing up her "evil tendencies" they've played down her intellect. To the point where the past two episodes have had her unable to even do her own homework without someone's "assistance" (read: doing it for her). I get that the bookworm child is an overly done trope in family sitcoms, but reducing her to near-Jack levels is a bummer. Maybe the reason her older kids are so self sufficient and able to help out is because Rainbow wasn't facilitating helicopter parenting of them like she does with the younger ones, even if she's pawning that work off on someone else. I did appreciate the conversation before bed. Especially the "Have you been talking to those people at work again?" It's nice to seem some bridging back to the office scenes from the family scenes. They often don't acknowledge it, which was supported by Dre's "You know I don't really talk to those people." And Bow, "putting it out in the universe" routine was pretty well done too!

Maybe it's just me, but the show has felt as fresh as it has in a long while this season, with some truly fun plots. This week was sure an example of that. Even though you can see what's transpiring and know where the laughs are coming from, they still hit pretty well! Everyone seems a little more energized too! I think we're really seeing how far some of these folks have evolved as actors. Kunall and Simon especially, but it seems like Kaley has been given more freedom to roam herself. She's always been excellent at the genuine laugh reactions, but this week her conversation with Amy and later "confrontation" felt incredibly earnest too. Not just dispensing the writers dialogue. I hope when Melissa returns to full active duty she gets a bit more freedom to explore too.