Currently rewatching Breaking Bad. Excellent show!

Just finished watching Arcane. Very good.

Currently watching through The Next Gen, going to start Voyager after.

Mimic (1997)

Enjoyable creature feature that's smart enough to know that monsters are scariest when half-seen in the dark. Some impressive practical effects work for the time.

Watched both seasons of Stranger. A great mature crime drama that doesn't have to lean into ultra violence, sex, excessive cursing or any other shock value to make an impact. Just pure great writing and strong human characters, asking questions that are relevant to modern society. I hope the series will continue soon.

This four day holiday weekend was a tale of two good live action works and two great animated ones:

King Richard: Will Smith lends a solid performance to a side of the sports world I hadn't seen before (junior tennis). I expected to take care of some chores around the house while I watched this but ended up glued to my seat for the duration. The Williams family story is a fascinating one well worth telling.

House of Gucci: It's curious how much scandal and intrigue has been involved in the fashion world (and not just the sexual harrassment type). The plot arc feels somewhat Scorcese-esque even if the quality doesn't match. Each prominent character gets their moment to shine, with Leto in particular drawing a few chuckles.

Encanto: In my book the best animated film Disney has put out since Inside Out. The visuals are drop dead gorgeous (best since Toy Story 4), some of the musical numbers are genuine bangers without a dud in the bunch, and the story is relatable, nuanced, and surprisingly dark at points (more than balanced out by all the beauty). This one is worth a second trip to the theater.

Arcane: Probably the biggest surprise of the year for me. The trailers looked promising but I was blown away by the end result. The art direction is exquisite, the animation is buttery smooth, the characters ooze personality and are impeccably cast, the music is unsurprisingly solid for Riot, and the writing is surprisingly sharp and heartfelt. Thrilled to see it's getting a second season and I can't wait for it. Fortiche has now established themselves as one of the best animation studios in the world.

Arcane

I was extremely skeptical of this one, as I really hate League of Legends, but several friends urged me to give it a try, and I'm so glad I did because I was frankly taken aback at how excellent it is, in everything from its incredible animation to its top notch voice acting and storytelling. Perhaps my biggest pleasant surprise of 2021.

Been rewatching the previous Spider-Man films! Sam Raimi's trilogy is a classic! I like Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man films too. Can't wait for No Way Home!

Bruised: Hilariously bad. Stay in front of the camera, Halle, not behind it.

Ghostbusters Afterlife: Solid successor with lots of reverence for the originals. Definitely better than the reboot, that's for sure.

I finally got around to watching Ghostbusters: Afterlife last weekend, I really enjoyed it. I really dug Carrie Coon's performance as the mom (Callie). She was great in Gone Girl and she showed she can carry a movie as the lead here. Strangely enough, Gone Girl was the only other thing I saw her in before this movie, but her career should definitely take off after this. I also liked the quirky banter with Paul Rudd, who is also great, as usual. You can tell chunks of the plot was forced around them hooking up despite her clearly being out of his league and even being weirded out by him initially, but by the end of the movie, it all ties together perfectly, and it subtly implies they might still have a "thing".

As for the kids, they're very well-fleshed out and given plenty to do with their share of funny jokes to boot, but on the downside, it feels like their whole Ghostbusting was contrived and happened purely by chance or because the plot needed it to. There's also not a whole lot of Ghostbusting in the movie, which I guess makes sense seeing how the original Ghostbusters have long since moved on, but I would've liked to see more of what we came to see in the first place. It also doesn't do new fans who've never seen the original a whole lot of favors because it randomly throws in references to 1984 and just expects you to know them without really filling in the blanks. There's some small issues with pacing in the third act as well, but it was alleviated with a VERY satisfying ending that'll no doubt tick longtime fans' nostalgia.

4/5. Not quite up to par with the first one, but far better than GBII and the godawful 2016 reboot.

Slapped ham