Television
The Simpsons (Disney +)
Martin Prince.
I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with him, but here I am.
Martin is cultured and unafraid to be himself. He also goes to great lengths to fit in.
He is so pure.
I will have more to say on him later as we progress, but I just feel he needed a mention. And also, this week has a lot of movies, so I didn’t want to overload you with text.
But trust, an ode to my new Prince is coming.
Bad Monkey (Apple TV +)
You know what? This was a solid season-ender. I hope it gets renewed for a second season.
High Potential (ABC or Paramount +)
Yes, this is a fun show. It really has modern Psych vibes. I wonder if there is a hidden thing in each episode like Psych had the pineapple.
Give this one a shot so it doesn’t get canceled, okay? I can’t suffer through another Welcome to Flatch.
English Teacher (FX / Hulu)
Yes, I am sold on this show. Enrico Colantoni is the principal! What more can you ask for?
Side note: I’m noticing that I have an affinity for principals right now. I wonder what that is about.
How to Die Alone (Hulu)
The rollercoaster of emotions I experienced in the first five minutes of the first episode was wild: from sweet sadness to depression to joy to, like… all of it.
Here is the description from the pros:
Mel is a broke JFK airport employee who has never experienced love; a near-death accident inspires her to dream and live life again.
This sounds cheesy AF, but I promise you it is not.
Mel is played by Natasha Rothwell, who is not only the star but also Robert “The Apostle” Duvall-ed this show: she starred in, wrote, directed, and produced this comedy series.
The first episode had me crying at a karaoke version of Radiohead’s “Creep”. This show is a beautiful comedy in the same way Somebody Somewhere is.
You might recognize Natasha Rothwell if you watched The White Lotus. She played the masseuse that Jennifer Coolidge was obsessed with in season 1.
She’s simply fantastic in this.
It showcases how isolating our current society can be… and how empty loneliness feels.
Abbott Elementary S4E1 (Disney & Max)
Yes, I watched this twice. I like to do that with shows I love. That way the streaming services KNOW and they don’t get cancelled. I know I’m only one person, but every little bit helps. I mean, I love all of my readers!
Even though I watched twice, I did not love this episode.
There was too much focus on the love story. I know the “will they, won’t they” thing is a big draw for many folks, but I am not one of them.
I’m here for the dynamics between coworkers.
I think the golf course storyline is gonna provide some exciting foils.
Can’t wait to see how the Gang fits in.
Saturday Night Live: Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (Peacock)
First off, every single monologue has been great so far this year.
Second, Ariana Grande might be one of my favorites among the younger generation of hosts. I think every skit was a hit. They weren’t afraid to go dark, and she’s just supremely talented.
It got me excited about Wicked, and despite loving the book and musical, I wasn’t that excited about the movie before.
Thanks, Ariana.
The Bear, S2E7: Forks (Hulu)
Yeah, I prescribe this episode to myself like a drug. I use it when I want a rush of focused inspiration, and it works.
The Other Two: Season 3 (Max)
This is also a rewatch. I’ve been working hard on making templates so that I can promote my blogs and eventually make some money doing this. This is a great show to work to.
This is my first time rewatching this season since it originally aired. While the first two seasons were fantastic and some of the cleverest comedy writing of the past decade, this third season is a whole new level. I didn’t realize how tight the story was from beginning to end, with some lovely (and bittersweet and satisfying) bookends.
Australian TV (Or Dropout TV)
Australian Survivor Heroes vs. Villains
The cookie idol story finally came to a conclusion.
The secondhand embarrassment was real.
Thousandaires (Dropout TV)
Fucking Dropout has done it again, y’all.
I cried at every single episode (and I’m starting to cry again now, just thinking about it).
Not because this show is sad, nor does it try to manipulate your emotions.
It’s so pure and something I want to be a part of so badly.
Here is the official description:
Comedians are given a thousand dollars to spend on their friends and their wildest dreams.
Each episode has four contestants, each getting 1000 bucks to spend however they wish. The host then has 1000 to spend on a prize for the winner of their choice.
I could list them all here, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise. The pic above is from the first episode, where one contestant spent their money on a dress that all five of them could wear. And inside the skirt of the dress was a whole other surprise.
One contestant in a later episode bought a thousand dollars worth of mystery boxes, which is a Jacki dream.
This show is fascinating. It lets you see how other folks’ brains work, and it inspired the fuck out of me.
Almost everything I watch on Dropout does, though. It’s just unbridled creativity. I love it.
It makes me so happy to see friends having fun together, supporting small, local businesses, and getting paid a living wage for it!
Movies
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (VOD)
I wanted to like this so much.
It was both not enough and too much, all at the same time.
Not enough of the same vibes from the original.
Too much fan service.
Too many storylines.
The costumes and acting were good, but the story was just not there for me.
It made me sad. I loved the original very much.
However, the only person that I felt really fought to keep the integrity of the original, and most importantly, her character was Catherine O’Hara. She gets Delia Deetz on a deep level.
If Tim Burton could just not, though, I think he’d be happier making a little movie where his wife can be the star instead of giving her an unnecessary side story in a movie that didn’t need it.
Also, I love Justin Theroux, but I did not love him in this.
However, Tim Burton is at fault for my unhappiness with this film. And that terrible, awful baby.
Just no.
Alien (Hulu)
I’d never watched this before. I don’t know how or why, but this horror classic completely slipped my movie education.
I kind of wish I had seen it earlier. It would have had a greater impact on me.
I can see why all the horror-heads went all joobly joobly over it.
I don’t know why I am making up so many words in this blog, y’all. Watching good art inspires it, I guess?
Lotsa sentences that start with “I”, too. Gotta give that a rest.
So, yeah. This movie was fucking intense. I can’t recall the last time I jumped so many times in a film – and said, “Oh shit!” out loud.
It wasn’t predictable, and I loved it.
Where Alien shines, however, is the tension-building. I can only imagine what the experience of watching this live in the theater must have been like.
Sigourney Weaver was strong and sexy. Question about her character: Did Ridley Scott name her after himself, just with an upside-down “d”? I mean, it would be cute if so, but also weird.
About an hour in, I said, “So, I am not sure why everyone goes batty over Sigourney Weaver in this movie. She’s good, but. nothing special.”
And then I got it. Hard.
Do you know who else I got a new look at? Harry Dean Stanton. For the bulk of my adult life, this man was Roman Grant from Big Love and absolutely no one else. Fell in love with him in this – he’s nothing more than a loveable goof!
Should I watch the sequels?! I am undecided.
American Psycho (Paramount +)
It’s been a good three years since I last watched this.
That’s an eternity in Jacki-world.
American Psycho used to be one of my “centering movies.” What I mean by that is that I would watch it when my brain felt all weebly and woobly and off kilter. The other one that I used for this purpose regularly throughtout my life is The House of Yes.
I have, however, watched that one recently. I don’t think a year goes by that I don’t spend some time with Jackie Oh and Marty. I haven’t had the need to watch either of these though.
It’s nice to want to watch a movie instead of needing to. Especially when its one of your favorites like these two are.
So, the reason I rewatched Patrick Bateman and friends (I would 100% watch this kid’s show, please) is because I felt like it would hit differently after making it through a Donald Trump presidency.
I was right. It did. There are so many Trump mentions and references. It was like he was a specter looming over the NYC Money Boys Society at the time. It’s time to unarm this asshole, y’all. He’s had too much power for too long.
But I knew that already. And all my (smart) friends know that as well. Hell, literally everyone who values humans over money feel that. And if you get your feathers ruffled by that statement, the I need you to look deep into yourself and really pay attention to what you value more: people or cashe.
It’s the root of the voting, from my observation. Most of the folks that I talk to who are Trump supporters have nothing to say about him that isn’t a sound bite. And the same goes for the things they don’t like about Harris – namely, her laugh.
People have forgotten what’s really important. By focusing on money rather than humanity, they’ve also forgotten how to think for themselves. This scares me.
YOU KNOW WHAT DOESN’T SCARE ME, THOUGH?!
American Psycho is shot with the female gaze in mind. This is something I didn’t realize before, probably because I didn’t know exactly what that was or how to put it into words.
Now, to be fair, I did watch Alien almost immediately before Bateman-fest. And Alien?! Well, it’s about as male-gaze-y as it gets.
However, American Psycho was written and directed by a woman, even though it was based on a book written by a man. It makes a difference. Especially with the nude scenes.
What other movies were shot with the female gaze in mind? What does the “female gaze” vs the “male gaze” mean to you?
My favorite examples of recent media shot with the female gaze in mind are Zola and, of course, P-Valley.
Challengers (Amazon Prime)
I am embarrassed to report that I rewatched this movie twice this week. It’s good background noise for working on powerpoint decks, what can I say?
OH AND ALSO THE MUSIC IS SO GOOD FOR WORKING.
In conclusion, Zendaya is a force of nature.
