Category: TV and Film

Was I Right? – Bridgerton Season 2

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I absolutely loved The Viscount who loved me and was really looking forward to Season 2. It is significantly different from the book, but an absolutely phenomenal season of television and love story. Due to some of the changes and expansions, I was wrong about a lot of things. How did you enjoy this season?

  • Edwina acknowledges Kate and Anthony’s connection to Mary or we see that she has a better connection with other suitors and the sacrifice she is making for the family before the bee scene.
    • FALSE! In this adaptation, Edwina is much more invested in Anthony’s courtship and her naivete in the books plays about in a very different way.
  • Francesca is in at least two episodes (especially because she gets married for the first time in the same season as Benedict).
    • TRUE! We did not get a lot of personality from her, but did get to see her in 3 episodes off and on again. She is often missing with no explanation. I really hope that she is in a little more moving forward. Then again, I don’t know that Benedict’s season is coming next.
  • Eloise and Edwina bond over wanting to pursue scholarship and higher education.
    • FALSE! Again they went in a very different direction with Edwina though Eloise explores this with another character.
  • The Cheese couple (Finch and Phillipa) get married.
    • TRUE! They are hilarious on screen and I am so glad they did end up being able to be married even with the deceptions of the new heir.
  • Kate bonds with the Bridgertons after the wedding.
    • True… I am giving myself this on a technicality, but hopefully we see some more in the coming seasons.
  • We see Anthony pick up the trumpet.
    • FALSE. Though I have hope for Happy Anthony in the coming seasons taking up new pursuits.
  • Eloise’s love interest will effect the Featheringtons.
    • Sort of! At the very least Penelope feels it is interfering with her role as Lady Whistledown whether or not this is true it does direct Pen and the Queen in a new way.
  • Colin shows some anger towards Lady Whistledown in front of Penelope.
    • YES! Or at the very least sort of takes away her “saving” argument for last season when it comes to what she shared about Marina’s pregnancy. Whistledown took quite the beating the whole season.
  • Daphne and Violet argue about how to best parent Daphne and Simon’s son.
    • FALSE! Though Violet was in conflict with the rest of her adult children on and off through out the season.
  • The season ends with the masquerade ball or at least the planning of it.
    • FALSE! They ended the season pretty ambiguously when it came to who will be the focus of next season. Benedict had so much screen time in a supporting sibling role (which was delightful!), but Colin and Pen’s story events have started to unfold. Benedict also was shown packing up, I think it is a coin toss.
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Predictions: Bridgerton Season 2

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It is almost here, coming on March 25th to Netflix will be Bridgerton Season 2. After Season 1 went viral at the end of 2020.This series is based on the best selling romance novels by Julia Quinn, each book and now season following one of the Bridgerton siblings love stories. This season is based on my personal favorite “The Viscount Who Loved Me”. However, the series expands past the books to maintain stories for all the siblings and other major characters until time comes for their book. I wanted to share my predictions for what will be added or changed in the story for the upcoming season. What do you think will happen and are you planning on watching?

  1. Edwina acknowledges Kate and Anthony’s connection to Mary or we see that she has a better connection with other suitors and the sacrifice she is making for the family before the bee scene.
  2. Francesca is in at least two episodes (especially because she gets married for the first time in the same season as Benedict).
  3. Eloise and Edwina bond over wanting to pursue scholarship and higher education.
  4. The Cheese couple (Finch and Phillipa) get married.
  5. Kate bonds with the Bridgertons after the wedding.
  6. We see Anthony pick up the trumpet.
  7. Eloise’s love interest will effect the Featheringtons.
  8. Colin shows some anger towards Lady Whistledown in front of Penelope.
  9. Daphne and Violet argue about how to best parent Daphne and Simon’s son.
  10. The season ends with the masquerade ball or at least the planning of it.

Was I Right?: Sweet Magnolias Season 2 (spoilers)

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Sweet Magnolias Season Two premiered last week, before it did I made some predictions. I wanted check-in about how right or wrong I was. I was pretty wrong about a couple things. There will be spoilers in the rest of this post, so read with caution. I think this season worked, but tried for too many twists. The season was packed full and I think started more storylines than it finished. I hope the wait for season 3 isn’t as long, considering the sheer number of cliffhangers. Were you surprised by this season?

  • Annie was the other passenger in the car, but she wasn’t badly hurt.
    • This twist of it being Nellie was exciting and promising, but then it didn’t go anywhere, so ultimately it felt disappointing.
  • Dana Sue reconnects with her ex-husband but they don’t get back together.
    • I was happy to be wrong about this. I think that this was really realistic. I loved the portrayal of counseling, accountability, and anger. It ended up being one of my favorite storylines of the season.
  • Helen and Erik go on an actual date and Helen gets some
    • AMEN!
  • Erik and Helen have an very tense conversation about kids.
    • This was not as tense as I was hoping. It was actually a couple really lovely moments throughout the season.
  • Noreen and the baby leave Serenity for good.
    • This was so well set up. There was a farewell to Noreen and a perfect shove out the door for JLS. AND THEN THEY DIDN”T GO THROUGH WITH IT!
  • Maddie and Cal get engaged
    • …I did not see the end of this season coming. I actually don’t know how they are going to recover from this
  • CeCe breaks up with Ty.
    • My girl! I was so proud of her. I was so impressed by CeCe’s character development throughout both seasons. I am glad they let her stand up for herself and say she deserved to be someone’s first choice and relationship that was worth fixing. Also CeCe saying Ty likes Annie made me scream with glee.
  • Kyle and Ty bond over hating Annie’s new love interest (my money is on Jackson).
    • I am going to count this as correct because we got a lot of Kyle and Tyler bonding and fixing their relationship. As well as, a Jackson and Annie’s new romance, which ended up being quite sweet.
  • Mary Vaughn is Isaac’s mom, but we do not find out who his father is this season.
    • This wasn’t correct. Isaac’s mom reveal made sense, the dad reveal didn’t. In general, the father reveal just compounded into the writing problems. They took Bill and the Vaughns and instead of making them developed characters every bad or slightly negative thing got made their fault. I actually don’t think Bill did anything super wrong considering he had no idea that a pregnancy even occurred and reacted better than Peggy, but he was already the “villian”.
  • Trotter gets the screen time he deserves, including a double date with him, Ashley, Cal, and Maddie.
    • Trotter did get more screen time, but the star of this season was Dr. Howie. I am glad that Trotter and Ashley both got a solid screen time and are now the model, stable couple of the series.

Predictions: Sweet Magnolias Season 2

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Sweet Magnolias was one of my early pandemic fixations. It was a show I picked up on a whim and was pleasantly surprised by, considering Netflix did like no promotion for the first season. It takes place in Serenity, South Carolina and follows three lifelong best friends as their families and lives are transitioning again, and not by choice. Season 2 is premiering in a little less than 2 weeks on February 4th. I wanted to share my predictions before I watch the new trailer and the press starts. There are 10 episodes so these are my 10 thoughts on what we might see. Are you planning on watching?

  1. Annie was the other passenger in the car, but she wasn’t badly hurt.
  2. Dana Sue reconnects with her ex-husband but they don’t get back together.
  3. Helen and Erik go on an actual date and Helen gets some
  4. Erik and Helen have an very tense conversation about kids.
  5. Noreen and the baby leave Serenity for good.
  6. Maddie and Cal get engaged
  7. CeCe breaks up with Ty.
  8. Kyle and Ty bond over hating Annie’s new love interest (my money is on Jackson).
  9. Mary Vaughn is Isaac’s mom, but we do not find out who his father is this season.
  10. Trotter gets the screen time he deserves, including a double date with him, Ashley, Cal, and Maddie.

Halloween Watch Plans

~ afledglingadult ~ 2 Comments

Spooky Season is upon us and that means time to pull out all the movies that imbody the season. Honestly, these are some of my favorite vibes throughout the year. There is such a wide spectrum of Halloween content from trick-or-treating to the paranormal to pure gore. Here is what I am watching to celebrate the season! What is your favorite Halloween viewing?

Netflix

  • ParaNorman (2012) dir. Sam Fell and Chris Butler
  • A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting (2020) dir. Rachel Talalay
  • Labyrinth (1986) dir. Jim Henson

Hulu

  • Scream Queen Season 2
  • Over the Garden Wall (2014) – miniseries also available on HBO Max
  • The Final Girls (2015) dir.  Todd Strauss-Schulson
  • Black Swan (2010) dir, Darren Aronofsky

HBO Max

  • Scooby-Doo (2002) dir. Raja Gosnell/Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004) dir. Raja Gosnell
  • The Witches (1990) dir. Nicolas Roeg/ The Witches (2020) dir. Robert Zemeckis
  • Corpse Bride (2005) dir. Tim Burton and Mike Johnson
  • Freaky (2020) dir. Christopher Landon

Owned

  • Halloweentown (1998) dir. Duwayne Dunham
    • Rest of the series available on Disney Plus dir. Mary Lambert/Mark A.Z. Dippé/David Jackson
  • Twitches (2005) dir. Stuart Gillard /Twitches Too (2007) dir. Stuart Gillard
  • Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) dir. Charles Barton

Only Murders in the Building: Hit or Miss

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The Premise:

Welcome to the Arconia! This an apartment building with a stoic façade in New York where all our characters find themselves living. As three neighbors begin to connect over a love of true crime, specifically the same favorite podcast. After a suspicious death in the building they unite to investigate and live out their true crime fantasies. The jobless director (Short), the actor whose star is fading (Martin), and young renovator (Gomez) all have their own relationship to the crime and to the building.

Title Card of Only Murders in the Building

This is such a comedic take on true crime culture. It is a quirky character study that is shows itself through a dark comedy. I really enjoy Steve Martin and Martin Short’s chemistry they have such an ease together. I was really impressed by Selena Gomez’s ability to keep up with that duo. As far as the mystery it self goes, we don’t know that there is one. The story could go so many ways, including pure paranoia especially given each individual’s motivations for solving the “case”. I would definitely recommend checking out. Three episodes of the season’s ten are out now. The rest to be released weekly.

How to Watch: Hulu (streaming service)

My Favorite Crime Procedurals

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What is a procedural? – A procedural is a show that follows typically the procedures of an occupation (typically creme, legal, or medical). These can be watched as a series but are made so that for the most part they can be watched independently (a story arc an episode). Due to this format it can get repetitive and formulaic. Below are some of my favorites of the genre. Do you like procedurals?

Rizzoli and Isles (7 Seasons)

This Boston-based show follows a homicide detective and the chief medical examiner. The show follows the crimes they work and the relationship between the two women. The crimes do tend to cover the gambit, but even when they do start to get repetitive because about a third of each episode focuses on the family and relationships of the leads it never feels boring or predictable. In general, it is just a very heartfelt show despite the genre.

Psych (8 Seasons)

This is the funniest of the shows. It follows a two best friends, one of which uses his observational skills and eidetic memory to pretend to psychic, as they start a detective agency. Gus and Shawn often are trying to figure out if there even is a case just so they can get paid. It is a super funny and fast show. The core cast is great and the relationship between all 6 (including Lassie, Henry, Jules, and the Chief) just grows over the seasons.

LA’s Finest (2 Seasons)

This Bad Boys spinoff lived up to the franchise. It was fun, brutal, and fast. All of the procedural episodes also took part in a large umbrellas case that each season revolves around. Fair warning this is a show you are going to want to binge as each episodes ends in a cliffhanger to lead into the next. However, any thing starring Jessica Alba and Gabrielle Union is a must-watch. Their performance and chemistry is worth the commitment of at least the two existing seasons.

Veronica Mars (3 seasons; 1 spin-off movie and 1 spin-off season)

The mid-aughts show follows a teen P.I and her friends. Each season has an overall crime plot that is filled throughout the season with smaller mysteries. Often these are not major or violent crimes episode to episode, but the overall themes of the season can be quite brutal. This is mystery meets teen drama and it works.

Criminal Minds (tentative) – (15 Seasons)

This is tentative because there are FIFTEEN seasons and I am only partway through season 9 so I don’t feel that I can fully say 100% yes. This follows the BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit) from the FBI. They work on serial crimes throughout the country. This has a larger focus on psychology and sociology which is always fascinating. I do think they try really hard to balance recognition of negative police structures, mental illness, and socio-economic factors. Part of what keeps this show fresh is that we also follow the unsub or the victim for part of the episode while the team is trying to find them.

Monsters at Work: Hit or Miss

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The Premise: Monsters at work takes place after Monsters Inc (2001). The series follows Monsters Inc after it reopens to transition to use Laugh Energy instead. The whole company is trying to figure out it’s new place and how to work under new leadership. The new character we follow is Tylor Tuskman who was hired as a Scarer fresh out of Monster U. In the chaos no one thought to let him know the job no longer existed. When he shows up to Monsters Inc. he gets reassigned to the quirky facilities team, MIFT.

My Review:

I was really looking forward to this show as I am huge fan of the films and of the cast of this show. Unfortunately, it felt like the show knew that. I have this theory that you can figure out if a show is for you in three episodes. In my opinion, the show is rather forgettable. All the new characters are “weird” and intense, but they don’t have storylines of their own. Splitting the show with Mike, Sully, Celia, and Roz from the original series feels like it is splitting focus and doesn’t really know it’s own intentions. Mike and Sully even though it supposedly months later are figuring out for the first time how the new company should run and how to be in charge. The most heartfelt episode was episode three but it came it waves and for me too late. It feels like the show has yet to find it’s own heartbeat and direction.

How to Watch: Disney + (steaming service)

Series Review: Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure

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Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure (formally Tangled the Series) follows Rapunzel after the events of Tangled. Rapunzel, Eugene, and their friends (Rapunzel makes friends; Eugene already has them) acclimate to life in Corona, new responsibilities, and the magic of the world. Mainly, it is a show about destiny and characters figuring out their place in the world versus what they want it to be. It does this in a really appropriate way for each character and every character is given the support and resources to better themselves when they choose. The soundtrack also slaps.

The Good

  • The relationships
    • Eugene and Rapunzel’s relationship is an incredibly loving and healthy one. Any conflict in the relationship comes from there separate histories and not miscommunication.
    • All the friendships and family dynamics are unique! Cass and Rapunzel’s relationship is different from Eugene and Lance. Cass’s adoptive father has a different relationship to her than Rapunzel’s newly found family. It is really exciting and shows really well how there is more than one way to have relationships.
    • None of the relationships are built or fixed easily.
  • World building
    • It starts small in Season One just in Corona and focusing on the mystery of the kingdom and the Sun Drop, It expands literally and figuratively in season 2 and 3. We venture to other kingdoms, gods, and magic.
  • Character Development
    • I like that for the characters this is is not always positive development. It explores really well what happens when any character trait is taken too far.
  • Talented Cast
    • It DID retain the voice cast from the movie which was amazing and they did a great job.
    • They got Jeremy Jordan and Eden Espinosa and did not waste them. They had frequent songs and all their talents were used.

The Bad:

  • Rapunzel had to retain her naivete and “niceness” from the movie into the series. Due to this she has to relearn many of the same lessons and often ends up not being able to differentiate between nice and good.
    • She lost two of her friends in the same way and kept being in fights with Max (horse) and Pascal (chameleon) for the same reasons, Some how neither Raps nor anyone else hold her accountable for this in her role as hero.
  • Shorty – was funny in season 1 but not necessary to join the permanent cast.
  • Filler Episodes – there were too many filler episodes in the later seasons as we had a clearer idea of the overarching plot. They made sense in Season 1 when this story was still coming together.
  • The Monkey – I really can’t explain this better

How long is it: 3 Seasons and a Movie

Best Season: Season 2. This road tripping season was focused on growth of the world and the characters. The development excelled!

Best Song: “Ready as I’ll Ever Be” or “Nothing Left to Lose”

Where to watch it: Disney Channel and Disney Plus

All images from IMDB

Pleasure and Accomplishment

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Something I have a big problem with especially on my time off is the feeling like I am wasting my time. I feel this a lot when I spend the day watching TV, coloring, reading, etc. There is nothing to show for the day. I know there is work in the future but the time, but relaxing and pleasure is a genuinely positive way to spend the day. Honestly, in the past it is has made me feel really bad at the end of the day, even though it has genuinely made me feel at peace and rest while happening.

I feel like when my dad watches another movie towards his year goal or my partner and his squad win a new round. I can appreciate the joy and the accomplishment in what they do. I have a really hard time giving myself that same patience and permission. I think it’s really hard to because there is some much going on with work (even on vacation) and that can be done around the home.

I am really lucky that I get a pretty genuine break from work this year between Christmas and New Years. I am trying really hard to constantly remind myself that it is okay not to get anything “done”. But it is really hard to maintain that mindset day to day, especially in a time where we mostly have to stay home. so there is no full way to break up the day.

Wish me luck in giving myself a break.