Netflix has been putting out some of the best Christmas movies over the last few years so I was really excited to see this new film from them. The opening scenes of our lead character, Sierra, (played by Lindsay Lohan), and her 'dad' (go head Jack Wagner....still looking awesome!) were already giving you an idea that she'd earned this reputation of the rich, spoiled princess but was trying to figure out her own place in the world. It was a nice way to give us a mature version of this sort of story.
She has a boyfriend of sorts, Tad, (played by George Young who is hysterical) that is very funny in his portrayal of our obsession with social media. I couldn't tell if I was rolling my eyes from the corniness or how it was hitting home. LOL, probably some of both. After some tumbles and laughter, we get to meet Jake (played by Chord Overstreet). He's got some financial woes, a daughter, and a MIL, and doesn't know what to make of the lovely Sierra.
Will she change him for the better? Will he change her for the better? Will they discover Christmas? This is a Christmas movie.......but even though you should know, I won't ruin it for you. Lindsay Lohan is the lead for a reason, she's got everything you want in a lead. Presence, talent, and a way of noticing her even when the other characters are speaking. Can't wait to see what she does next.
Cute? Yes. Corny? Yes. Christmas? Yes. New storyline? Nope. Gave me the Christmas feels? Yes.
I'll give this one a solid 3 out of 5 shots. Yes, I'll be watching it again and again and again.
Review: Don't F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer by Netflix
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Premiering today, December 18, on Netflix is a 3 episode long documentary on the hunt for the murderer of Jun Lin. While the documentary is completely fascinating and keeps you at the edge of your seat, there's an interview near the end of episode 3 with Jun Lin's best friend, Dong Dong Xu, which is what stuck with me the most. "The really sad thing is talking about "the killer" and nobody has ever remembered Jun Lin. Doesn't seem fair at all to my friend. He doesn't deserve that. "The killer" didn't just kill a person...but also destroyed an entire family's hope. People don't understand. In the Chinese culture, it's always the son that carries the responsibility to take care of the parents...when they.....when they become old. Now it's gone. And it's not fair." He is, of course, absolutely correct. We don't remember the names of the victims. Just the killers. Maybe remembering the victims is more frightening. Maybe concentrating on the killers and those details about those killers will give us enough information to avoid becoming a victim ourselves. I'm not sure why we don't concentrate on the victims more.
So yes, I'm writing this review on the story of a killer. A killer who took the life of Jun Lin. Out of respect to Jun Lin, I'll not use any names or likeness of the killer.
Jun Lin's father, Darrin Lin, crying at his son's funeral.
This film shows the craziness of the details that not only the killer was following in his crime spree but also how regular people using the internet were able to track him down. I've never seen anything like this before and I pray it's never repeated. The documentary is filmed in what is really a timeline of events as it unfolded. It's done very well. I'd already been aware of the case and the outcome. But the film really "took me there" if you get my meaning. It keeps you tied to your seat. Watching for the 3 hours it took, it was worth it to stay in that loop.
Many animal rights activists seeing the first videos of the killer torturing and killing kittens is what started this in the first place. But even those people question how their actions could be said to have stopped this killer............or did they push him into killing? This delves into their actions and conversations with each other. It tells of their ordeal with trying to get the police to understand what they were seeing.
The police didn't listen to these activists. It may or may not have had any change in what went down. But I do try to think about how many hoaxes, lies, and bullshit calls they have to deal with on a day to day basis in addition to the real calls. Real calls about real shit. And real calls about real bullshit. Once they were aware, they really were able to do the impossible and find him. Even that seems like a thriller of a movie plot and less like a real-life case.
Mom of the killer.................she's wrapped up in his lies. She believes what he says. I get where she's coming from. It's hard to believe the worst is possible about our children without reflecting on how we must have contributed to that personally. How did I as his mom fuck him up so bad that he became a murderer? What did I do wrong? How am I responsible? At some point, she's going to have to accept it what he's done......or maybe she won't. She's another victim but she's not really aware of it and it's very clearly conveyed in the film.
The film left me feeling like we should all be doing more. This now feels like a mission we should all be in on, helping to solve more crimes when we can instead of expecting the police to do it all. It's our duty to ourselves, our families, communities, etc.
In her first stand up routine in 15 years, Ellen Degeneres hooks up with Netflix in this new original that was filmed live in Seattle, Washington. Ellen (who will be celebrating her 61st birthday next month) began her career in the early 1980’s doing stand up in her hometown, New Orleans, before touring the country and being named Showtime’s funniest person in the country (1984).
You can’t help but admire Ellen’s approach to her audience as she comes out on stage dressed COMFORTABLY! Black sweatshirt, black loose pants and white sneakers. One of my personal pet peeves with many performers is how many of them just look so uncomfortable in these outfits they need to wear for fans or themselves. I get it, but it is nice to see a woman comfortable in her own skin……..not to mention not really trying to worry about what others might think of her choice of attire.
She touches on many topics in her routine showing how we’re all relatable to each other. Definitely of a few moments where it just seemed like ‘eh, whatever’. But overall, I was glad to watch this. There was enough personal moments of her sharing her life, her views and who she is to make you feel as though you know her a bit better than you did before. Her favorite joke is also now my favorite joke, just very sweet.
I was ready to do a solid 3.5 shots out of 5. Her favorite joke and the way she closed her show topped it over to 4 shots.
At the end of this………...she made me cry. She’s a strong person and has undoubtedly inspired others to come out. Listen to her story about the finch. We’re all that finch at some point in our lives. Be who you are…….give yourself that gift. Whatever your gift is, unwrap it and live it the best way you can.
Growing up in North Trenton, I didn’t have too many friends. Well, actually, I did have one friend: my television. I spent many hours taking in all kinds of entertainment with that TV. I was glued to everything on MTV, grew to love Tales From the Crypt, and memorized many episodes of Full House while watching that thing, but some of the best times of day were the early afternoons, when sitcoms from years past would play during summer vacation. One of them was One Day at a Time, which ran for nine seasons, from 1975 to 1984. It was created bit sitcom svengali Norman Lear about a divorcee raising two daughters (one of which was Valerie Bertinelli, who was kind of a crush).
At the time, I recognized it for its worth, from the memorable theme song (“This Is It” by Polly Cutter) to its legacy of bringing feminism and real-life parenting to television. It was one of the beauties of a Lear program, and was something I was intrigued about when I’d heard that Netflix was remaking the series to air in January of 2017. The new series was about a Cuban family and featured a divorced mother of two children (this time a boy and a girl), her exiled Cuban mother...and a dude named Schneider (hey, if it ain’t broke). My wife had peeped the first few episodes on Netflix and was enamored, and suggested we watch. While my TV viewing has always gone back to sitcoms, my day job has me watching more series than I can keep up with, meaning that it’s hard to just watch TV to enjoy TV. That said, once we started running through this new iteration of One Day at a Time, which brought in everything from PTSD (the mother, Penelope, is a veteran who’s on anti-depressants) to LGBTQ issues (her eldest child, Elena, comes out as a lesbian during the first season) to the plight of immigrants living in America today...it was heaven.
You see, while some of my favorite shows are about superheroes or fantastical situations, you need television that makes you laugh (and more importantly, think) about the world around you. This new school edition of One Day at a Time did that, and well. And when word hit that season two would be premiering on Netflix on January 26, 2018, I was excited. My regular TV viewing needed this.
All of that said, this second season hits all of the notes of the first, and then some. Justina Machado’s Penelope had a lot to deal with in season one, from her ex-husband coming back and completely shunning their lesbian daughter to trying to find a way to focus on having her own love life. Season two touches on both, with the family having one truly-emotional episode drawing parallels between Elena’s birth and their current-day.
One of the series’ shining stars is Rita Moreno, who at 86 is still a pistol, playing Penelope’s mother Lydia with grace and fire. She’s always around to remind the family of the old ways, but will surprise you with how current some of her feelings about life are. The children, Elena and Victor, are growing as well, with Elena growing up as a woke Latinx in today’s society, while Victor is caring, but also trying to work his charm into a cushy life.
I’d love to sit here and spoil this series for you; there are some awesome standalone episodes, with others that will hit you all in your feels. It’s a quality binge, with hope for a season three (we’re waiting on you, Netflix). From the Gloria Estefan-remake of “This Is It” to this glorious cast reimagining a quality sitcom series, One Day at a Time’s second season is one you shouldn’t miss. And now, I have a friend (my wife) and my son to watch the show with as an adult, allowing us to have discussions about what’s really real in today’s world, from LGBTQ issues to what it means to be a good person. We’re walking through it, together, one day at a time.
Yes, Godzilla is alive. Well, Netflix brought him back to life for my 6 year old son, Jayden. As I'm typing this, he's watching Godzilla's Revenge. He said he plans to watch the Godzilla cartoons tomorrow. I grew up loving all the monster movies that came on our local (I think it was local) TV station. Channel 48 had Creature Double Feature every Saturday afternoon. It was great on rainy days when it's too icky outside to play kickball.
I personally loved the little twins from Mothra's island, the creature from the black lagoon that I never figured out what he was supposed to be, all Alfred Hitchcock's birds, and a zillion others. These were fabulous movies for me. My mind and heart are too sensitive for Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I cry, I have nightmares and genuinely freak myself out. My Jayden is the exact same way.
And for that reason, I need to stop typing and get back to Godzilla. I don't want him breathing down my neck......fire breathing dragon might burn the back of my hair off right before we go on vacation....can't have that. LOL
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