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Review: The Invite

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  Official synopsis: Joe (Seth Rogan) and Angela's (Olivia Wilde) marriage is on thin ice. When they invite their enigmatic upstairs neighbors (Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton) for a dinner party, the night spirals into unexpected places. I was a bit skeptical of this film when I first started hearing about it. Olivia Wilde doing Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? Is this going to be a Book Smart scenario where so many beats are just another version of Superbad ? I had low expectations, which slowly grew and grew as I read more positive reviews after its premiere at Sundance. While you tell Virginia Woolf very much inspired the film visually, the rest of it easily stands on its own. I feel pretty confident in saying this is the best Olivia Wilde has been both in front of and behind the camera. The way this apartment is shot is so visually appealing. It feels so grand, even though we spend the majority of the film in this one setting.  Wilde has always had strong comedic timing...
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Review: Spider-Man: Brand New Day

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Official Synopsis:  A forgotten Peter Parker (Tom Holland) lives alone as a full-time Spider-Man until mounting pressure triggers a dangerous change and a powerful new enemy (Sadie Sink) emerges. Anyone vaguely familiar with me knows that I love a good Spider-man movie so of course I contributed to that record breaking box office number over the weekend. (Holy shit, we're topping Avengers Endgame already?!) And it did not disappoint! I had a great time watching this, but I also had a bit of an epiphany awards when it comes to the larger MCU.... I need to stop watching Daredevil . Depending on how familiar you are with what  Daredevil  is doing on Disney Plus   will directly effect your experience AFTER watching this film because they are meant to exist in the same universe. And I say "after" because Brand New Day is fun and fast paced throughout, so while some something may through you off guard immediately, it's when you sit and think about it that you realize how...
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Review: The Odyssey

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                                           Official Synopsis: After the Trojan War, Odysseus (Matt Damon) faces a dangerous voyage back to Ithaca, meeting creatures like the Cyclops, Sirens, and Calypso (Charlize Theron) along the way. I'm not going to pretend that I remember exact details of reading the Odyssey, or the Iliad for that matter. It's been so long since I've read those stories that there was just no way I was going to be a book purist about anything in this film. I do know if someone was going to reignite my interest in these stories, it would be Christopher Nolan and this insanely large cast. Did Homer write the first popcorn flick? I think he might have. Everything about this adventure is so exciting on the big screen. From the epic battle scenes, to the SFX work on the creatures, to the amazing score by Ludwig Gorranson, This film was just fun...
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2026 Emmy Nominations

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The Emmy Nominations are upon us and while the Comedy and Drama categories have all the usual suspects, the Limited Series line up is what truly shocked me.  OUTSTANDING DRAMA The Diplomat The Gilded Age A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Paradise The Pitt Pluribus Slow Horses Your Friends & Neighbors I'm so happy to see A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms here. That was the drama series I was rooting for the most. Of these, I haven't seen any of The Diplomat, The Gilded Age or Your Friends & Neighbors. I'm sure The Pitt has this on lock. I wasn't as high on Pluribus as others were.  LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA Carrie Coon, The Gilded Age Chase Infiniti, The Testaments Keri Russell, The Diplomat Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus Zendaya, Euphoria I'm happy to see Chase Infiniti for The Testaments. I wish there was room for Lucy Halliday too. Zendaya getting nominated for all 3 seasons of Euphoria is a great stat for her. She deserves better than that 3rd season gave her.  LEAD ACTO...
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Review: Leviticus

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  Official Synopsis:  Two teenage boys, Naim (Joe Brid) and Ryan (Stacy Clausen) must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most - each other. Joe Bird is certainly making a name for himself as an up-and-coming Aussie talent to watch. After his excellent turn in another horror flick, Talk To Me , he's back again as the lead here. Leviticus will no doubt draw a lot of comparisons to It Follows. It's about an entity that "follows" its victims after all, but this time instead of being framed like an STD, it's explicitly passed along in a nonconsensual religious ceremony? Possession? I'm not even sure what to call it. It's specifically used to target LGBTQIA youth. This is what sets this film apart. It also effectively builds tension because at times you're never sure if Naim and Ryan are interacting with each other, or the entity.  I might be projecting my own feelings into this a bit, but as much as I enjoyed Leviticus ...
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2026 Blind Spot Series: To Wong Fu, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar

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  What I knew going in: Nothing Pride month may have "officially" ended but Pride is all day every day around here. Last month, Letterboxd and various other outlets were asking folks what their favorite film with "queer joy" was, and this one came up quite often. I realized that I had heard the title, but didn't know anything about that. Lucky for me, I was able to correct that wrong on a recent flight.  To Wong Fu may have a ridiculous title but it's one of the most charming movies I've ever seen. Three queens (played by Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and John Liguizamo) are on a cross country road trip when their car breaks down near a small town. Turns out, they are just what this town needs to broaden their horizons.  "Drag queens saving the day" should be a genre in itself. Everything about this movie was delightful. I expected it to feel very dated to someone just discovering this for the first time in 2026, but I was surprised just how m...
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Rambling TV: Letting The Emmys Influence Me

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Emmy voters are in deep at the moment so of course I've been trying to follow along. Here are some quick thoughts on a few shows I've recently caught up with.  D.T.F St. Louis - Yes, that's DTF as in "Down to fuck." The most baffling thing to me after watching this is that both Jason Bateman and David Harbour are campaigning as "Supporting" when they are both very clearly leads in this. It's category fraud at its finest. That aside, it's a fine show. It's a murder mystery told through multiple point of views and you'll definitely question the whodunnit aspect throughout it's run time. Harbour is great in it, but he doesn't top Gadd in Half Man for me personally.  Widow's Bay - I had never even heard of this until the folks at Next Best Picture mentioned it on their podcast. I was sold at "Steven King meets Parks and Rec" and that's a perfect way to describe it. Matthew Rhys is blowing my mind in this. He's so...
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