Corner Gas (TV series, 2004-2009)

Corner Gas

Watched 2026.

Quirky funny, although the women are too attractive for the rural boondocks of Saskatchewan.

The Sheep Detectives (movie, 2026)

The Sheep Detectives

Watched July, 2026.

Adolescent, humorous in a cutesy way, with a Christian flavor. The murder mystery is reasonably well presented. The movie is so goofy in an adolescent way that I didn't foresee the (funny) resolution of the chase scene near the end.

Bugonia (movie, 2025)

Bugonia

Watched February, 2026.

I liked the first 90% of the movie. The twist at the end and its explanations were so extreme that they were not satisfying.

F1: The Movie (movie, 2025)

F1: The Movie

Watched December, 2025.

The technical aspects of racing were great. The plot was predictable. Of course Pitt had to have sex with the first female tech lead in F1. At least Stallone lost his first "Rocky" match, but I'm guessing we're not going to see a string of F1 sequels.

Lions for Lambs (movie, 2007)

Lions for Lambs

Watched July, 2025.

A bit preachy, as Redford tends to be, but prescient with respect to the outcomes in Afghanistan. At least Cruise didn't hop on a plane and save the world.

Where the Boys Are (movie, 1960)

Where the Boys Are

Watched a bunch of times, possibly as early as the '60s.

This is a well done precursor to the Avalon & Funicello formula. Characters are developed, dramatic stuff happens. Gorshin, Hutton, Prentiss, Francis all do fine jobs, and no one is bad. Go see the Elbo Room, it's a real place!

You Won't Be Alone (movie, 2022)

You Won't Be Alone

Watched May, 2025.

This movie tries hard to tell a culturally important story but is hard to love. If the story were based on actual Macedonian folklore, this would be an 8, but it's apparently a folklore-ish horror fantasy portraying a pre-industrial Macedonian farm community. The translations of the English subtitles are horrifying ("the man, the eyewater he wants"). The repeated use of human entrails is not simply horror graphics, it is significant to the story, but it makes no logical sense (a basic vampire story just involves drinking blood without the self-mutilation). The soundtrack is subdued and interesting, too bad the "Welcome Happy Morning" hymn is left off the soundtrack album. If you want to skip the horror, The Peasants provides good historical fiction from this time period (in Poland).

Heretic (movie, 2024)

Heretic

Watched April 2, 2025.

In real life, any sacred text can be interpreted to suggest contradictions and other errors. In order to suggest that all sacred texts are wrong, the screenplay's character must pick interpretations as if they are the one and only interpretations. For all the man's intelligence and study, he apparently never talks to anyone who can argue with him in as as an equal. This leaves only young girls who come to his door. If that's the best the writers can do, it's just a run-of-the-mill horror flick and it gets a 7. The girls are too smart for teenagers, the man is too smart for an evil recluse, and the ending shows that the writers were not smart enough to invent a truly satisfying twist.

A Complete Unknown (movie, 2024)

A Complete Unknown

Watched April 1, 2025.

A movie about a folk singer can only be so exciting. It is hard to imagine why any women found such a brooding whiner to be attractive, especially as portrayed by an actor (Chalamet) who looks like a 12-year old, but sex and lovers' spats are the only excitement there could possibly be in Dylan's life. The reenactment of Newport was interesting, but even then, Dylan was a brooding whiner. The best scene is where Al Kooper hits the organ on "Like a Rolling Stone". Taylor Swift should watch this to see how a melody can have more than two pitches.

Wicked Part 1 (movie, 2024)

Wicked

Watched March 22, 2025.

This movie wants to be a grand Hollywood musical in the "golden age" style, but it just doesn't succeed. The dancing is just mediocre even for the main characters. This needed Astaire and Rogers, but it's not remotely close. The songs are nice, but there is nothing for us laypeople to sing in the shower.

The movie should pay homage to the original "Wizard of Oz" constantly, and there are a few notable scenes (like the beauty salon scene and walking the long hallway to the wizard). But mostly I kept getting déjà vu visions of Harry Potter, and that's not a good thing for this movie. Harry Potter stories have their place in the pre-teen world, but that's not what this movie wanted to be. The movie starts off with a married woman cheating on her husband, but afterwards it's the cast of Glee.

No acting performance is strong. All are just "ok". Having said all  that, I liked it overall and hope for more from the next installment.

The Office (US, TV series, 2005-2013)

The Office US

Watched 2024-2025.

I watched all 188 episodes, including the superfan episodes when available. The misogyny and racism are too blatant, and the office romances are too cringeworthy for this to be better than a 7. The problem for the formula of this show is that office life isn't very funny, the selling of paper isn't very interesting, so the show spices it up with sexual harassment that can't actually happen in real life.

Some good gags in this US version were improvements on gags in the UK version. The A-lister cameo appearances in the last few seasons were fun. Ultimately, the funny bits were pretty funny and the finale episodes were touching.

The Shack (movie, 2017)

The Shack

Watched 2025.

The screenplay is careful with the theology of the Trinity. I'm not sure how I would react myself to encountering a vision of a female Black God and a supermodel Holy Spirit, but they keep to their lanes. I was a bit surprised by the portrayal of Wisdom as a separate person; this is a decidedly Old Testament notion.

The portrayal of forgiveness seemed appropriate. It is the not the facing of the sinner so much as the soaring past the sin along one's own journey.

The wife's experience was underwhelming. She seemed to be satisfied to return to the sad situation of not knowing and not forgiving.

Napoleon (movie, 2023)

Napoleon director's cut

I wanted to like this more. It is a grand epic with fantastic technical details of 19th century battles and the horrors of war.

But the drama is pretty boring. Maybe this is unfair because I watched the 3 1/2 hour director's cut. I was curious about the obsessive love Napoleon had for Josephine, but she was not a nice person. There is a brief scene near the end where we hear why Nap's love letters are so well known to this day.

This movie should have been an exploration of the romance with interspersed battles, but instead it was an exploration of Napoleon's hunger for power interspersed with an inexplicable romance.

Vicar of Dibley: The Immaculate Collection (TV series, 1994-2020)

The Vicar of Dibley: The Immaculate Collection

Watched 2010-ish.

Lots of funny moments in each episode, with quirky (sometimes unrealistic) characters. Lots of racy humor and 1990s British pop culture references. Active churchgoers will find good church humor, and an occasional jab at the politics of the Church of England.

It is unclear why IMDB says this ran until 2020. Maybe there was a reunion episode or something like that.

UFO (TV series, 1970-71)

UFO

Watched reruns during the 1970s, then the full series in the 2000s.

Episode 1 showed great promise. 2-6 are OK, but many sloppy plot devices. Like, Straker complaining about security, but all locks are easily picked with a paper clip. The writers want to show the advances in race relations of the '60s, but women are treated like dirt. Still, there are some cool glimpses of the future from the eyes of the '60s, and it's so much fun to watch sci-fi TV without the Sci-Fi network's constant commercials. Final half of season 1 (there is only one season) was disappointing. 26 episodes in all. I was 12 in 1970, and all those short skirts are a schoolboy's dream.

The Tudors (TV series, 2007-10)

The Tudors

Watched 2007-10.

Quite stylized with its ornate costumes and settings.

Season 1 - 6/10 - I didn't see much of peasant life outside the Court, and according to other reviews, there are historical inaccuracies. If you like soap opera melodramatics, you'll like this. Lots of fornication, but the language is not too bad. Season 1 ends as a cliffhanger with major issues unresolved.

Season 2 - 7/10 - Darker and better than season 1. Costumes remain lavish. Watch for a hilarious brief encounter between the Pope and Michelangelo (a welcome break from the grim storylines). I remain disappointed that there are no depictions of peasants and others outside of court, and it's hard to understand how much time is passing (which must be months between each episode). The season is overall 7/10, but the season 2 finale is one of the greatest hours of TV that you will ever see.

Season 3 - 8/10 - I'm glad that season 3 has many scenes with commoners, and not just nobility. Season 3 is as good as previous seasons, except nothing can compare with the final episode of season 2.

Season 4 - 7/10 - Light on the history and political intrigue, heavy on the s-e-x.

Ticket to Paradise (movie, 2022)

Ticket to Paradise

Watched 2024.

Cute and funny, appealing to baby boomers in the early 2020s, nothing profound.

The Birth of a Nation (movie, 1915)

The Birth of a Nation

Watched 2024.

This film is recognized as a great film that argues for evil. In the end, fabricated events glorify the KKK and white supremacy. In some ways, the mistreatment of blacks is accurate, but it is justified through fabricated scenes with fabricated crimes by blacks. It is unclear why DW Griffith would bend history that much except to achieve some racist objective.

The Fall Guy (movie, 2024)

 The Fall Guy

Watched 2024.

Comedy:8 - Romance:1 - Drama:1 - Action:9 - The funny bits were really funny, and this movie is really all about action stunts, but there is little plot.

Killing Eve (TV series, 2018-22)

Killing Eve

Watched 2024.

Technically, the plot events hold together with few inexplicable occurrences or motivations. However, repeatedly, characters are viciously attacked and injured but then survive, and no killer ever encounters regular law enforcement. Eventually, you realize that Villanelle kills everyone she meets, and you will be able to predict how she will do it before each murder actually happens.