2013 » Entertainment Review
2 0 1 3 !
F I L M
1. LES MISERABLES; ★☆☆☆☆½ • "Miserable" is the operative word! Really, really liked Eddie Redmayne and really liked when the focus was on him and his French Revolution buds, but goddddddd, the rest of this was tedious, horribly shot, and not all that impressively sung. idgi.
2. SKYFALL; ★★★★☆ • A touch overlong, but probably my favorite Bond movie. LOVED Moneypenny; needed more of her!
3. BIG MIRACLE; ★☆☆☆☆ • Fuckin' whales and Jim Halpert and 1980s Veronica Mars, man.
4. THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES; ★★★☆☆½ • Fascinating (and sometimes hilarious, sometimes unsettling) deconstruction of the American dream gone big time awry.
5. THE DEEP BLUE SEA; ★★★☆☆ • Incredibly slow at the start, and not entirely sure how I feel about the film as whole, but there are some truly great moments scattered throughout and Rachel Weisz's performance is fantastic.
6. THE GIRL; ★★☆☆☆ • Some great cinematography, not much else going for it.
7. ZERO DARK THIRTY; ★★★☆☆½ • Really disjointed and poor pacing throughout (and an incredibly long run-time), though the performances were great, I found myself wanting more at the end.
8. HICK; ★☆☆☆☆ • Good god, this was terrible in ways I can't even begin to state (like TIDELAND if TIDELAND had a terrible lead actress and a whole lot of rape-y business). One star for Eddie Redmayne as a cowboy, the end.
9. SAFE HOUSE; ★☆☆☆☆ • Denzel is Denzel, man. But this movie, and Ryan Reynolds, is the poorest of poor men's Jason Bourne.
10. HYSTERIA; ★☆☆☆☆ • Who knew the invention of the vibrator was so boring?
11. JANE EYRE; ★★★★☆ • Loved this. Mia Wasikowska was so good and her chemistry with Fassbender was bonkers; made me wish I had liked the book more.
12. MARGARET; ★★☆☆☆½ • There was a whole lot of yelling happening in this movie; parts of it were really great but other parts I just wanted to end.
13. TRUST THE MAN; ☆☆☆☆☆½ • So ungodly bad, made all the worse considering that cast.
14. ANNA KARENINA; ★★☆☆☆½ • Strangely emotionally sterile, despite the gorgeous production values; also, ugh Aaron Johnson, such bad casting.
15. SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS; ★★★★☆ • Really, really enjoyed, was an absolute blast.
16. SECRETARY; ★☆☆☆☆½ • Was so so irritated by Maggie Gyllenhaal's character. idk, this movie did nothing for me.
17. SAVAGE GRACE; ★★☆☆☆½ • lol what a movie (mother-son banging-bonding!); Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore were outstanding tho, as was Stephan Dillane's moustache.
18. PAGE EIGHT; ★★☆☆☆ • Yawn.
19. SAVE THE DATE; ★★☆☆☆½ • Absolutely loved Lizzy Caplan's performance, and Mark Webber's and Martin Starr's, but found my love for the film was undone by Alison Brie's character as well as the ex-bf character, and the narrative choices in the last act.
20. CEMETERY JUNCTION; ★★★☆☆½ • What a pleasant surprise of a movie! I was charmed!
21. CHERÍ; ★★☆☆☆½ • A rather tedious love story, but Michelle Pfeiffer was on point.
22. BUTTER; ★★☆☆☆½ • Pleasantly charmed by this dumb movie and I had not expected that!
23. BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS MEN; ★★☆☆☆ • Eh.
24. MAMA; ★☆☆☆☆½ • So, so bad lol; minimal scares, the "ghost" looked absurd, and Jessica Chastain just seemed weirdly cast in it.
25. WRECK-IT RALPH; ★★★☆☆ • Cute!
26. THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT; ☆☆☆☆☆½ • Hated, hated it so much omg, these least likable people in the world, I could not care less about their delayed nuptials.
27. BARBARA; ★★★★☆ • Nina Hoss is incredible in the title role.
28. COMPLIANCE; ★★★☆☆ • Insane true story that is incredibly uncomfortable and disturbing to watch play out; Ann Dowd was fantastic.
29. ANTIVIRAL; ★★★★☆ • WHAT A STRANGE, CREEPY, GORGEOUSLY SHOT FILM! Caleb Landry Jones is fantastic and the cinematography was A+.
30. 28 HOTEL ROOMS; ★★☆☆☆ • Bland unlikeable lead characters killed what was a great premise.
31. THE DISH & THE SPOON; ★★★★☆ • Odd, but buoyed by such great performances by Gerwig and Alexander.
32. DJANGO UNCHAINED; ★★★☆☆½ • Overly long, but I greatly enjoyed it; the entire cast is incredible, especially Waltz, and the soundtrack is bonkers good.
33. IDENTITY THIEF; ★★☆☆☆½ • Dumb, but had its charms. Not sure what that says about me as a human.
34. SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK; ★☆☆☆☆½ • Underwhelming, to say the least, punctuated by odd editing choices, loud performances, and an almost offensive handling of mental illness.
35. AMOUR; ★★★★☆ • OUCH. Painful at times to watch and utterly heartbreaking. Old age sucks, man.
36. TENNESSEE; ★☆☆☆☆ • idk what the budget was for this, but I'm guessing $5. A waste of a good cast, and I'm including Mariah Carey in that group.
37. TOWER HEIST; ★★☆☆☆ • I already forgot everything about this movie other than my deep and sudden attraction to Casey Affleck.
38. I'M STILL HERE; ★☆☆☆☆ • Why.
39. MANSOME; ★☆☆☆☆ • The single star is for the Bateman and Arnett scenes and that is all.
40. LORE; ★★★★★ • A visually stunning film; Saskia Rosendahl's performance is incredible, as is the chemistry in this film; was haunted for days by this.
41. THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER; ★★★☆☆½ • Enjoyable, w/a great performance by Ezra Miller and a surprisingly intensely moving ending.
42. FLIGHT; ★★☆☆☆ • After an intense first 20 min, I lost interest in the film when it became a rote -- and understandably unlikeable -- story of addiction.
43. STOKER; ★★☆☆☆½ The visuals on display in this were incredible, which makes the weak script all the more disappointing; I wanted, and expected, more.
44. THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL; ★★☆☆☆½ • Totally cheesy, but also, curiously, totally enjoyable.
45. A SIMPLE PLAN; ★★★★☆
46. COSMOPOLIS; ★★★☆☆½
47. LIFE OF PI; ★★★☆☆½ • Stunningly beautiful and emotional film anchored by a great lead performance, though I unfortunately lost a good amount of interest by the end.
48. LITTLE BIRDS; ★☆☆☆☆½ • Surprise murder and stuff? idek, did not care for any of it except Leslie Mann & Kate Bosworth's small roles.
49. NOBODY WALKS; ★☆☆☆☆½ • Blech.
50. ROCK OF AGES; ☆☆☆☆☆ • No.
51. ROOM 237; ★★★★☆ • Such an interesting documentary! I have such a soft-spot for conspiracy theories and enjoyed the exploration of them surrounding The Shining so, so much.
52. DARK SKIES; ★☆☆☆☆ • So dumb.
53. CLUE; ★★★★☆
54. I GIVE IT A YEAR; ★☆☆☆☆½ • Completely unlikeable "rom-com" that felt like it was 4 hrs long.
55. THE GREAT GATSBY; ★★★☆☆ • I know everyone hated this, but I weirdly enjoyed the crap out of this dumb, over-the-top movie.
56. SIDE EFFECTS; ★★★☆☆ • Good performance by Mara, and the entire thing had a great throwback noir feel to it, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
57. FUNNY FACE; ★★★☆☆
58. CRACKS; ★★★☆☆½
59. BLACK ROCK; ★★☆☆☆
60 VALLEY OF THE DOLLS; ★★☆☆☆
61. BEHIND THE CANDELABRA; LOL
62. WARM BODIES; ★★★☆☆ • A pleasantly delightful surprise!
63. FAST & THE FURIOUS 6; ★★☆☆☆ • lol this movie; fun to watch but so amazing stupid.
64. THIS IS THE END; ★★★★☆ • Amazing. I literally laughed until I cried.
65. PACIFIC RIM; ★★☆☆☆ • I think I would've enjoyed this movie more had I seen it in theaters, but I just could not get into/care about this movie.
66. DRINKING BUDDIES; ★★★☆☆ • Olivia Wilde surprised me by how good she was in this. I throughly enjoyed this and didn't want it to end.
67. THE WAY WAY BACK; ★★★☆☆½ • A great summer movie and a great performance by Sam Rockwell.
68. BYZANTIUM; ★★★☆☆ • Campy in the best way possible.
69. THE EAST; ★☆☆☆☆ • Absolute, unintentionally hilarious garbage.
70. ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO; ★★☆☆☆
71. CONCEPTION; ★☆☆☆☆
72. AND WHILE WE WERE HERE; ★★☆☆☆½ • I liked this even though it wasn't very good.
73. ARBITRAGE; ★★☆☆☆
74. HELL BABY; ★★☆☆☆ • This was funnier in the first half than it had any right to be.
75. THE BRASS TEAPOT; ★★☆☆☆½
76. NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON; ★☆☆☆☆ • Why.
77. SMASHED; ★★★☆☆½ • Extremely well-acted, I just felt more was needed at the end to make it feel fully earned.
78. THE CONJURING; ★★★☆☆ • I was so scared and had so much fun with the first half I'm choosing to ignore how it completely fell apart in the second half.
79. TOUCHY FEELY; ★★★☆☆ • Not sure how I feel about the film as a whole, but some of the smaller, quieter moments were so perfectly observed I'm still thinking about them.
80. BLING RING; ★☆☆☆☆
81. YOU'RE NEXT; ★★★☆☆ • THIS WAS SO FUN! I'm finally owning my weakness for slasher movies and this one hit all the tropes and beats I adore.
82. WORLD WAR Z; ★★★☆☆½ • Parts of this are so wildly stupid I'm still laughing at it, but I also loved a lot of what the film attempted to do (zombie pandemic on a global scale!) and I think the supporting performances went a long way to balance out Pitt's personality-free stoic hero role.
83. IRON MAN 3; ★☆☆☆☆½ • I hated so much about this movie lol but especially every dumb quippy line that came out of RDJ's mouth. It was too long, too wannabe-Batman-broody, with too many cloying kid characters, and not enough done with what I found to be the interesting part of the story: Guy Pearce and Rebecca Hall.
84. GRAVITY; ★★★☆☆ • Technically stunning but the script was so hollow and under-written I kept getting distracted by the lack of a story.
85. ON THE ROAD; ★★☆☆☆
86. BLANCANIEVES; ★★★★☆ • GORGEOUS and moving with such beautiful haunting images. Basically the silent film The Artist should've been.
87. THE INNOCENTS; ★★★★☆
88. SUSPIRA; ★★★☆☆
89. 2 DAYS IN PARIS; ★★★☆☆
90. SARAH'S KEY; ★★☆☆☆½ • Overly long film that loses so much steam by the end, but the first half of the film is solidly interesting, if not more than a little hackneyed.
91. LOVELACE; ★☆☆☆☆ • Garbage.
92. THE LONE RANGER; ★☆☆☆☆ • Even more garbage.
93. THE GREY; ★☆☆☆☆ • Garbage with wolves.
94. BREATHE IN; ★★☆☆☆ • A disappointing misuse of such a great cast to tell a story that has been told a thousand times before, and the telling here offers nothing new, except perhaps, a lack of a script.
95. WE ARE WHAT WE ARE; ★★★☆☆½ • Wonderfully creepy and horrifying with some great performances and an even greater use of setting.
96. AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS; ★★★★☆ • I loved every minute of this movies, especially the performances.
97. PARKLAND; ★★☆☆☆ • A waste of a great premise by being overpopulated with undeveloped stories or over-the-top performances.
98. THE WOMAN IN BLACK; ★★★☆☆
99. THE TO DO LIST; ★☆☆☆☆ • Dreadful movie buoyed by an even more dreadful lead performance.
100. DAYDREAM NATION; ★★★☆☆½
101. WE'RE THE MILLERS; ★★☆☆☆ • The greatest compliment I can pay this movie is that it wasn't as bad as I expected.
102. MAN OF STEEL; ★☆☆☆☆ • Blerghhhhhh.
103. PRISONERS; ★★★☆☆½ • Deeply unsettling film that stuck with me days afterwards.
104. FRANCES HA; ★★★★☆½ • Absolutely loved and absolutely over-identified with.
105. THE LAST DAYS ON MARS; ★★★☆☆½ • Much more enjoyable than I expected it to be, anchored by two great lead performances, even though it doesn't do much of anything original with the story.
106. HOW I LIVE NOW; ★☆☆☆☆ • idek, nothing about this story made sense to me?
107. VIOLET & DAISY; ★★★★☆ • Delightful and violent and charming in a super Bryan Fuller-sensibility.
108. THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE; ★★☆☆☆½ • The supporting characters are still the best part, but eh, it's still the Hunger Games.
109. INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2; ★☆☆☆☆
110. THE ICEMAN; ★★☆☆☆ • Boring, which is really the ultimate crime a movie about a notorious hitman can commit. The performances were great though.
111. THE HEAT; ★★★★☆ • SO. MUCH. FUN.
112. AMERICAN HUSTLE; ★★★☆☆ • Oddly instantly forgettable for me, though I loved both Amy Adams's costumes and Amy Adams as an actress in this.
113. RUSH; ★☆☆☆☆ • I hated this movie so much I'm pretty sure it borders on irrational. It was so serious it made me want to laugh the entire time.
114. THANKS FOR SHARING; ★★☆☆☆½ • This was a lot more moving than I thought it would be? There was a lot of heart, and I really liked Patrick Fugit in this, who I had forgot existed.
115. THE FAMILY; ★☆☆☆☆
116. THE GUILT TRIP; ★★☆☆☆½ • My mom really loved it?
B O O K S
1. THE SUBTLE KNIFE, Philip Pullman; ★★★☆☆½
2. TOP OF THE ROCK, Warren Littlefield; ★★★☆☆½ • Mostly fascinating look at the inside of television at the height of NBC's reign, though some parts came across as far too self-congratulatory.
3. THE AMBER SPYGLASS, Philip Pullman; ★★☆☆☆ • Hated the conclusion of this; so poorly written compared to everything that came before, too many new characters, too obvious yet illogical conclusions, ugh, not a fan.
4. THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE HER, Junot Diaz; ★★★★☆ • Gorgeously written; passages in it -- in particular the story of his first winter in the US -- made my heart ache.
5. THE LAST WEREWOLF, Glen Duncan; ☆☆☆☆☆ • I can't even give this stars I hated it so, so much.
6. THE SEANCE, John Hardwood; ★★★☆☆ • Good underlying story; not thrilled with the narrative devices used or the narrators in general.
7. WAR BRIDES, Helen Bryan; ☆☆☆☆☆ • What the fuck even how was this published. Poorly written, poor characterization, a weird exploitation of the horrors of WWII, idek what was happening in this book, but I know it was bad.
8. THE DARK ROOM, Rachel Seiffert; ★★★☆☆½ • Very blunt use of prose, but also incredibly effective; after seeing the film LORE, I found that the film was more satisfying than the story it was based on, but the stories told here were still interesting and captivating.
9. THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU, Jonathan Tropper; ★★★☆☆ • The narration got old after awhile, and I found myself more interested in the secondary characters than the narrator, and greatly disliked how the entire thing ended.
10. THE BOOK THIEF, Markus Zusak; ★★★★☆½ • Creative and heart-breaking with one hell of a narrative voice.
11. LAURA LAMONT'S LIFE IN PICTURES, Emma Straub; ★☆☆☆☆ • Terrible. Total abuse of the passive voice & it read like a wikipedia article about Hollywood's Golden Age.
12. LIFE AFTER LIFE, Kate Atkinson; ★★☆☆☆ • Tedious, and incredibly disappointing especially considering the interesting premise. No connection whatsover to the main character.
13. WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE, Maria Semple; ★★★★☆ • Funny and irreverent and a great, great read I devoured.
14. ABLUTIONS, Patrick deWitt; ★★★★☆ • Loved this book, loved deWitt's prose, and especially loved the setting and the cast of characters in this.
15. MAY WE BE FORGIVEN, A.M. Homes; ★★☆☆☆ • An interesting premise dragged out too long and populated with characters I never came to care about.
16. THE OBSERVATIONS, Jane Harris; ★★☆☆☆½ • I barely remember reading this, I just remember being bored.
17. NOS4A2, Joe Hill; ★★★☆☆½ • A fun, old school Stephen King-esque (heh) horror romp.
18. THE INVISIBLE CIRCUS, Jennifer Egan; ★★★★☆½ • Absolutely loved; I'm such a huge fan of Egan's writing and this book is the perfect example why.
19. THE SHOEMAKER'S WIFE, Adriana Trigiani; ★☆☆☆☆½ • Ugh. A total disappointment of what could have, and should have, been a really great story.
20. SHADOW AND BONE, Leigh Bardugo; ★★☆☆☆½ • Typical YA fantasy business.
21. SIEGE AND STORM, Leigh Bardugo; ★★☆☆☆ • Even more typical YA fantasy business. Was there a love triangle? Probably.
22. ROSEMARY'S BABY, Ira Levin; ★★★★☆
23. A SPY IN THE HOUSE OF LOVE, Anaïs Nin; ★★☆☆☆½
24. THE CHOCOLATE MONEY, Ashley Prentice Norton; ★★☆☆☆½ • This should've been more fun that it was.
25. THIS ONE IS MINE, Maria Semple; ★☆☆☆☆ • Total garbage.
26. WEDDING NIGHT, Sophia Kinsella; ☆☆☆☆☆½ • Impossibly bad; this is why "chick lit" gets a bad name.
27. CHANEL BONFIRE, Wendy Lawless; ★★☆☆☆ • Eh.
28. STAY AWAKE, Dan Chaon; ★★★★☆ • Dark, strange stories buoyed by Chaon's great narrative voice and prose.
29. AN UNEXPECTED GUEST, Anne Korkeakivi; ★★☆☆☆ • The whole thing was dragged down by flashbacks to her pseudo-IRA past that never really amounted to anything.
30. ARCADIA, Lauren Groff; ★★★☆☆
31. THE EXECUTION OF NOA P. SINGLETON, Elizabeth L. Silver; ★★☆☆☆ • Hated everything about the end reveal and that ruined the entire book for me.
32. RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA, Kimberly McCreight; ★☆☆☆☆ • Garbage. Played out like the world's longest episode of Law and Order: SVU.
33. THE IMPOSSIBLE LIVES OF GRETA WELLS, Andrew Sean Greer; ★☆☆☆☆½ • Zero characterization and a story that made zero sense and had zero stakes, it made time travel boring and mundane. Also the protagonist's obsession with her dead brother was tiresome, to say the least.
34. THE INTERESTINGS, Meg Wolitizer; ★★☆☆☆ • Wholly unlikeable characters and a writer with a tin ear for dialogue, I couldn't wait for this to be over.
35. HIGH-STATUS CHARACTERS, Brian Raftery; ★★★★☆ • Such a fun read. My only complaint is that I wanted more.
36. NIGHT FILM, Marisha Pessl; ★★★☆☆ • The more I think about this book, the less I like it. It's a great concept but the underlying mystery doesn't hold enough water to justify all the intrigue.
37. AWAIT YOUR REPLY, Dan Chaon; ★★★★☆
38. FIN & LADY, Cathleen Schine; ★★★☆☆ • The charm wore off this novel quickly as the story went on.
39. THE SON, Philipp Meyer, ★★☆☆☆ • A solid and promising start veered off into generic stories of the West with interchangeable voices and shaky characterization.
40. KNOCKEMSTIFF, Donald Ray Pollock, ★★★★☆ • Violent and horrific stories told matter-of-factly - I loved it all.
41. SEATING ARRANGEMENTS, Maggie Shipstead, ★★☆☆☆½ • The characters in this were too noxious to make this an enjoyable read; the father character in particular brought the whole story down for me.
42. SOMEDAY, SOMEDAY, MAYBE, Lauren Graham, ★★☆☆☆ • Ehhhhhhh, basically what would happen if Lorelai Gilmore wrote a book about a struggling actress.
43. THE THIEF, Megan Whalen Turner, ★★★☆☆½ • Thoroughly enjoyable and fun, which reminds me, I need to finish the rest of the series at some point.
44. THE YONAHLOSSEE RIDING CAMP FOR GIRLS, Anton DiSclafani, ★★★☆☆ • The setting was easily my favorite part of the book. There's a truly interesting story buried somewhere in here - I found the interactions b/t the brother and sister the most convincing and intriguing - but the rest of it fell flat.
45. DIFFICULT MEN, Brett Martin, ★★★★☆ • Engaging read about the rise and plateau of "The Third Golden Age" of television. The book is heavy on information about The Sopranos, but was a fascinating and inspiring read.
46. THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND, JoJo Meyers, ★★★☆☆ • A pleasant read (and also informative about a bit of history I personally didn't know a lot about) but also pretty forgettable.
47. LET'S EXPLORE DIABETES WITH OWLS, David Sedaris, ★★★☆☆ • There are a couple really great essays, but the others were okay; not my favorite of his books.
48. S., Doug Dorst & JJ Abrams, ★☆☆☆☆½ • The conceit of this is WONDERFUL and fun and interactive - the actual execution is another story. The two readers set in present day are whiny to the point of unbearable and the "hidden mystery" is ultimately super disappointing.
49. THE AFTERMATH, Rhidian Brooks, ★★★★☆ • Wonderful prose and wonderful voices set in Germany in 1946. My only wish is that the ending had not been as rushed.
50. LONGBOURN, Jo Baker, ★★★★☆ • I love so much how Baker took the story of Pride and Prejudice and inserted these characters and their stories into it.
51. THE REVOLUTION WAS TELEVISED, Alan Sepinwall, ★★★★☆ • I just love reading about television so much.
T E L E V I S I O N
1. IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, Season 8; ★★★★☆½ • "The Gang Gets Analyzed" (or whatever it was called) easily ranks as one of my all-time favorite episodes.
2. GIRLS, Season 2; currently watching
3. BOB'S BURGERS, Season 3; currently watching
4. HAPPY ENDINGS, Season 3; currently watching
5. ELEMENTARY, Season 1; currently watching
6. AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASLYUM; ★★★☆☆ • lol what a coconuts season hahahaha. I found the finale really effective tho?
7. THE MINDY PROJECT, Season 1; currently watching
8. NEW GIRL, Season 2; currently watching
9. 30 ROCK, Season 7; ★★★★★ • WHAT A GREAT FINALE SEASON! Oh, I'll miss you, show! But what a way to go; some of my favorite episodes were aired this season and I'm glad it went out on a high (and surprisingly moving!) note.
10. ER, Season 1; ★★★☆☆½ • So early 90s, man! Some great stuff in it, and you can totally see the groundwork laid for a lot of drama series that came after.
11. LOUIE, Season 1; ★★★★☆½ • That scene from the finale w/Louie and his daughters as the scene bleeds into NY at sunrise was incredible; hysterically funny show w/great moments like that.
12. HOUSE OF CARDS, Season 1; currently watching
13. RIPPER STREET, Season 1; currently watching
14. UTOPIA, Series 1; ★★★★★ • PHENOMENAL. I am still blown away by this series, from its great visuals to fantastic character work. Eager for a second series.
15. ER, Season 2; ★★★☆☆½ • So much of this series reminds me of early TWW, which I guess makes sense considering John Wells involvement; some good stuff but also a lot of heavy-handed stuff haha.
16. ENLIGHTENED, Season 2; ★★★★★ • This show has such an incredible way of building emotion, often catching you off-guard when it all finally hits with a wallop, and managed to be equal parts hilarious, up-lifting, and heartbreaking. Fingers crossed for a third season, but that finale works marvelously as a series finale.
17. BENT, Season 1; ★★★★☆ • WHY WAS THIS CANCELLED, NBC?!?!? Fun, great dialogue, and great performances (especially David Walton and Amanda Peet!), so I'm bummed.
F I L M
1. LES MISERABLES; ★☆☆☆☆½ • "Miserable" is the operative word! Really, really liked Eddie Redmayne and really liked when the focus was on him and his French Revolution buds, but goddddddd, the rest of this was tedious, horribly shot, and not all that impressively sung. idgi.
2. SKYFALL; ★★★★☆ • A touch overlong, but probably my favorite Bond movie. LOVED Moneypenny; needed more of her!
3. BIG MIRACLE; ★☆☆☆☆ • Fuckin' whales and Jim Halpert and 1980s Veronica Mars, man.
4. THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES; ★★★☆☆½ • Fascinating (and sometimes hilarious, sometimes unsettling) deconstruction of the American dream gone big time awry.
5. THE DEEP BLUE SEA; ★★★☆☆ • Incredibly slow at the start, and not entirely sure how I feel about the film as whole, but there are some truly great moments scattered throughout and Rachel Weisz's performance is fantastic.
6. THE GIRL; ★★☆☆☆ • Some great cinematography, not much else going for it.
7. ZERO DARK THIRTY; ★★★☆☆½ • Really disjointed and poor pacing throughout (and an incredibly long run-time), though the performances were great, I found myself wanting more at the end.
8. HICK; ★☆☆☆☆ • Good god, this was terrible in ways I can't even begin to state (like TIDELAND if TIDELAND had a terrible lead actress and a whole lot of rape-y business). One star for Eddie Redmayne as a cowboy, the end.
9. SAFE HOUSE; ★☆☆☆☆ • Denzel is Denzel, man. But this movie, and Ryan Reynolds, is the poorest of poor men's Jason Bourne.
10. HYSTERIA; ★☆☆☆☆ • Who knew the invention of the vibrator was so boring?
11. JANE EYRE; ★★★★☆ • Loved this. Mia Wasikowska was so good and her chemistry with Fassbender was bonkers; made me wish I had liked the book more.
12. MARGARET; ★★☆☆☆½ • There was a whole lot of yelling happening in this movie; parts of it were really great but other parts I just wanted to end.
13. TRUST THE MAN; ☆☆☆☆☆½ • So ungodly bad, made all the worse considering that cast.
14. ANNA KARENINA; ★★☆☆☆½ • Strangely emotionally sterile, despite the gorgeous production values; also, ugh Aaron Johnson, such bad casting.
15. SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS; ★★★★☆ • Really, really enjoyed, was an absolute blast.
16. SECRETARY; ★☆☆☆☆½ • Was so so irritated by Maggie Gyllenhaal's character. idk, this movie did nothing for me.
17. SAVAGE GRACE; ★★☆☆☆½ • lol what a movie (mother-son banging-bonding!); Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore were outstanding tho, as was Stephan Dillane's moustache.
18. PAGE EIGHT; ★★☆☆☆ • Yawn.
19. SAVE THE DATE; ★★☆☆☆½ • Absolutely loved Lizzy Caplan's performance, and Mark Webber's and Martin Starr's, but found my love for the film was undone by Alison Brie's character as well as the ex-bf character, and the narrative choices in the last act.
20. CEMETERY JUNCTION; ★★★☆☆½ • What a pleasant surprise of a movie! I was charmed!
21. CHERÍ; ★★☆☆☆½ • A rather tedious love story, but Michelle Pfeiffer was on point.
22. BUTTER; ★★☆☆☆½ • Pleasantly charmed by this dumb movie and I had not expected that!
23. BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS MEN; ★★☆☆☆ • Eh.
24. MAMA; ★☆☆☆☆½ • So, so bad lol; minimal scares, the "ghost" looked absurd, and Jessica Chastain just seemed weirdly cast in it.
25. WRECK-IT RALPH; ★★★☆☆ • Cute!
26. THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT; ☆☆☆☆☆½ • Hated, hated it so much omg, these least likable people in the world, I could not care less about their delayed nuptials.
27. BARBARA; ★★★★☆ • Nina Hoss is incredible in the title role.
28. COMPLIANCE; ★★★☆☆ • Insane true story that is incredibly uncomfortable and disturbing to watch play out; Ann Dowd was fantastic.
29. ANTIVIRAL; ★★★★☆ • WHAT A STRANGE, CREEPY, GORGEOUSLY SHOT FILM! Caleb Landry Jones is fantastic and the cinematography was A+.
30. 28 HOTEL ROOMS; ★★☆☆☆ • Bland unlikeable lead characters killed what was a great premise.
31. THE DISH & THE SPOON; ★★★★☆ • Odd, but buoyed by such great performances by Gerwig and Alexander.
32. DJANGO UNCHAINED; ★★★☆☆½ • Overly long, but I greatly enjoyed it; the entire cast is incredible, especially Waltz, and the soundtrack is bonkers good.
33. IDENTITY THIEF; ★★☆☆☆½ • Dumb, but had its charms. Not sure what that says about me as a human.
34. SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK; ★☆☆☆☆½ • Underwhelming, to say the least, punctuated by odd editing choices, loud performances, and an almost offensive handling of mental illness.
35. AMOUR; ★★★★☆ • OUCH. Painful at times to watch and utterly heartbreaking. Old age sucks, man.
36. TENNESSEE; ★☆☆☆☆ • idk what the budget was for this, but I'm guessing $5. A waste of a good cast, and I'm including Mariah Carey in that group.
37. TOWER HEIST; ★★☆☆☆ • I already forgot everything about this movie other than my deep and sudden attraction to Casey Affleck.
38. I'M STILL HERE; ★☆☆☆☆ • Why.
39. MANSOME; ★☆☆☆☆ • The single star is for the Bateman and Arnett scenes and that is all.
40. LORE; ★★★★★ • A visually stunning film; Saskia Rosendahl's performance is incredible, as is the chemistry in this film; was haunted for days by this.
41. THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER; ★★★☆☆½ • Enjoyable, w/a great performance by Ezra Miller and a surprisingly intensely moving ending.
42. FLIGHT; ★★☆☆☆ • After an intense first 20 min, I lost interest in the film when it became a rote -- and understandably unlikeable -- story of addiction.
43. STOKER; ★★☆☆☆½ The visuals on display in this were incredible, which makes the weak script all the more disappointing; I wanted, and expected, more.
44. THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL; ★★☆☆☆½ • Totally cheesy, but also, curiously, totally enjoyable.
45. A SIMPLE PLAN; ★★★★☆
46. COSMOPOLIS; ★★★☆☆½
47. LIFE OF PI; ★★★☆☆½ • Stunningly beautiful and emotional film anchored by a great lead performance, though I unfortunately lost a good amount of interest by the end.
48. LITTLE BIRDS; ★☆☆☆☆½ • Surprise murder and stuff? idek, did not care for any of it except Leslie Mann & Kate Bosworth's small roles.
49. NOBODY WALKS; ★☆☆☆☆½ • Blech.
50. ROCK OF AGES; ☆☆☆☆☆ • No.
51. ROOM 237; ★★★★☆ • Such an interesting documentary! I have such a soft-spot for conspiracy theories and enjoyed the exploration of them surrounding The Shining so, so much.
52. DARK SKIES; ★☆☆☆☆ • So dumb.
53. CLUE; ★★★★☆
54. I GIVE IT A YEAR; ★☆☆☆☆½ • Completely unlikeable "rom-com" that felt like it was 4 hrs long.
55. THE GREAT GATSBY; ★★★☆☆ • I know everyone hated this, but I weirdly enjoyed the crap out of this dumb, over-the-top movie.
56. SIDE EFFECTS; ★★★☆☆ • Good performance by Mara, and the entire thing had a great throwback noir feel to it, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
57. FUNNY FACE; ★★★☆☆
58. CRACKS; ★★★☆☆½
59. BLACK ROCK; ★★☆☆☆
60 VALLEY OF THE DOLLS; ★★☆☆☆
61. BEHIND THE CANDELABRA; LOL
62. WARM BODIES; ★★★☆☆ • A pleasantly delightful surprise!
63. FAST & THE FURIOUS 6; ★★☆☆☆ • lol this movie; fun to watch but so amazing stupid.
64. THIS IS THE END; ★★★★☆ • Amazing. I literally laughed until I cried.
65. PACIFIC RIM; ★★☆☆☆ • I think I would've enjoyed this movie more had I seen it in theaters, but I just could not get into/care about this movie.
66. DRINKING BUDDIES; ★★★☆☆ • Olivia Wilde surprised me by how good she was in this. I throughly enjoyed this and didn't want it to end.
67. THE WAY WAY BACK; ★★★☆☆½ • A great summer movie and a great performance by Sam Rockwell.
68. BYZANTIUM; ★★★☆☆ • Campy in the best way possible.
69. THE EAST; ★☆☆☆☆ • Absolute, unintentionally hilarious garbage.
70. ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO; ★★☆☆☆
71. CONCEPTION; ★☆☆☆☆
72. AND WHILE WE WERE HERE; ★★☆☆☆½ • I liked this even though it wasn't very good.
73. ARBITRAGE; ★★☆☆☆
74. HELL BABY; ★★☆☆☆ • This was funnier in the first half than it had any right to be.
75. THE BRASS TEAPOT; ★★☆☆☆½
76. NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON; ★☆☆☆☆ • Why.
77. SMASHED; ★★★☆☆½ • Extremely well-acted, I just felt more was needed at the end to make it feel fully earned.
78. THE CONJURING; ★★★☆☆ • I was so scared and had so much fun with the first half I'm choosing to ignore how it completely fell apart in the second half.
79. TOUCHY FEELY; ★★★☆☆ • Not sure how I feel about the film as a whole, but some of the smaller, quieter moments were so perfectly observed I'm still thinking about them.
80. BLING RING; ★☆☆☆☆
81. YOU'RE NEXT; ★★★☆☆ • THIS WAS SO FUN! I'm finally owning my weakness for slasher movies and this one hit all the tropes and beats I adore.
82. WORLD WAR Z; ★★★☆☆½ • Parts of this are so wildly stupid I'm still laughing at it, but I also loved a lot of what the film attempted to do (zombie pandemic on a global scale!) and I think the supporting performances went a long way to balance out Pitt's personality-free stoic hero role.
83. IRON MAN 3; ★☆☆☆☆½ • I hated so much about this movie lol but especially every dumb quippy line that came out of RDJ's mouth. It was too long, too wannabe-Batman-broody, with too many cloying kid characters, and not enough done with what I found to be the interesting part of the story: Guy Pearce and Rebecca Hall.
84. GRAVITY; ★★★☆☆ • Technically stunning but the script was so hollow and under-written I kept getting distracted by the lack of a story.
85. ON THE ROAD; ★★☆☆☆
86. BLANCANIEVES; ★★★★☆ • GORGEOUS and moving with such beautiful haunting images. Basically the silent film The Artist should've been.
87. THE INNOCENTS; ★★★★☆
88. SUSPIRA; ★★★☆☆
89. 2 DAYS IN PARIS; ★★★☆☆
90. SARAH'S KEY; ★★☆☆☆½ • Overly long film that loses so much steam by the end, but the first half of the film is solidly interesting, if not more than a little hackneyed.
91. LOVELACE; ★☆☆☆☆ • Garbage.
92. THE LONE RANGER; ★☆☆☆☆ • Even more garbage.
93. THE GREY; ★☆☆☆☆ • Garbage with wolves.
94. BREATHE IN; ★★☆☆☆ • A disappointing misuse of such a great cast to tell a story that has been told a thousand times before, and the telling here offers nothing new, except perhaps, a lack of a script.
95. WE ARE WHAT WE ARE; ★★★☆☆½ • Wonderfully creepy and horrifying with some great performances and an even greater use of setting.
96. AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS; ★★★★☆ • I loved every minute of this movies, especially the performances.
97. PARKLAND; ★★☆☆☆ • A waste of a great premise by being overpopulated with undeveloped stories or over-the-top performances.
98. THE WOMAN IN BLACK; ★★★☆☆
99. THE TO DO LIST; ★☆☆☆☆ • Dreadful movie buoyed by an even more dreadful lead performance.
100. DAYDREAM NATION; ★★★☆☆½
101. WE'RE THE MILLERS; ★★☆☆☆ • The greatest compliment I can pay this movie is that it wasn't as bad as I expected.
102. MAN OF STEEL; ★☆☆☆☆ • Blerghhhhhh.
103. PRISONERS; ★★★☆☆½ • Deeply unsettling film that stuck with me days afterwards.
104. FRANCES HA; ★★★★☆½ • Absolutely loved and absolutely over-identified with.
105. THE LAST DAYS ON MARS; ★★★☆☆½ • Much more enjoyable than I expected it to be, anchored by two great lead performances, even though it doesn't do much of anything original with the story.
106. HOW I LIVE NOW; ★☆☆☆☆ • idek, nothing about this story made sense to me?
107. VIOLET & DAISY; ★★★★☆ • Delightful and violent and charming in a super Bryan Fuller-sensibility.
108. THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE; ★★☆☆☆½ • The supporting characters are still the best part, but eh, it's still the Hunger Games.
109. INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2; ★☆☆☆☆
110. THE ICEMAN; ★★☆☆☆ • Boring, which is really the ultimate crime a movie about a notorious hitman can commit. The performances were great though.
111. THE HEAT; ★★★★☆ • SO. MUCH. FUN.
112. AMERICAN HUSTLE; ★★★☆☆ • Oddly instantly forgettable for me, though I loved both Amy Adams's costumes and Amy Adams as an actress in this.
113. RUSH; ★☆☆☆☆ • I hated this movie so much I'm pretty sure it borders on irrational. It was so serious it made me want to laugh the entire time.
114. THANKS FOR SHARING; ★★☆☆☆½ • This was a lot more moving than I thought it would be? There was a lot of heart, and I really liked Patrick Fugit in this, who I had forgot existed.
115. THE FAMILY; ★☆☆☆☆
116. THE GUILT TRIP; ★★☆☆☆½ • My mom really loved it?
B O O K S
1. THE SUBTLE KNIFE, Philip Pullman; ★★★☆☆½
2. TOP OF THE ROCK, Warren Littlefield; ★★★☆☆½ • Mostly fascinating look at the inside of television at the height of NBC's reign, though some parts came across as far too self-congratulatory.
3. THE AMBER SPYGLASS, Philip Pullman; ★★☆☆☆ • Hated the conclusion of this; so poorly written compared to everything that came before, too many new characters, too obvious yet illogical conclusions, ugh, not a fan.
4. THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE HER, Junot Diaz; ★★★★☆ • Gorgeously written; passages in it -- in particular the story of his first winter in the US -- made my heart ache.
5. THE LAST WEREWOLF, Glen Duncan; ☆☆☆☆☆ • I can't even give this stars I hated it so, so much.
6. THE SEANCE, John Hardwood; ★★★☆☆ • Good underlying story; not thrilled with the narrative devices used or the narrators in general.
7. WAR BRIDES, Helen Bryan; ☆☆☆☆☆ • What the fuck even how was this published. Poorly written, poor characterization, a weird exploitation of the horrors of WWII, idek what was happening in this book, but I know it was bad.
8. THE DARK ROOM, Rachel Seiffert; ★★★☆☆½ • Very blunt use of prose, but also incredibly effective; after seeing the film LORE, I found that the film was more satisfying than the story it was based on, but the stories told here were still interesting and captivating.
9. THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU, Jonathan Tropper; ★★★☆☆ • The narration got old after awhile, and I found myself more interested in the secondary characters than the narrator, and greatly disliked how the entire thing ended.
10. THE BOOK THIEF, Markus Zusak; ★★★★☆½ • Creative and heart-breaking with one hell of a narrative voice.
11. LAURA LAMONT'S LIFE IN PICTURES, Emma Straub; ★☆☆☆☆ • Terrible. Total abuse of the passive voice & it read like a wikipedia article about Hollywood's Golden Age.
12. LIFE AFTER LIFE, Kate Atkinson; ★★☆☆☆ • Tedious, and incredibly disappointing especially considering the interesting premise. No connection whatsover to the main character.
13. WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE, Maria Semple; ★★★★☆ • Funny and irreverent and a great, great read I devoured.
14. ABLUTIONS, Patrick deWitt; ★★★★☆ • Loved this book, loved deWitt's prose, and especially loved the setting and the cast of characters in this.
15. MAY WE BE FORGIVEN, A.M. Homes; ★★☆☆☆ • An interesting premise dragged out too long and populated with characters I never came to care about.
16. THE OBSERVATIONS, Jane Harris; ★★☆☆☆½ • I barely remember reading this, I just remember being bored.
17. NOS4A2, Joe Hill; ★★★☆☆½ • A fun, old school Stephen King-esque (heh) horror romp.
18. THE INVISIBLE CIRCUS, Jennifer Egan; ★★★★☆½ • Absolutely loved; I'm such a huge fan of Egan's writing and this book is the perfect example why.
19. THE SHOEMAKER'S WIFE, Adriana Trigiani; ★☆☆☆☆½ • Ugh. A total disappointment of what could have, and should have, been a really great story.
20. SHADOW AND BONE, Leigh Bardugo; ★★☆☆☆½ • Typical YA fantasy business.
21. SIEGE AND STORM, Leigh Bardugo; ★★☆☆☆ • Even more typical YA fantasy business. Was there a love triangle? Probably.
22. ROSEMARY'S BABY, Ira Levin; ★★★★☆
23. A SPY IN THE HOUSE OF LOVE, Anaïs Nin; ★★☆☆☆½
24. THE CHOCOLATE MONEY, Ashley Prentice Norton; ★★☆☆☆½ • This should've been more fun that it was.
25. THIS ONE IS MINE, Maria Semple; ★☆☆☆☆ • Total garbage.
26. WEDDING NIGHT, Sophia Kinsella; ☆☆☆☆☆½ • Impossibly bad; this is why "chick lit" gets a bad name.
27. CHANEL BONFIRE, Wendy Lawless; ★★☆☆☆ • Eh.
28. STAY AWAKE, Dan Chaon; ★★★★☆ • Dark, strange stories buoyed by Chaon's great narrative voice and prose.
29. AN UNEXPECTED GUEST, Anne Korkeakivi; ★★☆☆☆ • The whole thing was dragged down by flashbacks to her pseudo-IRA past that never really amounted to anything.
30. ARCADIA, Lauren Groff; ★★★☆☆
31. THE EXECUTION OF NOA P. SINGLETON, Elizabeth L. Silver; ★★☆☆☆ • Hated everything about the end reveal and that ruined the entire book for me.
32. RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA, Kimberly McCreight; ★☆☆☆☆ • Garbage. Played out like the world's longest episode of Law and Order: SVU.
33. THE IMPOSSIBLE LIVES OF GRETA WELLS, Andrew Sean Greer; ★☆☆☆☆½ • Zero characterization and a story that made zero sense and had zero stakes, it made time travel boring and mundane. Also the protagonist's obsession with her dead brother was tiresome, to say the least.
34. THE INTERESTINGS, Meg Wolitizer; ★★☆☆☆ • Wholly unlikeable characters and a writer with a tin ear for dialogue, I couldn't wait for this to be over.
35. HIGH-STATUS CHARACTERS, Brian Raftery; ★★★★☆ • Such a fun read. My only complaint is that I wanted more.
36. NIGHT FILM, Marisha Pessl; ★★★☆☆ • The more I think about this book, the less I like it. It's a great concept but the underlying mystery doesn't hold enough water to justify all the intrigue.
37. AWAIT YOUR REPLY, Dan Chaon; ★★★★☆
38. FIN & LADY, Cathleen Schine; ★★★☆☆ • The charm wore off this novel quickly as the story went on.
39. THE SON, Philipp Meyer, ★★☆☆☆ • A solid and promising start veered off into generic stories of the West with interchangeable voices and shaky characterization.
40. KNOCKEMSTIFF, Donald Ray Pollock, ★★★★☆ • Violent and horrific stories told matter-of-factly - I loved it all.
41. SEATING ARRANGEMENTS, Maggie Shipstead, ★★☆☆☆½ • The characters in this were too noxious to make this an enjoyable read; the father character in particular brought the whole story down for me.
42. SOMEDAY, SOMEDAY, MAYBE, Lauren Graham, ★★☆☆☆ • Ehhhhhhh, basically what would happen if Lorelai Gilmore wrote a book about a struggling actress.
43. THE THIEF, Megan Whalen Turner, ★★★☆☆½ • Thoroughly enjoyable and fun, which reminds me, I need to finish the rest of the series at some point.
44. THE YONAHLOSSEE RIDING CAMP FOR GIRLS, Anton DiSclafani, ★★★☆☆ • The setting was easily my favorite part of the book. There's a truly interesting story buried somewhere in here - I found the interactions b/t the brother and sister the most convincing and intriguing - but the rest of it fell flat.
45. DIFFICULT MEN, Brett Martin, ★★★★☆ • Engaging read about the rise and plateau of "The Third Golden Age" of television. The book is heavy on information about The Sopranos, but was a fascinating and inspiring read.
46. THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND, JoJo Meyers, ★★★☆☆ • A pleasant read (and also informative about a bit of history I personally didn't know a lot about) but also pretty forgettable.
47. LET'S EXPLORE DIABETES WITH OWLS, David Sedaris, ★★★☆☆ • There are a couple really great essays, but the others were okay; not my favorite of his books.
48. S., Doug Dorst & JJ Abrams, ★☆☆☆☆½ • The conceit of this is WONDERFUL and fun and interactive - the actual execution is another story. The two readers set in present day are whiny to the point of unbearable and the "hidden mystery" is ultimately super disappointing.
49. THE AFTERMATH, Rhidian Brooks, ★★★★☆ • Wonderful prose and wonderful voices set in Germany in 1946. My only wish is that the ending had not been as rushed.
50. LONGBOURN, Jo Baker, ★★★★☆ • I love so much how Baker took the story of Pride and Prejudice and inserted these characters and their stories into it.
51. THE REVOLUTION WAS TELEVISED, Alan Sepinwall, ★★★★☆ • I just love reading about television so much.
T E L E V I S I O N
1. IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, Season 8; ★★★★☆½ • "The Gang Gets Analyzed" (or whatever it was called) easily ranks as one of my all-time favorite episodes.
2. GIRLS, Season 2; currently watching
3. BOB'S BURGERS, Season 3; currently watching
4. HAPPY ENDINGS, Season 3; currently watching
5. ELEMENTARY, Season 1; currently watching
6. AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASLYUM; ★★★☆☆ • lol what a coconuts season hahahaha. I found the finale really effective tho?
7. THE MINDY PROJECT, Season 1; currently watching
8. NEW GIRL, Season 2; currently watching
9. 30 ROCK, Season 7; ★★★★★ • WHAT A GREAT FINALE SEASON! Oh, I'll miss you, show! But what a way to go; some of my favorite episodes were aired this season and I'm glad it went out on a high (and surprisingly moving!) note.
10. ER, Season 1; ★★★☆☆½ • So early 90s, man! Some great stuff in it, and you can totally see the groundwork laid for a lot of drama series that came after.
11. LOUIE, Season 1; ★★★★☆½ • That scene from the finale w/Louie and his daughters as the scene bleeds into NY at sunrise was incredible; hysterically funny show w/great moments like that.
12. HOUSE OF CARDS, Season 1; currently watching
13. RIPPER STREET, Season 1; currently watching
14. UTOPIA, Series 1; ★★★★★ • PHENOMENAL. I am still blown away by this series, from its great visuals to fantastic character work. Eager for a second series.
15. ER, Season 2; ★★★☆☆½ • So much of this series reminds me of early TWW, which I guess makes sense considering John Wells involvement; some good stuff but also a lot of heavy-handed stuff haha.
16. ENLIGHTENED, Season 2; ★★★★★ • This show has such an incredible way of building emotion, often catching you off-guard when it all finally hits with a wallop, and managed to be equal parts hilarious, up-lifting, and heartbreaking. Fingers crossed for a third season, but that finale works marvelously as a series finale.
17. BENT, Season 1; ★★★★☆ • WHY WAS THIS CANCELLED, NBC?!?!? Fun, great dialogue, and great performances (especially David Walton and Amanda Peet!), so I'm bummed.