Viewed this Week (39)

Inspired by Ticket to Anywhere’s What I Watched, I post on Sundays about what movies and/or TV shows I watched the week before.  Some weeks will be epic, and some weeks…won’t be.  Let’s get to it!

TV:
Switched at Birth 2×5 – “The Acquired Inability to Escape”
Bunheads 1×15 – “Take the Vicuna”

Movies:
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Warm Bodies
Side Effects

Thoughts on What I Watched:
Guys, I don’t know how else to explain my love for Switched at Birth.  The show is continually entertaining, surprising, and thoughtful.  It is the show I look forward to most, and the one I enjoy the entire way through every single week.  It is also a show I watch alone, and I actually relish this time by myself.  This week was another great episode, with some interesting moments between Daphne and Travis.  I love it!

Bunheads seems to be altering its tone ever so slightly, and it’s working well, for the most part.  I’m not entirely sure that I buy the whole Sasha-gets-an-apartment thing, but the rest of it is entertaining enough.  I don’t necessarily think this one sticks in my brain for very long after I watch it, but I definitely enjoy it while I’m watching it.

Watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was a way to help distract me from some household chores, but it’s still a fun movie after all these years.  Matthew Broderick is so cute and charming, and the movie is smart and funny.  It’s also iconic–you’d be amazed at how many movies since pay homage to the film.

J. and I went and saw Warm Bodies and liked it, for the most part.  It’s a good retelling of the Romeo & Juliet story with a Beauty and the Beast twist to it.  It was funny and smart and well-cast, for the most part.  It wasn’t, you know, totally memorable, but it was a nice way to spend a snowy evening.

Side Effects was, for the most part, entertaining.  I really liked the set up of the movie but was put off by the twist about halfway through.  It’s still an entertaining, twisty movie, and the performances are largely great, but it was sort of disappointing in that it was all so obvious to me.  Even so, not a bad two hours.

What did you watch this week?

Viewed this Week (38)

Inspired by Ticket to Anywhere’s What I Watched, I post on Sundays about what movies and/or TV shows I watched the week before.  Some weeks will be epic, and some weeks…won’t be.  Let’s get to it!

TV:
Switched at Birth 2×3 – “Duel of Two Women”
Bunheads 1×13 – “I’ll Be Your Meyer Lansky”
Girls 2×2 – “I Get Ideas”

Movies:
Paranormal Activity 2, 3, and 4
Ted
Beasts of the Southern Wild

Thoughts on what I watched:
This week’s episode of Switched at Birth was compelling enough.  I’m continually entertained by this show and think that some of the actors get stronger every week.  I love Bay’s continuous struggle with switching to Carlton (and her tension with Natalie, who is excellent).  I’m less impressed with the totally predictable storyline between Toby and the pregnant chick whose name I can’t remember and can’t be bothered to look up.

Bunheads continues to be weirdly uneven, but I still really enjoy it.  It’s so fast-paced in its dialogue that it’s almost hard to keep up (even for this fast-talker).  But I love seeing Liza Weil in it, and I think Truly’s delivery nearly matches Michelle’s.  Definitely a show that continues to grow on me.

The winner of the week was Girls, though, because the scene between Donald Glover and Lena Dunham where they argue and subsequently break up was one of the best things I’ve ever seen (and apparently most of it was improvised).  I knew it was going to be golden when Dunham quoted

a Missy Elliott lyric and then flat-out denied it.  It only got better from there.  Dunham’s Hannah is unbelievably psychotic when it comes to denying her own shortcomings, and watching her go on the defensive is so, so worth it.  I love this show.

Paranormal Activity: It seemed like a good idea at the time.

We watched Ted this weekend because I promised J. we could.  I actually thought parts of it were very, very funny, but it lost steam about halfway through.  Mila Kunis is so very pretty, though.

Both J. and I hated Beasts of the Southern Wild.  I found the entire film incredibly problematic.  I doubt I’ll review it, but know that the racism and sexism underlying the film made it hard to watch.  There’s a ton of literature on the topic, and I encourage you to check it out.

What did you watch this week?

Viewed this Week (37)

Inspired by Ticket to Anywhere’s What I Watched, I post on Sundays about what movies and/or TV shows I watched the week before.  Some weeks will be epic, and some weeks…won’t be.  Let’s get to it!

TV:
Switched at Birth 2×2 – “The Awakening Conscience”
Bunheads 1×12 – “Channing Tatum is a Fine Actor”
House of Lies 2×1 – “Stochasticity”
Girls 2×1 – “It’s About Time”
New Girl 2×12 – “Cabin” and 2×13 – “A Father’s Love”
The Carrie Diaries – 1×1 – “Pilot”

Movies:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Thoughts on what I watched:
Not being in school and throwing my back out provided me ample time to watch a fair amount of TV this week.  My top TV priority remains Switched at Birth, which continues to be my biggest guilty pleasure show (that really shouldn’t be all that guilty).  This week’s episode continued the trend of being interesting and on point.  Daphne’s subtle awakening to her own privilege and what that means, as well as Bay’s realization that attending Carlton won’t sit well with everyone, were two of the episode’s strongest points.  I also like that Toby is getting more screen time but remain convinced that Nikki’s topless photos weren’t illegal because that woman is literally 30 years old (JK guys she’s like 19 but whatever).

Bunheads continues to improve for me, as this episode was also pretty strong (although I want some more dancing!).  I loved seeing Liza Weil cameo as Truly’s sister, and the four main ballerinas grow on me every week (although I’m still not sure why Boo is the favorite, as the other girls are equally as interesting to me).  I still think Sutton Foster is great and love watching her react to things onscreen.

J. and I are maybe two of the only people I know who love House of Lies, so we were stoked that the second season premiered last Sunday.  We stayed up (okay, I stayed up) late to watch it, and I have to say that I was kind of disappointed.  While I’m glad it got renewed for another season, I’m already nervous about the direction the show is taking and hope it can get back on track.

The second season premiere of Girls, however, did not disappoint.  I thought the whole thing was great from start to finish (and love that Donald Glover has a guest starring role).  I know there are a lot of criticisms of the show, and while I agree with some of them, I also think it’s one of the most daring shows on the air right now.

Somehow, I got a week behind on New Girl, so this week I caught up by watching both episodes back-to-back.  Both “Cabin” and “A Father’s Love” were really funny, but I think Olivia Munn’s exit was handled clumsily.  There were some great lines in both episodes (including Nick making a joke about Jess’s eyes being 2 or 3 times the size of a normal human’s), and the scene where everyone is tripping on Absinthe was hilarious.

I watched the premiere of the CW’s The Carrie Diaries (but based on the numbers, I was pretty much the only person who did), and was less than impressed (and the bar wasn’t set very high to begin with).  It’s fine enough, I guess, but it’s no Sex and the City, and I actually think Anna Sophia Robb was a mistake, in terms of casting.  She has none of the charm or charisma needed for the role.  I’ll keep watching, but it’s definitely something I watch in the background while I make dinner.

My mom and I watched The Perks of Being a Wallflower and found it entertaining but ultimately kind of uneven.  Even setting aside Emma Watson’s incredibly uneven American accent, the film as a whole felt half-baked.  There were things I liked and I enjoyed it, but it’s the kind of film that fades from memory quickly.

What did you watch this week?

Viewed this Week (36)

Inspired by Ticket to Anywhere’s What I Watched, I post on Sundays about what movies and/or TV shows I watched the week before.  Some weeks will be epic, and some weeks…won’t be.  Let’s get to it!

Movies:
Easy A
Paranormal Activity

TV: 
Switched at Birth 2×1 – “The Door to Freedom”
Bunheads 1×11 – “You Wanna See Something?”
Friends, Season 1

Thoughts on what I watched:
J. and I are trying to save money and stayed in on Saturday night and watched a couple of movies.  We tackled Easy A, because he had never seen it but sort of lusts after Emma Stone (so do I, so I’m fine with that).  He seemed to like it, though not nearly as much as I do, since I laughed and clapped my hands several times during it, despite having seen it before.  (I can’t confirm or deny that whiskey played a role in that exuberance.)

We also watched Paranormal Activity (my choice, again). I don’t know why I thought this was a good idea, as I was scared through the whole thing, but we made it through.  I remember it being more frightening than it was, but I also picked up on some nice foreshadowing I missed the first time I saw it years ago.

I’m so glad to see Switched at Birth return for a second season (does anyone else find ABC Family’s split-seasons really confusing?).  This past week’s episode was a solid start to the new chunk of episodes, and I’m excited to see where it all goes.  I love how they’re playing Angelo’s character, because it’s completely unclear if we’re supposed to root for him or not.  I love that Bay and Emmett are rekindling their relationship (slowly), and I love scenes between Daphne and Travis (why isn’t this a thing that’s happening yet?).  I just think the show is a lot smarter than people give it credit for.

Bunheads also premiered the second half of its first season, and I actually think it’s off to a great start.  Whereas the last two episodes before its hiatus were sort of a train-wreck, this one seems to be putting things back on track.  There seems to be some genuine momentum and character development, and apart from the awful, contrived scene between Michelle and her roommate’s much older boyfriend, the episode was pretty spot-on.  I’m excited to see how the second half of this season shakes out.

I’ve also been rewatching Friends, and have sort of plowed through the first season this week.  I don’t know what it is–the show is so, so dated–but I’m enjoying reliving parts of my childhood/early adolescence.  We’ll see how it goes.  It’s good background noise as I pack up my life and get ready to move. Again.

What did you watch this week?

Viewed this Week (35)

Inspired by Ticket to Anywhere’s What I Watched, I post on Sundays about what movies and/or TV shows I watched the week before.  Some weeks will be epic, and some weeks…won’t be.  Let’s get to it!

Movies:
10 Years
The Cabin in the Woods

TV:
House of Lies, Season 1

Thoughts on what I watched:
This week, I watched the quiet and surprisingly good 10 Years, a movie starring Channing Tatum, Rosario Dawson, and a bunch of other pretty talented people.  I’m bummed that this movie hasn’t gotten more press, because it was very entertaining and absolutely worth my time.  Expect a review soon.

J. and I spent all of New Year’s Day on the couch, and part of that time was spent watching The Cabin in the Woods, which he had never seen.  This remains one of the smartest, funniest horror movies I’ve ever seen, and rewatching it this week was totally entertaining.

We also watched all of House of Lies (the first season) in order to prepare for the second season, which premieres next week.  I think this show is really great and really smart.  The entire cast is great, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.  If you aren’t watching this one, figure out a way to get it, because it’s definitely worth your time.

What did you watch this week?

 

Viewed this Week (34)

Inspired by Ticket to Anywhere’s What I Watched, I post on Sundays about what movies and/or TV shows I watched the week before.  Some weeks will be epic, and some weeks…won’t be.  Let’s get to it!

TV:
Happy Endings 3×6 – “To Serb with Love”
New Girl 2×11 – “Santa”
The Mindy Project 1×9 – “Josh and Mindy’s Christmas Party”

Movies:
Pitch Perfect

Thoughts on what I watched:

This week’s Happy Endings was fun.  The show has some of the most consistently snappy dialogue, and it never disappoints.

I think this week’s episode of New Girl was one of my favorites in a while.  I actually laughed out loud several times, and the scene with Nick tries to lap dance only to be replaced by his stripper girlfriend only to have her replaced by Schmidt was pretty much my favorite moment of the week.  I still don’t love that Olivia Munn is on the show and hope her run is brief, but overall this was a great episode and I’m happy that Jess and Sam are back together (because Sam is a tall glass of water).

The Mindy Project this week was also pretty great, actually.  It might have been my favorite episode of the show’s run so far.  I love that Ellie Kemper guest starred.  Don’t get me wrong: I think the show has a long way to go, and I think that Chris Messina is absolutely wasted in his role, but this was an entertaining half hour.

I made J. watch Pitch Perfect last weekend and I don’t think he liked it very much (he claims he didn’t hate it).  But I still love this movie.  I love it.  I don’t know why it makes me so happy, but it does.  I just think it’s super fun. And stupid.  Sometimes, that’s all you need.

What did you watch this week?

Viewed this Week (33)

Inspired by Ticket to Anywhere’s What I Watched, I post on Sundays about what movies and/or TV shows I watched the week before.  Some weeks will be epic, and some weeks…won’t be.  Let’s get to it!

TV:
New Girl 2×10 – “Bathtub”
The Mindy Project 1×8 – “Two to One”
Parenthood 4×10 – “Trouble in Candyland”

Movies:
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part II
The Queen of Versailles

Thoughts on what I watched:

This week’s episode of New Girl was cute, although I’m not sure how I feel about the whole Olivia Munn storyline.  The whole thing with Schmidt’s suits was really great, though.  I don’t know.  I’m feeling apathetic about all my TV shows right now.

 

Same goes for this week’s The Mindy Project.  I still want this show to be so much better than it is.  It’s clear they’re doing some retooling of the show, but I’m not sure they’re making the right choices.  Excising Stephen Tobolowsky’s character from a bloated cast is probably a shrewd move, but I think the British dude could go (I can’t even be bothered to look up his name) without consequence.

Even though I knew it was coming, this week’s episode of Parenthood was heart-breaking.  Can someone give Jason Ritter his own show, please?  Or at least continue to fund his movies (which are also great)?  I’m not happy about Mark and Sarah breaking up, and I don’t agree with other people that it had to happen, but I’ll continue on with the show because I love it.

 

I went and saw Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part II, and it was as awesomely bad as I expected it to be.  The movie is a total trip–I can’t believe the actors got through it with straight faces.  It’s a total joke, and I kind of loved it.  Worth the money of admission. Here’s a preview: CGI Renesmee.

 

The Queen of Versailles is a documentary I’ve been wanting to see for a while and I LOVED it.  It’s smart and weird and funny and totally thought-provoking.  Definitely worth renting when it comes out on DVD (any day now).

What did you watch this week?

Viewed this Week (32)

Inspired by Ticket to Anywhere’s What I Watched, I post on Sundays about what movies and/or TV shows I watched the week before.  Some weeks will be epic, and some weeks…won’t be.  Let’s get to it!

TV:
New Girl 2×9 – “Eggs”
The Mindy Project 1×7 – “Teen Patient”
Parenthood 4×9 – “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”

Movies:
Volcano
Lincoln
The Silver Linings Playbook

Thoughts on what I watched:
This week’s episode of New Girl wasn’t a standout for me.  In fact, I was kind of bothered by the episode’s A-plot: Jess freaks out about the viability of her eggs when her gyno-friend Sady tells her that after 30, women might as well give up on having children (this is an overstatement, but it’s kind of the message the episode sent).  I don’t really want to go on a whole tirade here, but the episode was unbelievably unfair towards women in their 30s, and this kind of vagina-panic humor feels kind of like men taking pot-shots at women.  I don’t know.  Slate had an interesting article about the episode, too, so be sure to check that out.

What is interesting to note is that this week’s episode of The Mindy Project also focused on reproductive health and sexuality, and it handled it a lot better than New Girl did.  Mindy’s speech to the teenage girls about sex and protecting themselves managed to straddle the line between entertaining and didactic, and for the first time, I actually liked Mindy’s boyfriend.  Kind of a lot, actually.  KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON, MINDY PROJECT.

This week’s episode of Parenthood felt like a placeholder for what’s to come. I still think it’s one of the best shows on TV, but I hate where some of the storylines are (can someone please explain to me why they’re doing this to Sarah and Mark?), and this one felt a little like it was spinning its wheels.

I saw The Silver Linings Playbook last week and absolutely loved it.  Although it’s a little slow in some parts, both Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are amazing, and it’s definitely a movie worth seeing.  I haven’t decided if I’ll review it, because I’m so behind in blog posts already, but it’s definitely a favorite movie of 2012.

Lincoln was structurally a very good movie, and the cast performances are phenomenal (and will net some Oscars, let me tell you), but it just wasn’t for me.  I saw it with about 8 other people, and they all loved it, so it’s totally a me thing.

J. and I watched Volcano because I wanted a good laugh and he had never seen it before.  The movie doesn’t hold up in any way: it’s absolutely ridiculous, improbable, and impossible, and I snarked through the whole thing (that’s how I know I’ve found  a good one: J. lets me scream at the TV and just sort of laughs).  It’s ridiculous and streaming on Netflix, so what are you waiting for?

What did you watch this week?

Viewed this Week (31)

Inspired by Ticket to Anywhere’s What I Watched, I post on Sundays about what movies and/or TV shows I watched the week before.  Some weeks will be epic, and some weeks…won’t be.  Let’s get to it!

TV:
The Mindy Project 1×5 – “Danny Castellano is my Gynecologist”
New Girl 2×7 – “Menzies”
Happy Endings 3×3 – “Boys II Menorah”
Parenthood 4×7 – “Together”

Movies:
Office Space

Thoughts on what I watched:

This week’s episode of The Mindy Project was a study in uncomfortableness.  While there were certainly parts that were really funny, I get really, really tired of the constant jokes about Kaling’s weight.  I don’t think it’s funny, and I think it’s a cheap shot. Every. Single. Time.  I want this show to be so much better than it is, and there are moments where it almost accomplishes that.

New Girl this week was pretty funny, but I didn’t seem to love it as much as other people have.  I agree that Nick is the show’s standout this season, and that Jake Johnson consistently brings it every week.  I loved watching him have a meltdown, but I don’t know–I want the show to be moving forward more than it is.  I’m not sure what’s missing for me. I just know that something is.

This week’s episode of Happy Endings was pretty funny, too.  I love that Boys II Menorah has made a comeback, and I loved watching Max and Brad dance at Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.  The show has some of the best one-liners every week, and hands down the best pop culture references a girl could ask for.  I just wish it wasn’t going head-to-head with New Girl.

My sister texted me this week to see if I’d watched Parenthood yet, because she was crying so hard.  This is a weekly occurrence for me.  Parenthood is my catharsis, y’all.  This was another tear-jerker, and I’m happy to see them handling Cristina’s cancer so well.  I’m also totally into Amber’s burgeoning relationship with Ryan, but I worry for her.  These are my people, you guys.

J. and I watched Office Space after a particularly crappy day, and I have to say, I forgot how depressing it really is.  I mean, it’s a very funny movie, too, but there’s something inherently depressing about cubicle life and what that means for a person. I don’t know–it made me want to watch Clockwatchers again, so that’s probably coming soon.

What did you watch this week?

Viewed this Week (30)

Inspired by Ticket to Anywhere’s What I Watched, I post on Sundays about what movies and/or TV shows I watched the week before.  Some weeks will be epic, and some weeks…won’t be.  Let’s get to it!

TV:
New Girl 2×6 – “Halloween”
The Mindy Project 1×4 – “Halloween”
Happy Endings 3×2 – “Sabado Free-Gante”
The Office Season 3

Movies:

Thoughts on what I watched:
This week’s episode of New Girl was great.  Everyone seems to think so.  The episode started strong with the group’s impressions of a zombie Woody Allen and continued in that same vein.  Nick continues to be a standout character, and his chemistry with Jess is really great without ever going too far.  Keeping them apart feels like the right thing to do, so let’s hope that trend continues.

The Mindy Project continues to just be okay.  I like Chris Messina a lot, and I loved Mindy’s Halloween costume fashion montage, but on the whole the show doesn’t seem to know exactly what it wants to be.  I’ll stick with it, though.  I love Kaling enough to see it through.

Are you watching Happy Endings?  You should be.  It’s Friends if Friends had been really, really great.  This week’s episode continues to bring the laughs.  This is one of the smartest, quickest pop-culture-laden shows on the air, and it’s worth your time.

The marathon of rewatching The Office continues this week.  Third season is still pretty solid, so it’s been fun to revisit it.

What did you watch this week?