#like pluto or tubi or something

[stingyslegslookweird]

i saw this at the top of my tumblr feed and legit thought for half a second that tumblr staff used ankh in one of their ads.

something something reality is often disappointing.

[sailormoonrewatch]

Welcome to the 2024 Sailor Moon Rewatch!

Every week, we collectively watch four episodes of the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (1992) anime. Participants then discuss, celebrate, and create around those four episodes and tag their posts with #SailorMoonRewatch2024. By the end of 2024, we will have rewatched all 200 episodes!

What do I do?

You can engage as much or as little as you'd like. After watching (up to & including) the current week's episodes, you can reply to the discussion posts made on this blog, or make your own posts! Tagged posts have a chance of being reblogged here.

Did you take the perfect screencaps? Did you think a particular scene was funny, moving, intriguing, or fell flat? Has an episode changed or strengthened your perception of a character? Did something in the episode inspire you to draw, write, cook, edit, sew, sculpt, or otherwise make something? Did you realise you can perfectly closet-cosplay an outfit from one of the newest episodes? Have you themed your TV snacks around an upcoming plot? That's exactly the kind of stuff we want to see in the tag!

But, if you'd prefer, you're also welcome to simply sit back and scroll through the blog/tag, liking posts as you watch the series alongside everyone.

Where can I watch Sailor Moon?

Legally, you can purchase Viz's new official DVDs or Blu-rays, or you can stream the series on Hulu, Tubi, or Pluto TV.

Which version of Sailor Moon is this rewatch for?

This rewatch is about the first anime series, "Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon" (1992) aka "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon" (1992), not Sailor Moon Crystal (2014) - though if this rewatch is successful, there may be a group Crystal rewatch in the future!

Do I have to watch a specific dub?

Not at all! This sub uses the official Viz translations of episode titles, but you are free to watch in any release of any language dub. You can watch subtitled in Japanese, you can watch the old Dic/Cloverway dubs, or you can watch in any dubbed language you like.

If the rewatch covers an episode that was cut from the dub you're watching, you can elect to simply skip that episode or temporarily swap to a different dub/sub.

What if I get ahead of the rewatch?

That's fine! We just ask that you keep your tagged posts to the current episodes. Part of the goal of this event is to introduce new viewers to the series, and keeping to the schedule helps these first-time Moonies avoid spoilers. If you want to watch ahead, save up your notes/art/etc and then post them here when the relevant week comes 'round. That's what makes it a group event!

What if I'm late or get behind?

That's also fine! You can jump in any time and catch up on missed episodes at your leisure, or choose to simply start at whatever episode the rewatch is up to and fill in the gaps for yourself.

Similarly, you can choose to skip any episodes at any time for any reason. Episodes will be flagged with relevant content warnings in the week's introduction post.

The first four episodes will be covered over the first two weeks of 2024 in order to give people more time to join. After this, each single week will typically cover four episodes. You can see the full schedule here!

[blazehedgehog]

Sitting here watching a 24/7 Power Rangers live channel on Roku and ruminating on the problems we're seeing in the tech industry's strategy of "we'll build it first and worry about the money later"

This Power Rangers channel has had four ad breaks now and across all of them, only a single ad (for the OLED Switch) has ever played. They're thankfully smart enough not to just rerun the same ad over and over every break, but that means a lot of these "ad" breaks are just the above art with a countdown timer and nothing else.

And these kinds of live channels are a big deal right now. It started out with Pluto TV years ago, but now most major streaming platforms have a "Live TV" option with a selection of the same handful of core streaming channels (Unsolved Mysteries, MST3K, pocket.watch, FailArmy, Shout Factory, etc.) plus some unique ones for flavor. Pluto gets a lot of Viacom stuff, Tubi gets a lot of Lionsgate and Fox stuff, the Roku App itself seems to get a little bit of everything, and recently the Plex app launched a live TV guide with some deeply obscure, weird channels (like, so weird the channel guide doesn't even say what the channel is airing; you just have to look and see, and every time I do, it's something I've never even heard of before, like Sleepstalker).

It's all the benefits of channel surfing on cable like the old days, but without the $60-$100+ bill every month. But now I find myself wondering... how are they making money? How many of these channels are like Power Rangers where they run ad breaks that aren't actually ad breaks at all and are just a placeholder countdown banner? That's dead weight, isn't it?

Like, I'm the kind of person that loves dumpster diving through this stuff. I mentioned Sleepstalker earlier -- that's not a good movie, and I sat through almost all of it just because it was the right kind of weird for the middle of the night.

I just wonder how long we're going to have 200+ free movie/TV streaming channels spread out across 5-6 apps before the whole thing implodes.

[shamrock313]

Cillian Murphy General Reading

This reading is for entertainment purposes. Please take everything you read with a grain of salt. Enjoy!

I'm a fan of Cillian. I love sitting down and watching Breakfast on Pluto or Red Eye. I use to have Peaky Blinder nights with my friends and I love that he's a not that big of an actor. I gotta say when Barbenheimer happened that was the BEST marketing ever for these two movies.

I might have to put Bill movies aside (again) and have a Cillian marathon. Sorry Bill fans, but Cillian came first. I swear whenever I try to watch something Bill or Evan related, something better comes on like I can't watch American Crime over The Mummy (Brendan version). I can't just not watch it!!!! It's THE MUMMY!!!!!

For those who haven't seen it. I think its still on Tubi. You need to watch is asap. The first and second. Don't watch the third Mummy. I barley remember it. I just know I went to sleep on it in the theaters.

Career: 2oS + Sun + Lovers = "Choosing between jobs. Debating on what projects to take on". With the Sun and Lover that means people took an interest in him and want him involved in their project because he's a "big name" and it might draw audience in. Taking on significant roles. Perhaps more leading roles? They want this, I don't know if he does though. Depends on him. He doesn't care. If he takes it, he'll be paid well. Risk of romantic feelings on set (?) Maybe some flirtation.

Love Life: Cillian POV: 3oS, 9oC, Strength, 5oW = 3oS "unwanted 3rd party coming in between relationships". Argument/ conflicts. 5oW "competition between suitors" "conflict between lovers" Fighting for relationship. "Love you and doesn't want to walk away". He and his wife need to communicate the issues that come between them during Oppenheimer. If they don't this could possibly ruin them. Now, with the 9oC + Strength it would say he's appreciative of his love life. It's a strong caring relationship and he will "fight" to make it continue as is, but he can have a temper if the same issues keep coming up repeatedly like he might get annoyed about something that happened a year ago still getting brought up now, but it's like if you fucked up and someone is still hurt by it, you can't just not expect them to let it go. You need to consider your wife's feelings.

Oracle Cards: Mercury Retrograde which of course is communication issues

Yvonne POV: 10 of Pent - She's a faithful wife and has been with him since the beginning. Has always supported him and they have built a foundation (marriage, children, family unit). For this to break, it will be upsetting but a part of me feels she might be okay. She's independent and she's a woman with her own career.

OC: Liar and Water Sign. Liar is being watchful of someone being sneaky (3oC) and it's a Water Sign person so IYKYK.

Dynamic: QoS, 10oW, WoF, 8oW, and Knight of Cups (R) = QoS Honest conversation. Clarity and mutual understanding. Setting boundaries. 10oW Unresolved issues. Burden. Taking on more responsibility within marriage. Trying to fix the wrongdoings. WoF Uncertain outcome. Either stay in their marriage and work it out or divorce. It can go either way it just depends on them. Like they say the wheel keeps spinning and you don't know where it will land. 8oW is a period of growth and communication. Doing family activities together. They could be just doing this for the boys, but I don't know. I keep hearing "Remember the good ole times. How things use to be". KoC (R) insecurity / instability. Failed promises.

OC: Spy (people such as fans and family watching them closely and their interactions), Distance (emotionally or physically distant), and Let Go "make room for the new beginnings on the way to you now".

What does Cillian think of Emily Blunt? Death + Knight of Swords (side) = IF something happened between them, I don't think it was serious and I don't think he will leave his wife for Emily. She (Emily) brought some changes into his life, so if the blind items are true then damn. (I think there are some blind items about them if I'm not mistaken). KoS (U) They work well together. Great pair. He sees the drive and motivation she has in her work. It's impressive. Similar values and intellectual conversations. (Rev) She has a problem with her mouth. She talks too much and when she does, she let's things slip. Don't tell her anything or she might accidently let it slip out. She gets her way. I also kept seeing a wall like a blockage between them. They might not be on talking terms right now.

Emily on Cillian: 3oW (side) + PoP (R) + 5oS (R) = 3oW (U) Crush? May have caught some feelings for him. I mean have y'all seen those eyes? Damn. Love eyes (?) Admires him...(Rev) Unsure about him sometimes. Regrets. There's something weird about these two. I don't know if they were physically together or very flirty. I know we got the FWB OC and that could be what we think it means or it doesn't.

PoP (R) She thinks he waste his talents by not taking on bigger roles. "Wasted opportunities". I know Cillian was almost Batman, but he didn't fit the look of Batman. I like him better as Jonathan Crane. "Sees him as someone who wants success but not willing to work for it". I just think he doesn't care too much and doesn't want the pressure. Wants to be grounded, but I could be wrong. 5oS moving on. Cut the loses. I hear "She came on too strong".

OC (for them both): Incompatible, No Spark, FWB

[tokkiheart]

The Beauty Inside (2015) Review & General Thoughts

That’s right, I’m reviewing a K-Movie and not a K-Drama.

As a disclaimer, I haven’t seen the original American web-series from 2012 nor the K-Drama that resulted from this movie, so I’m reviewing this movie as it’s own entity and not on how good of a remake/adaptation it is.

As always, this is going to be spoiler free!

Genre(s)

Romance • Fantasy • Melodrama • Drama

Ratings

Rated PG on Viki, rated as 13+ on MDL, rated PG-14 on tubi and YouTube

Where To Watch/How To Watch

Viki • iQIYI • Prime Video • tubi • YouTube • Kocowa+ • Prime Video • Freevee • Rent for $3.99 or Buy for $6.99 on Apple TV • Pluto TV

(You can watch it FOR FREE on Tubi, Youtube, Freevee and Pluto TV with ads, as well as, of course, your favorite illegal streaming site of choice)

Note: I live in the United States, so the only platforms that I have access to and know for sure currently have this movie available in the region are the ones listed, but it’s possible other regions have apps that have this.

Synopsis

This movie is about Woo Jin, a man who designs furniture for a living. An unusual man, Woo Jin wakes up every morning with a new body, which can be any age, gender, race or nationality.

Accustomed to his supernatural “illness,” he lives a relatively solitary existence aside from his childhood best friend who he works with and occasionally visiting his mother.

When he meets Yi Soo one day at a furniture store, he instantly falls in love with her. After visiting her as different people for several days, he eventually musters up the courage to ask her out. Staying up for three days in a row in order to stay in the same body, he dates her and she ends up falling in love with him.

Review

This movie is really good! If you’ve been sitting on this movie wondering if you should watch it, I’m going to have to tell you that it’s very much worth watching (and doing so again and again!)

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, so much so that I wound up rewatching it immediately after finishing the first watch of it!

All of the actors who played Kim Woo Jin did a truly great job of creating a consistent character for him, which really must have been challenging considering all the actors who play him only do so for such an incredibly brief window of time. The only one who lasts more than a day is Park Seo Joon.

Han Hyo Joo was AMAZING, she absolutely nailed her role and it’s so easy to see why Woo Jin fell in love with her character. I feel like this movie really allowed her to show off her various talents as an actor because she had great chemistry with each of the different Woo Jin, she spoke in three different languages (Korean, Japanese, and English) that she is proficient in, and did a fantastic job of making her character come to life and be someone the audience can sympathize with and fall in love with too.

The OST is really good (in my opinion) and nothing really felt too out of place or anything.

I love the message(s) of this movie, which boil down to “love is love” and loving someone for who they are on the inside and not based on their outward appearances. It’s nothing particularly novel, but it was certainly tackled in novel way!

General Thoughts

This movie went to theaters in my country on my birthday eight years ago and I really wish I had been into K-Dramas and stuff back then because I soo would have watched this and would have thoroughly enjoyed it. It might even have been one of those things that made me realize that I’m bi lol

Anyway, this movie had a lot of cute, sweet moments and I always love a couple who bond over a shared love of something (furniture, in this case). There were so many scenes that made my bi heart flutter!

For being technically a heterosexual movie, this is incredibly bisexual/pansexual and I’m quite sure it was fully intentional to be LGBTQIA+ because the font coloring for the movie is rainbow:

Which, I loved by the way. Love a good rainbow gradient colored font. But also they didn’t at all shy away from having some GL scenes in there! Han Hyo Joo really had such amazing chemistry with all of the actors in the role of Woo Jin, which helped make it that much more believable that they were all the same character.

As for the OST, I definitely came away from this movie wanting to hear “True Romance” by Citizens! over and over again:

Advice(?)

Definitely make sure to grab some tissues, there’s some scenes in this movie that will definitely make you cry!

Additionally, once the credits roll, don’t go away! This movie actually has a mid-credits scene, no spoilers, but it’s a nice little wrap up and worth sitting through the credits a little longer for!

[lunammoon]

just wondering did you first watch classic who or new who :) and do you know anywhere to watch old who

i first watched NuWho in what would have to have been like, late 2013? December or something.

I first watched Classic Who in I THINK early February of 2020. It might have been late January of 2020. I've dug up some old highschool group chats and based on what I rambled about, I THINK it was February 11th 2020, but I can't be 100%. sure As for where to find it:

If you're American, I THINK pretty much all of the episodes are on Tubi. Also if you're American, you can watch it on pluto.tv. The downside of pluto is that you can't pause, and many episodes aren't there, and you can't pick which episode will play when, but other than that, it's pretty good. Pluto is where I watched part of Three and most of Four.

If you're not American, a lot of classic who is on archive.org.

[anna-neko]

gonna absolutely be that "old lady shaking her walker, and screaming how olden days were better" for a minute here.....

There is a very specific thing I very much miss, and its the... well... lack of streaming. Scheduled programming! (be it both visual or radio. .... the radio one is whole 'nother rant, fuck ClearChannel/Viacom etc etc)

now don't get me wrong - i freakin luv the ability to watch some ancient b/w telly, carefully pumped pixel by pixel into my phone from the library server at 2:45am....

but its the fact Boring Dystopia today doesn't let you escape algorithms & their endless grey sludge

so like... TV! My set cannot pick up regular airwaves signal w/out additional "digital bunny-ears" or something similar. Most stations have switched to digital signals years ago, this is fact.

Back in the day you could flip on the telly, and have the choice of a few local channels. You got your usual local affiliates: FOX, WB, ABC, UPN, NBC, CBS and of course PBS. plus that one endless shopping network

Even as background noise you'd still end up getting all sorts of good stuff with different ads, local news flashes, whatever sitcom was running would have "on the next..." and you'd be like "heeeey, Friends is still making new episodes? and this channel still shows it?" Might hear about some movie didn't know existed because it was mentioned as scheduled for Saturday 8pm eastern, 7 central in that last ad-break, but the visuals in this tiny clip looked neat so might try to see it.....

what can i do today tho... Lets see, there's the option of a bunch of streaming shit. It requires a quick app d/l (again, don't get me wrong, TUBI and PlutoTV are a+ "thank fuck u exist" kinda things) buuuuut ... you can't just leave it be. Even the ads are somehow ... grey formless sludge. The same 3-5 shitty things that are determined by algorithm, never any variation. No news-teases, no trailers for movies coming to theater/streaming soon.... who'da thought would miss the damn Wendys new breakfast deals or local (local) car dealership promos

but no, with a streaming 'oooh wait, 'app' you gotta either scroll thru the shitty UI menu to pick what you wanna watch specifically... or in case of Pluto chose a channel.... Which will be just One Thing on a loop too (like a channel of nothing but Addams Family. nothing but The Walking Dead franchise. nothing but SailorMoon episodes) If you chose an episode of a show, and put away the remote it will just keep jumpin to next episode of same until it runs out...

.... i miss times of day influencing what was on. The kinda shit running during "primetime", early morning cartoons, early-noon little kids targeted shows, mid-afternoon soaps and bullshit talk shows, vs "middle of the night" The silly station eye-catches (TNT...dun dun dun, we know drama), ads for gushers mixed in with quick weather updates as the channel hopes you'll tune in at 10pm for the News. I miss discovering new (new to me!) shows or movies but flipping a channel. Disney Channel used to air ANCIENT b/w Alice Comedies or those utterly ridiculous 70s bebi Jodie Foster movies at 1am. AMC was full of old movies (pre-70s stuff mostly), TLC stood for "the learning channel", MTV and VH1 were 2 distinct separate entities showing actual ~ try to contain your shock ~ music videos. and if u were hella lucky, you'd glitch into (or it was free preview month) MTV2 which was for the alt rock vids!

_________________ No i don't miss the ancient shit like TV set that had round knobs and the numbers only went to 13. The horrid static noises. I don't miss VCRs (needing to rewind, hoping the tape hasn't demagnetized, or deteriorated frm too much use etc) . Fuck, don't even miss Blockbuster w/ their exceptionally ruined DVDs that wouldn't play past a certain point and them just goin "oh well, sorry...." and doin fuck-all

whoda thought would be missing an actual structure of some sort, running all sorts of diverse shit in pre-programmed blocks on set schedules. There was a human touch, the human element to it

[sleepykittypaws]

Best and Worst of 2022

Remember last year when I thought 183 new Christmas movies were too many?

Well, the joke is most definitely on me, because this year there were so many more. 243 to be exact, a 33% year-over-year increase, and that's just across broadcast, cable and streaming. If you add in new holiday titles available via digital purchase/rental, DVD and/or theatrical-only, the total jumps to 316 all-new Christmas movie offerings for 2022, the bulk of which premiered in the final 9 weeks of the year, across a record 53 linear networks and streaming platforms  (see below).

Hallmark-43

Lifetime-26

Tubi-21

Netflix-14

GAF-14

UPtv-12

Hulu-10

BET/BET+-10

Prime Video-6

HBOMax-5

Crackle-5

PureFlix-5

ION-4

VH1-4

Discovery+-4

FoxNation-4

CBS-3

AMC+-3

UPFaith&Fam-3

Roku-3

Freevee-3

ViX+-3

TVOne-2

OWN-2

Showtime-2

Starz-2

Shudder-2

Xumo-2

Vudu-2

NBC-1

CW-1

Bounce-1

Paramount Network-1

Comedy Central-1

Cartoon Network-1

Nick-1

LMN-1

BYU TV-1

AppleTV+-1

Disney+-1

Epix-1

Britbox-1

Pluto-1

Plex-1

Pantaya-1

Chicken Soup for the Soul-1

OctaneTV-1

DivaBoxOfficeTV-1

Full Moon Features-1

Arrow-1

Fandor-1

QVC+-1

TBN-1

Amidst all that content we got some real gems. Not only did I watch more new movies than ever before—in large part because my kids told me they were getting too old for our annual animated special advent calendar (sob)—and once again ranked them in real-time as I did so, but found more I loved than ever before, too.

After 2021 saw zero made-for-TV movies I felt were truly "four paw" worthy, this season saw 3 debuts that I felt strongly enough to include in my all-time favorites list, the most since 2018, and a record 11 movies that I'd give my personal highest 🐾🐾🐾🐾  rating to.

Since I never, ever strived to watch everything new, even when there was a lot less of it, my picks below aren't meant to be the unequivocal best or worst of all that’s out there, just the new holiday fare I managed to sample this season. And even though I watched almost no non-festive content from November 6-December 25 that was still only a drop in the bucket considering the absolute avalanche of Christmas content that now drops annually.

Since I only watch what I hope to enjoy, there's a whole lot of holiday dreck never even considered sampling, as well as plenty of stuff I was interested in that I just never found time for. But of what I did watch in 2022, here's what I liked most, and least this holiday season…

Best Made-for-TV Holiday Movie

With the trips to theater more rare than they were pre-2020, and streaming services having more widely varying budgets than your average cable channel's "movie of the week" model, this category can be a little hard to contain, as it's not really fair to compare even a mid-budget streaming title with shot-in-15-days Hallmark fare, but for my head-to-head comparison purposes this category consists, broadly, of movies with a no more than a 7-figure budget, and shooting schedule of a month or less.

There are definite quality variations within that range—you will for sure notice the budget differences between a $1 million and $6 million production, or 10 versus 25-day shoot—but it at least feels fair to rank those movies against each other, rather than, say, the $100,000,000 estimated production of something like Spirited.

My favorite of the season ended up being not only my first watch of the year, but one that had premiered in 2021 in the U.K.. The Sky original, A Christmas No. 1 (a.k.a. A Christmas Number One), which quietly made its U.S. debut on Tubi in early November. Starring Frieda Pinto and Iwan Rheon, the story of a music exec desperate for a holiday hit, and a musician who doesn't want to sell his song to her cheesy boy band, took turns I wasn't expecting based on that basic premise. Knowing little going in probably helped sell this one for me, as did the high-caliber acting, some genuine laughs, and really good original music. Not without its own well-worn formula, A Christmas No. 1 just felt so much more like a "real movie" than your typical U.S. made-for-TV holiday title, even if they were awkwardly attempting to hide Pinto’s obvious real-life pregnancy.

My second-favorite of the season was also somewhat unexpected.

VH1 entered the holiday movie fray in 2021, with forgettable results in terms of both ratings and quality, not to mention the baffling decision not to stream titles on Viacom-owned Paramount+, so was somewhat surprised to see them putting out more movies in 2022, but they finally made a good one in All I Didn't Want for Christmas, one of the few VH1 holiday titles that didn't rely on existing VH1/MTV talent and/or IP.

Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe was fantastic as a woman frustrated with her stagnating life and career who writes Santa a drunken letter, Loretta Devine great as her well-meaning, but overbearing, mom and Kel Mitchell charming as the elf sent to help her. All I Didn’t Want for Christmas was funny, heartfelt and a truly original ride.

Sidibe has fantastic comedic timing and this story offered a rare fresh take on a classic Christmas set-up. A shame that just as they're finding their Christmas movie feet, VH1, which underwent a massive corporate shake-up in early November, is unlikely to produce any further originals. Glad we at least got this gem and hope to see Sidibe in more holiday movies.

No. 3 on my list is Hallmark's big swing, Three Wise Men and a Baby, starring Andrew Walker, Tyler Hynes and Paul Campbell, who also co-wrote the script with Kimberley Sustad.

This was a laugh-out-loud funny comedy that even cleverly carried over Margaret Colin, here playing the adult sons' mom, from its Three Men and a Baby inspiration. Just a joyful holiday watch that both played with the Hallmark formula and reveled in it.

Others worthy of extra mention from Hallmark, Hannukah on Rye, their first truly good Hanukkah romance (to my mind anyway), the almost-great Ghosts of Christmas Always, which I enjoyed very much  as is, but could have been an all-timer with a different ending, and Hallmark's first-ever lead, same-sex holiday romance, The Holiday Sitter.

In just a few years Hallmark has gone from a network whose fare I found ever more bland and uninteresting, to dominating my top 10 of the season list. Every one of which I would, by the way, wholeheartedly recommend to fellow Christmas movie fans.

A Christmas No. 1, Tubi

All I Didn't Want for Christmas, VH1

Three Wise Men and a Baby, Hallmark

Hanukkah on Rye, Hallmark

Haul out the Holly, Hallmark

Ghosts of Christmas Always, Hallmark

Falling for Christmas, Netflix

Reindeer Games Homecoming, Lifetime

Lights, Camera, Christmas!, Hallmark

The Holiday Sitter, Hallmark

Worst Made-for-TV Holiday Movie

It wasn't all accolades for Hallmark. A Holiday Spectacular was reportedly Hallmark's most expensive movie ever, and while it looked relatively lush, filming in the real-life Radio City Music Hall and filled with period cars and costumes, the whitewashing of the Rockettes’ shameful racial history more than just took me out of the story, it ended up making me actively angry.

Hallmark has made so much progress in the past three seasons, to see them running cover for what was once called “one of the most racist organizations in American entertainment,” made me queasy.

Discovery+ started making holiday originals in 2021, and their first effort, Candy-Coated Christmas, was one of my least favorite movies of the year. This year they delivered four originals, and while I had higher hopes given the talent involved, bowed out of two others before (barely) making it through Designing Christmas. A charming cast really couldn't save this very rote, and oddly infomercial-feeling, home design story, that felt like you were watching an extended commercial for other HGTV programming.

As Hallmark rises in my estimation, Lifetime falls. Once a reliable provider of my holiday favorites, Lifetime's last three seasons have been subpar, at best, with this being their worst-ever. Stopped watching so many of their movies this year, eventually just gave up on the network altogether. Only Reindeer Games Homecoming stood out as being worthy of what was once my holiday go-to network. Even their marquee movies with bigger stars no longer provide a reasonable expectation of quality. Didn't make it much past the 15-minute mark for either A Christmas Spark or Santa Bootcamp, despite strong casts, and while I watched all of Steppin' Into the Holiday, couldn't exactly tell you why, since the Mario Lopez-Jana Kramer joint was painfully lifeless and ultimately dumb, as well as boring.

Netflix also had some real clunkers this season, including Christmas with You. I was really looking forward to the streamer giving us a bigger budget, Latino holiday story, but should have known when they changed the name from Christmas Quinceanera to something this boring, the movie would follow suit. Chemistry free, nonsensical story with lifeless performances from usually charming leads. Snooze.

Best Theatrical Holiday Movie

This category could more accurately be called “bigger budget,” as higher-end streaming productions tend to dominate this category now. Though most of my 2022 faves did get a theatrical run, that’s just not where I personally saw them. And, as I said in the made-for-TV category, as streaming originals start to dominate the Christmas movie conversation, the distinction between what is "made-for-TV" and what's "theatrical" can start to feel a bit arbitrary, especially when you're comparing movies that cost $100 million to make, with those that filmed for $10 million, but still far exceed a typical Hallmark or Lifetime movie-of-the-week budget.

In total, I saw 10 holiday movies this year that I think mostly fit into the "theatrical" category, even if only half of them played in theaters. (Being the homebody I am, I saw them all from my sofa.)

Spirited

Violent Night

This is Christmas, Sky/Epix

Your Christmas or Mine?,  Prime Video

Something from Tiffany's, Prime Video

About Fate

Spoiler Alert

Bar Fight, AMC+

A Christmas Story Christmas, HBO Max

The Noel Diary, Netflix

Spirited was not only my favorite of the season, but one of the best modern musicals I've seen. Watched it twice this year, and anticipate it becoming a regular part of my annual Christmas movie rota, as it's already one of my all-time favorites.

The unexpectedly entertaining Violent Night brings together gruesomely cartoonish violence (not usually my thing), humor and Christmas cheer in a completely unique package, despite it cribbing from, and even actually name-checking, so many other holiday classics—altogether an extraordinary and impressive feat. Think David Harbour can now claim the definitive world-weary Santa with a heart of gold portrayal, at least in my book.

British charmers This is Christmas and Your Christmas or Mine? were both sweet, lovely and a true cut above the made-for-TV fare we usually get on this side of the pond.

This is Christmas, like my made-for-TV favorite, A Christmas No. 1, was a Sky TV original in the UK, but it's slightly bigger budget (as a co-production), and same-day U.S. debut, slipped it into the "theatrical" category for me.

Your Christmas or Mine? had a fantastically fun premise—college students in love each decide to jump off their respective trains home to surprise the other for the holidays, only to each be stuck with the other's families instead—that wasn't pulled off quite as well as I'd hoped, but was still lovely and fun, with a great cast.

Also mostly liked About Fate. The New Year's-set remake of Soviet classic, The Irony of Fate, wasn't perfect, but Thomas Mann and Emma Roberts are winning enough to make it work, and I can definitely see myself watching this again in the future.

Even the middling Bar Fight had its moments, thanks mostly to its great, game cast—and that it wasn't a romance (the opposite, as it's a break-up movie) was a refreshing holiday twist.

Worst Theatrical Holiday Movie

So, that leaves my picks for “worst” as the mundane, fan service-laden A Christmas Story Christmas, which made little sense and had far too little of the humor and heartfelt moments that has made the original a lasting classic.

But even worse than that mostly dull sequel was The Noel Diary, which has convinced me that Richard Paul Evans isn't just the Nicolas Sparks of Christmas movies, they might be one in the hacky same. Poorly edited, woodenly acted, and a plot so dumb it made me want to throw things at the screen. Not quite bad enough to be "fun bad," but very bad indeed.

Best Stealth Christmas Movie

Bily Eichner’s big screen, R-rated rom-com Bros was my favorite rom-com of the year, and it's pivotal Christmas scenes, plus constant name-checking of "Hallheart" movies, makes it a stealth Christmas movie.

If you’re unfamiliar with the genre, that’s what I call a movie set during the Christmas season, or containing key holiday scenes, that isn’t specifically thought of as a Christmas film.

The holiday heavy Spoiler Alert, and more lightly holiday The Good House, which has significant Thanksgiving and Christmas scenes, are also well worth a watch.

Worst Stealth Christmas Movie

I must pick The King's Man. Yes, it came out in late 2021, but I watched it in 2022, and this franchise spin off is awful enough for its Christmas-scented stench to pollute two years. Even the lesser-than Kingsman sequel looks like a masterpiece next to this dreck.

Best Animated Holiday Special

Apple is doing a fantastic job preserving Charlie Brown’s legacy, and this year's new holiday shorts collection Happiness is a Gift Worth Giving, part of season 2 of The Snoopy Show, are absolutely in line with the heart and soul of the original Peanuts specials.

Honorable mention to the Autumn of Mickey Mouse, the latest in Disney's series of retro-look, seasonal specials that, like The Snoopy Show, really hew to the original ethos of the characters and all are smart, funny and sweet.

In case anyone wants to be a stickler and not count either of the above for being, respectively, not-Christmas centered, or part of an animated series, CBS gave us the amiable Reindeer in Here which was an original story with a good message, that I can see being added to many family’s annual rotations. Far from groundbreaking, it was still a pleasant, festive watch.

Worst Animated Holiday Special

Cannot say the same for the much more popular, Mickey Saves Christmas, which ran on ABC and striped across the Disney Channels and is now on Disney+. The story is almost non-existent, and even the animation seemed sub-par, a mix between low-budget computer generation and stop-motion.

Little kids liked it enough to make it pop in the ratings even after endless repeat airings, so I'm sure we'll see it again and again forever, but Disney knows how to do this so much better, and it feels like they just didn't bother here.

Best Live Action Holiday Special

We go from something Disney did poorly, to something they did quite well, the Marvel one-off Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. This James Gunn-written and produced mini-movie was so much fun, and even gave us two great new original songs for the holiday canon.

Did Chris Pratt frequently look like he’d rather be anywhere else? Sure, but Mantis and Drax’s capture of a very game Kevin Bacon more than made up for Pratt’s pout.

Honorable mentions here to Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery. The improvised offshoot of Will Arnett’s Netflix series paired the comedian with his Smartless podcast partners Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes, as well as Maya Rudolph.

It's very silly, often veering into stupid, but I laughed a lot. Would probably have liked it even more if not for the third act Pete Davidson appearance. Luckily, Davidson did very little. Per usual.

Also enjoyed Showtime’s tongue-in-cheek Matt Rogers: Have You Heard of Christmas? This parody of an old-fashioned musical holiday special, featured Rogers singing hits from his fictional holiday album. A good enough singer to make the comedy songs work, Rogers has impeccable timing and style, and between this special and Fire Island, as well as his hit podcast Las Culturistas, had one heck of a 2022.

Worst Live Action Holiday Special

Disney’s streaming original Best in Snow was a weird combination of competition and storyline. While this could have been interesting as strictly a snow building competition, Titus Burgess' commitment to his weird “mayor” character, a handful of seemingly unrelated animated segments, and truly bizarre pacing made this a mish-mash that simply did not work.

Best Holiday Series

The past few seasons have left us spoiled for choice when it comes to holiday series. This season saw a dearth of new, specifically holiday-set series to explore—with the caveat that I never quite found time for Per-Olav Sørensen's Storm for Christmas on Netflix—but season two of Starstruck, the lovely British rom-com on HBO Max, both incorporated the holidays and was one of my favorite watches of the year.

Worst Holiday Series

The Disney+ series sequel to the The Santa Clause movie trilogy, The Santa Clauses, was unfunny, unfestive and absolutely unnecessary. This tired Tim Allen vehicle filled with “jokes” sourced straight from Fox News held no appeal, even though I slogged through two episodes hoping it would get better.

The Santa Clauses has already been renewed for season, so clearly people are watching, but to say this isn’t my cup of cocoa is putting it lightly, so to feel free to pencil season two in as my worst of 2023 already.

Best Holiday Reality Series

FOX’s Lego Masters: Celebrity Holiday Bricktacular paired past LEGO Masters players with celebs competing for charity for a fun family watch that, at just four episodes over three nights (two regular episodes, and a double-length finale), didn’t have time to wear out its welcome.

And, though it wasn't as prominent a tribute as I'd hoped and expected, it was also still very nice to see Leslie Jordan being his hilarious, amazing, and charming self, one last time, following his untimely October death.

Worst Holiday Reality Series

Silos Baking Competition: Holiday Edition, on HBO Max, is the latest entry in the constant self-promotional churn of the insufferable Chip and Joanna Gaines, who I don’t recall hating before they turned themselves into a 24/7 brand. This dull as dishwater "competition" was a basic retread of better baking shows and barely even qualified as Christmas-y, despite the title.

Best Holiday TV Episode of an Ongoing Series

Abbott Elementary is the best show on traditional broadcast TV, and their “Holiday Hookah” episode delivered a sweet, holiday tale that also pushed forward major ongoing plot points, like the will they/won't they flirtation between Quinta Brunson and Tyler James Williams, with Janelle James predictably stealing the show.

Worst Holiday TV Episode of an Ongoing Series

Animation voice work is clearly a sweet celebrity gig, so I don't blame folks like Lisa Kudrow, Clea DeVall and Nat Faxon for cashing the checks, but both new Housebroken holiday episodes on FOX, my first brush with the series, left me seriously underwhelmed. Lots of poop "humor" and exceedingly little heart, even in what should be the most sentimental effort(s) of the season. Sad that so many talented people are making something so uninspired.

Felt like there were fewer holiday series episodes in general than in year’s past, probably in part due to smaller season orders leaving less time for holiday hijinks.

Best Christmas Advert

Watching these bite-size servings of holiday joy has long been a part of our family’s Christmas tradition. We now have a fairly well established list that we revisit annually, just like any other beloved Christmas special. Though there were plenty of note, overall 2022 seemed like a lesser year for the corporate Christmas mini-movie, though there was at least one that made me sob like a baby…“El Ruso de Rocky,” from Spanish company J&B, shows a grandfather modeling acceptance in the most selfless, nurturing way possible.

Honorable mention to Kroger’s Up inspired “The Magical Cookbook,” which poignantly captured the connection between holiday meals and memories.

Worst Christmas Advert

Old Navy’s endless variations on their hyperkinetic “Matchy Matchy” ads were a true waste of the great Jennifer Coolidge. But good for her for getting that holiday green, though.

Best New Christmas Song

2022 wasn’t quite as quite as strong a year for new holiday tunes as 2021, but I still found plenty to add to my ever-growing "Christmas Favorites" playlist.

“Night Before Christmas,” Sam Smith

“Here it is Christmastime,” Kevin Bacon and the Old 97′s

“The More You Give (The More You’ll Have),” Michael Buble (Listen, the man has an endless well of holiday originals inside of him, and will release one annually till the earth's core melts)

“I Don’t Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here),” the Old 97′s

“Almost Too Early for Christmas,” Dolly Parton and Jimmy Fallon (Is it unbearably cheesy? Sure. But, c’mon, it’s Dolly)

“12 nights,” Sia

“Snow in L.A.,” Noah Cyrus and PJ Harding

“So Much Wine,” Phoebe Bridgers

"This is Christmas,” Annelise Cepero (Didn’t see Holiday Harmony, but the song ended up in my playlist anyway.)

“Naughty and Nice,” Sia

With an honorable mention to the new-to-me music from A Christmas No. 1, especially “Christmas Morning,” in both its Iwan Rheon acoustic and Scurve versions, which were probably the tunes I actually listened to most this season.

Worst New Christmas Song

Jeff Goldblum’s “The Christmas Waltz” felt like a parody where he wasn’t in on the joke, unlike his much better, actual parody holiday gig.

Best New Christmas Album

Spirited was the soundtrack I just couldn’t stop humming. Hard to pick just one standout, but did I dance around singing "That Christmas Morning Feelin'" into a candy cane on December 25th to the embarrassment of my family? 100%. And I regret nothing.

Worst New Christmas Album

Alicia Keys’ Santa Baby, while not terrible by any means, was a disappointment. I expected a standout from someone with as powerful a presence as Keys. The original, "December Back 2 June," was meh, and the standards didn't really stick either. A very ho-hum effort from a singer who is usually anything but.

Best Holiday Book

Lindsay Kelk’s cozy and romantic The Christmas Wish was my favorite holiday read of 2022. Sweet with just enough edge to make this Groundhog Day take interesting. (And, yes, my 2021 favorite read was another stuck-in-a-Christmas-time-loop tale, Holidazed, so guess I have a type.)

Best Holiday Podcast

Going to sound like a bit of a broken record here, because while the hosts changed, my holiday favorite podcast did not. Deck the Hallmark continues to be my holiday listening go-to, maybe because they put out so much content I don’t have time to try and tackle anything else 😝

Of course, always make time for the ladies of All the Feels and their holiday movie bracket, as well as Alonso Duralde’s “Christmas Movie Minute” on Maximum Film.

Favorite New-to-Me Holiday Content

With so much new this season, didn’t get to sample too much I’d missed from the past, but Hallmark’s 2020 Project Christmas Wish, starring Amanda Schull and Travis Van Winkle, was one of the more actually romantic Hallmark romances of recent years. We got to see the characters fall in love, rather than just go from "hating" each other to "being in love" in an instant. Just a well-done entry in the genre I’m happy to have caught up with.

Top 10 Non-Holiday Movies of 2022

Glass Onion, A Knives Out Story, Netflix

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Hulu

Hustle, Netflix

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Bros

The Sea Beast, Netflix

Top Gun: Maverick

Confess, Fletch

The Valet, Hulu

The Good House

Though there are plenty of awards contenders still haven’t managed to see, making this list subject to future amendment, Rian Johnson’s return to the world of Benoit Blanc was smart, funny and a whole lot of fun to watch.

Top 15 Non-Holiday TV Series of 2022

Trying, Apple TV+

Hacks, HBO Max

Derry Girls, Netflix

Starstruck, HBO Max

Peacemaker, HBO Max

Heartstopper, Netflix

Reservation Dogs, Hulu

From Scratch, Netflix

Barry, HBO Max

Julia, HBO Max

The Crown, Netflix

This is Going to Hurt, AMC+

Reboot, Hulu

Single Drunk Female, FX

Abbott Elementary, ABC

As with movies, there are a long list of series I still need to catch up on, but even with those viewing blind spots, could easily have made a list twice this long with shows I really loved (for instance, ran out of room for things like my beloved Never Have I Ever, and very good The Best Man: The Final Chapters), but no show made me laugh, or cry, more regularly in 2022 than Apple’s absolutely brilliant Trying. By the way, Trying’s regular director, Jim O'Hanlon, also made Your Christmas or Mine?

Worst Non-Holiday Movie/TV of 2022

No movie I watched all the way through in 2022 stunk worse than Netflix’s execrable Purple Hearts. The reason I kept watching is because I mistook it for the kind of cheesy, sentimental military romance I usually kind of enjoy, instead of the just plain awful, poorly acted and seriously stupid story it actually was. Literally laughed out loud at the ending. If it was slightly less polished, this one almost tips over into The Room-like cringe that could make it almost fun, but, alas.

In bad TV, Hillary Swank’s achingly earnest Alaska Daily, with its bonkers depiction of journalism-ing and overwhelming white savior narrative, made my eyes roll so often I thought I might have sprained something.

Favorite Advent Calendar

Those who follow me on Twitter, know I have a slight advent calendar obsession, particularly beauty advent calendars, so now that I’ve opened my [redacted number] of 2022 calendars, thought I’d share my favorite of the season…The 12 Days of Harrod’s Fragrance calendar contained several bottles that were each worth more than the calendar’s cost. No tiny samples here, all purse size or larger, truly high-end scents to more than sample, simply but beautifully packaged.

Honorable mention to my favorite beauty calendars, which included the companion 25 Days of Harrod’s Beauty and Liberty London, both of which featured a lot of seriously high-end skincare products, many of them full size.

And while I’m not sure I would want to monetize my Christmas movie musings, even if I could, I am open to anyone who wants to send me luxury beauty advent calendars to review in 2023 😜

Best Holiday Network

Hallmark Channel has gone from my worst to first in just three years. Their new Peacock ad-free availability meant I watched more of their movies than ever before, and they were mostly quite good.

Hallmark's newfound diversity, forged under new leadership, not only in casting, but storytelling too, means that the 43 movies they made this year actually have distinct differences from one another, instead of identical copies of the same story retold every weekend of the season. It's a breath of a fresh air and, honestly, given the quality and quantity of the content, paired with increased streaming availability, there's probably never been a better time to be a Hallmark Christmas movie fan.

Worst Holiday Network

Great American Family spent most of the year not making movies—broadcasting from early February to the end of August with zero new or original content—instead opting to fiddle with their name, after realizing the acronym GAC sounded like a cat trying to get up a hairball, only to change it to GAF, which sounds like either a mistake (gaffe), or R-rated shorthand (as in IDGAF) that doesn’t seem in line with the network’s stated "faith, family and country” theme.

But naming confusion was just the tip of the iceberg for Great American Family’s issues, many of which were unforced errors, like CEO Bill Abbott calling convicted felon Lori Loughlin, "Someone who has a track record of doing the right thing in the world at large." and “America’s Sweetheart.”

To pulling one of their holiday movies just days after announcing it, saying it didn’t “meet their standards.” Or endlessly changing their Christmas schedule, which they claimed contained “18 originals,” but actually featured movies that had debuted years ago they renamed and passed off as new, as well as several that dropped on free streaming services before coming to GAF.

But GAF’s biggest, well, gaffe of the year came when Candace Cameron Bure accidentally said the quiet part out loud to the Wall Street Journal, and admitted Great American Family’s main mission was pretending queer people don’t exist—at least not in front of the camera. Of course, when everyone acted properly horrified by her hate speech, Cameron Bure blamed “the media” even though she’d been perfectly happy to repeatedly promote the WSJ story on her own social media…Right up until she realized it wasn't going well for her online.

The good news is that Great American Family’s ratings remain absolutely dismal. The network finished 103rd out of 159 Nielsen-tracked TV networks, averaging a meagre 79,000 viewers, behind every single other Christmas movie-making network. GAF’s so-called “signature franchise” Christmas movies averaged less than 225,000 viewers and a paltry .02 (that’s point 2) in the all-important 18-49 demographic. Their highest-rated movie to date, Christmas at the Drive-In, only managed 482,000 viewers and a .04 in the demo. Just all around disastrous ratings for an ad-based network that doesn’t even have On Demand or streaming options to boost their viewership.

Of course, rock bottom ratings didn’t keep Great American Family from rolling out a “Mission Accomplished” press release that, at best, fudged the stats.

With just 7% of Hallmark’s average viewership, it’s long past time for reporters to stop credulously reporting that GAF is Hallmark’s Christmas “competition.” And shout out to Decider’s Brett White for making that point with a lot of math.

Anyway, yeah, Bill Abbott, marketing genius.

Worst Holiday TV Trend

TOO MUCH! For real this time.

Since I felt the holiday movie pace was unsustainable at least 100 movies per year ago, won't make any predictions, but does seem hard to imagine how this exponential annual increase can keep going. As cable audiences dwindle, and streamers tighten their belts, we must, sooner or later, see the holiday movie machine contract.

Yes, these movies’ annual rewatchablity, relative low cost, and ad-placement-friendly subject matter is a big part of what made them so popular, and profitable, but at some point, we'll simply run out of places to put them all, not to mention more movies fighting for fewer eyeballs in an increasingly smaller marketplace.

Well, that’s a wrap on 2022!

As for me, since I've talked about abandoning this hobby turned unpaid part-time job for several seasons now, won't make any predications there either, but do know that while I'm still interested in the inner workings of the industry, as well as still personally enjoy watching Christmas content, trying to follow the now non-stop production is way, way too much for me to promise to keep up with. For updates and info you can visit me on Twitter at @sleepykittypaw if you wish, at least as long as that platform is around/usable.

But, no matter what 2023 brings, cheers to you and yours in the New Year, and know that next year’s holiday movies are already just around the corner.

[bethannangel]

RomCom (and Dram) Sprint 2024

List in letterboxd and written out under the read more

List of all movies considered in letterboxd and under the read more

RomCom (and Dram) Sprint

January 14 - Set It Up (Netflix)

January 15 - La La Land (Netflix til Jan 31)

January 16 - Two Can Play That Game (prime)

January 17 - Call Me By Your Name (Netflix til Jan 23)

January 18 - Monster-In-Law (rent)

January 19 - All Of Us Strangers (theater)

January 20 - Which Brings Me To You (theater) OR The Hating Game (Hulu)

January 21 - Om Shanti Om (Netflix)

January 22 - Plus One (Hulu/Roku)

January 23 - Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (Netflix)

January 24 - Beautiful Disaster (Hulu)/Beautiful Wedding (theater) double feature

January 25 - Little Manhattan (Hulu/Disney+)

January 26 - Chasing Amy (prime/paramount+)

January 27 - Love & Other Drugs (rent)

January 28 - Love & Basketball (paramount+)

January 29 - The Notebook (Hulu)

January 30 - Serendipity (Max)

January 31 - Think Like A Man (prime)

February 1 - Jerry Maguire (spectrum)

February 2 - While You Were Sleeping (Disney+)

February 3 - Breakfast at Tiffany’s (paramount+) / His Girl Friday (prime)

February 4 - My Fair Lady (theater) OR How To Be Single (Hulu)

February 5 - Guess Who (Roku)

February 6 - Meet Cute (peacock)

February 7 - Two Night Stand (spectrum/tubi/Pluto/starz) / The Spectacular Now (Max)

February 8 - Lisa Frankenstein (theater)

February 9 - Mississippi Masala (theater/criterion/rent) OR Crazy Rich Asians (Netflix)

February 10 - Never Been Kissed (starz)

February 11 - The Broken Hearts Gallery (starz)

February 12 - There’s Something About Mary (starz)

February 13 - Brown Sugar (starz)

February 14 - Before Sunrise/Before Sunset (double feature/theater/rent)

February 15 - Before Midnight (rent)

Most on this list I haven’t seen. I have seen Set It Up, How To Be Single, Crazy Rich Asians and Never Been Kissed (but I was like 11 when I last saw it).

All Movies considered

Ones I haven’t seen

My Best Friends Wedding (Netflix/starz)

When Harry Met Sally (rent)

It’s Complicated (Netflix)

Mamma Mia double feature (Netflix)

American Symphony (Netflix)

Four Weddings and a Funeral (hoopla)

Brokeback Mountain (rent)

(500) Days of Summer (max/hoopla)

It Happened One Night (1934) (Tubi)

Sleepless In Seattle (rent)

Shit House (rent)

The Wedding Date (rent)

About Time (rent)

She’s All That (Netflix)

Can’t Buy Me Love (rent)/Love Don’t Cost A Thing (rent) double feature

Heavy (Netflix)

This is 40 (Netflix)

Moonstruck (hoopla)

Say Anything… (rent)

The Princess Bride (Disney+)

The Best Man (rent)

Kissing Jessica Stein (rent)

The Wedding Singer (rent)

How Stella Got Her Groove back (rent)

The Wedding Planner (prime)

What If (showtime)

Annie Hall (max)

Pretty in Pink (paramount)

Pretty Woman (fubo)

Ghost (max)

She’s the Man (Netflix)

Dirty Dancing (Hulu/paramount)

Sixteen Candles (Netflix)

Sweet Home Alabama (peacock)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (rent)

Friends with Benefits (rent)/No Strings attached (rent) double feature

The Best of Me (starz)

The Vow (Netflix)

Stay the Night (rent)

The Shop Around the Corner(rent)/You’ve Got Mail (rent) double feature

Punch Drunk Love (hoopla)

Ones I have seen

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Hulu)

Something borrowed (rent)

The Half of It (Netflix)

Palm Springs (Hulu)

27 Dresses (Hulu)

The Prince & Me (max)

To All the Boys (1st one only) (Netflix)

Ticket to Paradise (Prime)

Red, White & Royal Blue (prime)

Bride Wars (max)

Crazy, Stupid, Love (rent)

13 Going On 30 (Netflix/hoopla)

Small Axe: Lovers Rock (Prime)

The Worst Person In The World (Hulu)

Holidate (Netflix)

Notting Hill (prime)

10 Things I Hate About You (Disney+)

No Hard Feelings (Netflix)

Spoiler Alert (Prime/Peacock)

Always Be My Maybe (Netflix)

Bros (Prime/Peacock)

Rye Lane (Hulu)

The Proposal (peacock)

How to Lose a Guy in 10 days (paramount+)

[helloitshaley]

Haley's Horror Recs

Happy Earth Wind and Fire day!

FRANKENHOOKER

Horror Comedy

After a freak lawnmower accident kills a medical school dropout's fiance, he goes to great lengths to bring her back. Unfortunately he was only able to salvage her head, so to build the rest of her body he starts murdering, you guessed it, sex workers.

You should watch if: You like a campy movie, because thats all this is its pure camp. You don't mind a movie where the narrator just talks the whole time (be prepared for him to just never shut up a la Seven Year Itch) You want to just watch something silly.

Available to watch on AMC+, Shudder, Peacock, Vudu, Tubi, Pluto Tv, Freevee

(If you like this try; Re-Animator, Bride of Chucky, Freddy VS Jason, Return of the Living Dead, Shaun of the Dead)

[interview-project]

Cable/TV/Serial

Naomi’s family first got a television when she was in the third grade and living in Collinsville, Oklahoma. It was the late 1950s. The family would gather to watch TV in the evenings together after dinner. She did remember using rabbit ears, but they had very good reception. She recalled visiting a friend for a sleepover and thinking that “they just moved their ears way more than we had to. I didn’t think that they were very far out of town, but they must’ve been.” She remembered watching Mighty Mouse on Saturday mornings with her siblings, and enjoying it. She also recalled how her family would watch Ed Sullivan’s show on Sunday nights. When I asked her about Walter Cronkite, she said that “Oh yes! My dad liked his show a lot, and he just had a voice you could trust. You felt like he was giving you the facts, no opinions.”

Below is an image of Walter Cronkite. Image source here.

Naomi recalled that my mother gave them their first DVR, and that it was pretty handy for recording some of the PBS shows that she liked to watch. However, she didn’t watch very much TV at home, and doesn’t have any shows now that she feels like she needs to keep up with. “Oh not really no. I prefer to have the radio on, you know, when I’m cleaning and stuff. I think that maybe if Norman [her husband, my great uncle] had been able to see better near the end, then maybe. But he would kinda feel left out, you know, if we were watching something and he hadn’t seen it before [he lost his vision].” 

She used to have DirecTV and cable, but now has neither. She felt that the bill was too high for how much she was using it, and now uses her smart TV’s free options, like Tubi or Pluto. She does have some shows on DVDs, like NCIS and my grandmother’s old Downton Abbey collection. “Your Pogi [what I called my grandmother], she really liked two things: DVDs and wrapping paper! [...] I think after we did her estate sale I took a couple of her TV shows. Your mom got Grey’s Anatomy and I have her Downton Abbey. And Tammie [one of her daughters] gave me a couple seasons of NCIS, but I don’t have the most recent ones. I don't really watch a lot of TV anyway, you know I prefer to read.”

Below are images of Downton Abbey and NCIS DVDs. Original sources here and here.

[ohheinc]

Streaming services - A Rant

I genuinely don't like streaming services at this point. Just the amount out there feels like they made watching a movie/series more difficult than it was when Netflix was the main service.

For reference, i legally have access to multiple services, those being: Netflix, Hulu, HBOMax, Disney+, Peacock (which don't use nor have the premium service), Tubi, Pluto tv, and back home I can use Plex and Amazon Prime.

Thats a lot of services isnt it? (That i dont pay for..)

So seeing how i have all of these, why can i never find the one movie i want. Or its not on the same services.

Take Kung Fu Panda. The first movie is on Hulu or HBO Max but the third is on Netflix. The second can only be rented through some other site like Youtube. Rio is a Blusky animation which Disney bought so you would think its on Disney+. The first is, but you need HBO Max to watch the second.

I should not have to play virtual hop scotch just to watch a series of movies. They even do it with TV shows like how Tuca & Burtie was a Netflix show, got canceled then got revived by Adult Swim so you need Netflix just for the first season and HBO for the rest.

What's worse is that there is no guarantee that the show or movie you want is even going to stay. Back when Netflix was the only big service, if something wasn't there that was that. But now you have to check Google to see which one its on (which can be wrong, I once looked up a movie that was said to be on Hulu and it was gone.) Plus with HBO just banning numerous of its shows to the point where you have to pirate it just to watch it because its no where else digitally (or maybe even physically) you have no safety that your shows will be here forever. (Disney maybe but i think some stuff is still in the vault).

At this point, its easier to pirate than to try and be a good citizen without either breaking your wallets or being disappointed.

I didnt even mention how many good shows just get canceled before it has a chance to truly shine (Netflix looking at you).

Honestly there is probably more I could say.

[mouseratz]

also if you wanna cut down on subscriptions, they have ads but stuff like Tubi and Pluto and freevee have pretty nice catalogues without even making you log in. Sure, a lot of it is older or obscure, but it's still really not bad TV, so unless you have a newer show you've been feverishly anticipating you might just be fine that way. I'm not anti pirating but it feels like a lot of work and stresses me out so I don't like to do it unless it's something i really really want to watch.

[alectoperdita]

Yo, so I hear people are digging Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Cool! In this post, I will highlight some other English/English-translated media from the Asian and Asian-American talent behind the movie that you can also support today.

Starting with the talent from behind the screen, going from what I believe is the least well-known to most well-known within the English-speaking community. Buckle in. This is not going to be a short post.

Destin Daniel Cretton (Director and Writer)

At first look it may look like Cretton is an odd choice to direct and write a Marvel superhero movie. As a graduate of San Diego State University’s film school, his past film credits included I Am Not a Hipster, his directorial debut about the intersection of grief and creativity which premiered at Sundance in 2012; Short Term 12 (stream for free on Tubi, Pluto TV, Peacock, or Vudu), an indie feature that draws on Cretton’s experience of working in a group facility for teenagers, starring Brie Larson of Captain Marvel fame; and Just Mercy (stream on Hulu and Amazon Prime), a 2019 film based on the memoirs of Bryan Stevenson, who founded the Equal Justice Initiative, and depicted by Michael B. Jordan here. 

But Cretton has been explicit from the very start about why he signed on to do this movie.

“I would love to give my son a superhero to look up to.” - Cretton from this Hollywood Reporter article

He further elaborates in this behind-the-scenes video released by Marvel.

“The story of Shang-Chi was actually very personal. I wanted to look at what a superhero could be. What it would mean to me to be able to add not only one character, Shang-Chi, but to add a whole cornucopia of Asian faces that are representing something I’ve never really seen before.”

This goes to highlight the importance of giving marginalized identities the space and freedom to tell stories that are meaningful to them and to boost themselves as part of the mainstream popular culture.

Dave Callaham (Writer)

For me, Callaham’s repertoire of works is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, you have The Expendables (stream it on Hulu), which is a fun if not somewhat mindless action flicks that’s an homage to late 80s action flicks, and then you have Wonder Woman 1984 (stream it on HBO Max), which I still hesitate to watch to this day. 

But most of the time, it’s clear that he works with a demonstrated love for the material as seen in the recent Mortal Kombat film adaptation.

“I’m Chinese American. I was raised here. I was interested in exploring what that story could be like. It’s an amazing opportunity to write a little bit more of my experience.” -  Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - Official Behind the Scenes Clip

Fala Chen (”Li”)

My girl!!! Honestly, I’m most excited to see Fala make it here in the States. I first got exposed to her as part of the 2008 TVB drama, Moonlight Resonance (stream for FREE AND WITH ENGLISH SUBS on Tubi), which is a spiritual successor to another hit drama from 2007, Heart of Greed (also stream with English subs on Tubi). Yes, it’s a huge fucking cast. Anyone and everyone who was somebody in the TVB roster was on these flagship dramas. Though Fala was more in a supporting role, she was nominated for the broadcasting company’s annual award for Best Supporting Actress and was voted by netizens as one of the Favorite Female Television Roles for 2008.

But personally? My favorite dramas with her include Can’t Buy Me Love, a costumed romantic comedy series that just good fun (stream with English subs on Tubi) and Ghost Writer, a fictionalized account of classical Chinese writer, Pu Songling that also highlights the turmoil of early Qing Dynasty on the Han majority population (stream for free on YouTube, but there are no English subs). Another one to look out for is No Regrets (stream with English subs on Tubi), because while I started it and love the cast, it is a very, very heavy story that looks at the Japanese occupation of Canton during the Second Sino-Japanese War. I want to go back to it someday as I adore all the works that spun out from the Rosy Business (also stream with English subs on Tubi) drama, but the topic is heavy and yeah, it’s one of those dramas where not everyone makes it to the end of the story.

Fala also stars in the following dramas available with English subs

- Lives of Omission, a Hong Kong police drama depicting the cat-and-mouse game between undercover cops and the triad

- Grace Under Fire, a tale of kung fu and revenge set in early 1920s Republic China in Foshan and Guangzhou

- Queens of Diamonds and Hearts, a costume drama that is based on the folk tale of Zhong Wu Yen, a queen of the Qi kingdom during the Warring States period.

LOOK IF THIS IS WHAT FINALLY GETS MORE ENGLISH SPEAKING FANS INTO CANTONESE DRAMAS, I WILL SHILL AS LOUDLY AS I HAVE TO!

Fala is a powerhouse that speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, English, and Japanese fluently. She made her US acting debut in The Undoing, a miniseries for HBO Max. 

Simu Liu (”Shaun”/”Shang-Chi”)

Other than prominently featuring in a slew of ads and book covers he will never escape because of one stock photo session he modeled for in 2014, you may have spotted Simu, who is also a stuntman, as an extra or a bit player in the background in a number of places: Nikita, Warehouse 13, Beauty and the Beast (yes, that CW show), Taken (the TV show based on the Liam Neeson movies), Orphan Black, Dark Matter, The Expanse, and Fresh Off the Boat. He also appears on an episode of Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, which stars another talent we will feature next.

Simu’s most prominent role before Shang-Chi was in Kim’s Convenience (available to stream on Netflix), a Canadian sitcom centered around a convenience story in Toronto run by a Korean-Canadian couple and their daughter. Simu plays their estranged son. 

Additionally, Simu stars in Blood and Water, a Canadian crime drama that was expressly produced for Chinese Canadian audiences while using a mix of dialogue in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. Sadly, this is mainly region-locked content, but I have no doubts that the intrepid will find a way.

I can’t wait to see where he goes next and what he does next.

Awkwafina/Nora Lum (”Katy”)

If you’ve been paying any attention in the last few years, you probably heard of Awkwafina from her performances in major Hollywood features like Crazy Rich Asians (stream on HBO Max) and Ocean’s 8. But she’s been flexing her acting muscles in a multitude of ways and nowhere is that more evident than in the 2019 film, The Farewell (stream it with your Amazon Prime subscription). She stars as Billi, who returns to China to spend time with her grandmother after she’s been given a terminal diagnosis for lung cancer. The twist is that the whole family has decided to keep it a secret from the grandmother. Billi struggles with maintaining the secret, finding the strong cultural beliefs that led to the family lying in the first place clashes with her more western-raised beliefs.

I personally adore Awkwafina’s sense of humor, ever since I first discovered her parody raps on YouTube. Sadly, several of the early music videos like Giant Margarita have been taken down. But these beauties still stand.

Check out both her rap albums, Yellow Ranger and In Fina We Trust.

In addition, she produces and stars in a comedy series on Comedy Central called Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens (stream episodes for free on Comedy Central’s website), which just feels so unapologetically her and gives me indescribably fond memories of growing up in NYC and hanging with people who are more like what’s depicted in this show than the strange model minority crap TV otherwise likes to peddle to the masses.

Michelle Yeoh (”Ying Nan”)

We all know Michelle Yeoh by now right? One of the stars of Ang Lee’s famed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The first Asian Bond girl from Tomorrow Never Dies. Like another talent on this list, she also featured recently in Crazy Rich Asians (stream on HBO Max). 

When you dig back further into her filmography, she’s often been kicking ass and taking name since her debut in the Hong Kong film industry: Yes, Madam!, Police Story 3, Once a Cop (full film with English subs!), and most recently, Gunpowder Milkshake (stream on Netflix). But her range is evident from Sunshine (stream on Hulu), a psychological sci-fi tale about one crews attempt to reignite a dying sun, to The Lady (stream it on Tubi), Luc Besson’s somewhat baffling turn to make a biopic about Nobel laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi. 

As for TV, she’s most recently starred in CBS Discovery’s Star Trek: Discovery (stream it on Paramount+).

Tony Leung Chiu-Wai (”Xu Wenwu”)

What do I say about Tony Leung? What don’t I say about Tony Leung? Other than it’s criminal how little known he is in the West? If you have heard of him before this, it’s probably because of Infernal Affairs, a 2003 HK cop thriller that Martin Scorsese basically remade shot-by-shot in some cases in The Departed. (Look yes, I’m really salty about this. Still am every time Hollywood takes an Asian media property and white-washes it to make it more palatable. See also the American remake of Oldboy and that fucking Ghost in the Shell movie with ScarJo). Like Fala, Tony Leung is an alum of TVB, along with other major HK stars like Stephen Chow (who he actually accompanied to TVB auditions) and Andy Lau. 

Anything I could say is best said by this video essay from Accented Cinema.

Here are the excellent films highlighted in the previous video.

- A City of Sadness (no subs, sorry) - Hard Boiled  - Ashes of Time (stream on Tubi) - In the Mood for Love (stream on HBO Max) - Lust, Caution - 2046 (stream on Tubi)

Other notable media includes:

- Butterfly and Sword (where he starred alongside Michelle Yeoh) - Happy Together (stream it on HBO Max), an film about a gay HK couple’s tumultuous relationship, also directed by Wong Kar-wai and also starring the late Leslie Chung, one of HK’s few LGBT+ stars - The Grandmaster (stream in on Tubi), because if you’re an HK actor of a certain age, you’re contractually obligated to play Ip Man in a movie at some point (I joke but kinda not, we’ve had so many of these, you guys!)

Hopefully that gave you guys some starting points to check out new media! And don’t be afraid to chime in with your own favorites!

[dangerouscommiesubversive]

hi! i've been a huge fan of super sentai specifically for a long time and im thinking of getting into kamen rider but i really dont know where to start. i was thinking decade mostly because i see him a lot on tumblr but his story involves past kamen rider right? so like i should watch from the beginning right?

Oh, this is a fun question! Two initial points:

You absolutely do not have to start from the beginning. Most Kamen Rider shows are standalone entities and can be watched entirely on their own. That being said...

Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, do not start with Decade. Don’t get me wrong, I love Decade, but do not start with Decade. Not only will it be incomprehensible if you haven’t seen the previous nine shows, but it will spoil at least one major plot point for every one of those shows.

Anyway, Kamen Rider shows are mostly standalone, but some of them are more inviting to newcomers than others. You didn’t mention any particular favorite Sentai, so I can’t use that as a jumping-off point, but here are some recommendations:

You don’t have to start from the beginning, but it is a very easy place to get going. Both the original show from 1971 and Kamen Rider Kuuga are very good, and they’re both available to watch for free (with commercials) on Shout Factory TV, Tubi, or Pluto.

If you want something lighthearted and fun, like ToQger or MegaRanger, watch Fourze, which is a goofy, joyful story about friendship and aspiration, set in a high school.

If you found the serious, thoughtful tone of Shinkenger or TimeRanger appealing, their head writer, Ms. Kobayashi Yasuko, has also done several Rider shows that you might enjoy. OOO is a perpetual fan favorite and probably the best jumping-on point of her four--apart from good writing, strong themes, and a truly intense central relationship, it’s also got intoxicatingly good design.

If you loved the intense human drama of Jetman, the head writer of that one, Mr. Inoue Toshiki, has written three Rider shows, all of which I love dearly (although they tend to be divisive). Of his three, Agito makes the best starting point, as it is astoundingly good, with a tight cast of tremendously lovable characters and a great myth arc. (People will tell you to watch Kuuga first--while that does sort of enhance the experience, it’s far from necessary.)

If you want a more modern show with a spectacular design aesthetic, another great central duo, and some really serious things to say about war and scientific ethics, watch Build.

And last but not least, if you loved what Ryusoulger had to say about human emotions and also you want to watch my favorite Rider of all time, watch Wizard, which is about the most beautiful man on the face of this planet fist-fighting your depression and winning. I might be biased. I love Wizard a lot.

I hope this has been helpful! If one of these shows sounds appealing to you and you want to hear more, or for that matter if you want a list of content warnings and/or potential triggers, please feel free to shoot me another ask. And of course, whenever you do watch some Rider, please let me know what you think! 💜💜💜 Have fun!

[londonspirit]

It's been nearly a decade since the TNT crime drama Leverage aired its series finale, but the 2012 finale, "The Long Good-bye Job," isn't the last fans will see of Leverage Consulting & Associates. In 2020, it was announced that a Leverage reboot was officially in the works, with original series executive producer and director Dean Devlin overseeing the new, 13-episode revival. The Leverage reboot is headed to IMDb TV, with original cast members Beth Riesgraf, Gina Bellman, Christian Kane, and Aldis Hodge set to reprise their roles and Noah Wyle joining as a new character. Filming on the Leverage reboot took place in the late summer and early fall of 2020, with the cast sharing reunion photos from the set on social media. But, since then, all has been quiet on the Leverage front — until now.

Recently, Collider's own Christina Radish had the opportunity to speak with Hodge about the Leverage reboot during a larger conversation about the new season of City on a Hill, which stars Hodge and Kevin Bacon. We were most curious to know how many episodes of the reboot Hodge would appear in, and the actor shared that "I can't speak to it directly, but I will be in several episodes. I was hoping to do more, but quarantine. But I'll be in a few episodes, but I can't speak to specifics. It will be a splashy surprise. I dip in and I dip out."

With that bar of expectation set, we wanted to know if Hodge would ever be interested in appearing in future Leverage episodes, should the new season spark a renewal. Hodge not only gave a candid response and confirmed details about the reboot, but also revealed the official title of the Leverage reboot in his answer — something that hasn't been previously announced.

Yeah, if ['Leverage'] continues and [my] schedule allows and permits. The first series for 'Leverage', I hold it near and dear to my heart. It's something that we all built, and living in the wake of its legacy, 'Leverage,' now entitled 'Leverage: Redemption,' is definitely something that I plan to continue with, just for the nostalgia of it. I know the fans love it and I have fun with it. We have a great new cast. We have a new cast member, her name is Aleyse Shannon and she's really fantastic. We also have Noah Wyle, as one of our cast members. Aleyse comes on playing my adopted little sister. She's a really bright light with great energy, and I'd love to see where she's at. I really wanna see where their brother-sister relationship goes.

Leverage: Redemption, eh? Well, it sounds like we have our first tease about the plot of the Leverage reboot based on this official title.

Hodge continued, sharing with us his initial reaction when he first heard about Devlin's plans to bring Leverage back. He recalled, "I was shocked when Dean Devlin, our producer, called me and said, 'I'm getting the gang back together.' I was like, 'Really?!'" and went on to explain, "I know he'd been trying to find the right home for it for a while, and it was just time and patience. Amazon became the right home."

The Leverage alum also explained to Collider that the real reason Leverage is coming back is because "the fan support has been so strong, which makes me really happy," continuing,

It teaches me about fan loyalty. I can only be so grateful that we're able to get the chance to come back. It's never happened in my career. That kind of fan loyalty means so much. It means a great deal because it allows us, as artists, to understand the actual effect we have and the connection that we make with our audience. That fan loyalty is strong with Leverage... The fan support is everything. For me, it's a great surprise, but one that's quite awesome to experience."

Leverage: Redemption is expected to premiere in 2021. You can rewatch Leverage the original series with Tubi or Pluto TV. Look for our full interview with Hodge soon.