Taskmaster

This past week I started watching Taskmaster, the British comedy/game show. It is available to stream full episodes on YouTube. The show immediately felt familiar to me, yet I am unable to pinpoint what else I’ve seen that makes me feel that way. It has a host (the Taskmaster) who asks a panel of five comedians/celebrities to complete tasks. The Taskmaster then awards points (1-5) for each round based on how those tasks were performed. The show is live with all of the comedians sitting together in the same room with the taskmaster, but the footage of the completion of the tasks was all recorded ahead of time. 

This is a funny show! I enjoyed it right from the start. I started with the most recent series; 16 I believe. I have watched the first couple of episodes then randomly jumped to another series from earlier on to see if it was different. It was the same. 

My favorite part about the show is how the panelists personalities come out as we see them complete the tasks. Most of the things are ridiculous. They are put into all sorts of bizarre situations that they have to figure out how to deal with. It is a unique premise that I find entertaining. 

I’d recommend checking it out. Everybody has access to YouTube. It is free to watch. You just have to put up with a ton of ads. 

David Spade - Almost Interesting

David Spade is one of those celebrities that everybody knows about, but hasn’t ever been huge. I clearly remember him from SNL, Tommy Boy, & Black Sheep[1]. My early perception of him was a grouchy sidekick to the uber-positive & extremely dopey Chris Farley. I had completely forgot that Spade was in the television series Just Shoot Me, but as soon as it was mentioned in the book I recalled the weird little slime-ball from that show. Then of course we have Joe Dirt. I definitely knew the star of that movie was the same guy, but for some reason I refused to associate him to the guy from Tommy Boy.

Anyway, Spade’s movies helped form the comedy sensibilities of my youth, yet I couldn’t tell you anything about him. I really enjoy reading memoirs and auto-biographies. I saw this book on the ebook deals list so I decided to buy Almost Interesting.

This book was an easy read. I enjoyed it. There wasn’t much to it. It was nice to hear about Chris Farley. It was interesting to understand more about the dynamics and expectations of being a write on SNL. Beyond that I didn’t take much away from the book. I think I bought it for $1.99. It was worth that. I think the book is accurately titled. 

1: As a middle-schooler I actually got tricked into going on my first date with a girl to see Black Sheep.

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1. As a middle-schooler I actually got tricked into going on my first date with a girl to see Black Sheep. ↩

Only Murders in the Building Season 3

I recently caught up and finished the 3rd season of *Only Murders in the Building* on Hulu. I think the first season was the strongest and it has degraded since. I think the show is fine. I enjoy watching. It is a joy watching Steve Martin & Martin Short act together in this series. I haven’t loved Selena Gomez’s acting efforts quite as much. 

There is a lot to like about the show. If they keep making them I will keep watching. It has settled in to this comfortable series with no real stakes. There has become a sub-genre of the murder mystery… it is the *cozy* murder mystery. There are books and movies that use the common mystery setup, but remove the tension and replace it with comfort. Only Murders fits squarely in this genre. It is a show that is easy and enjoyable to watch, but probably won’t have you begging for the next episode to find out what happens. 

I honestly don’t have a lot to say about this show. There isn’t anything deep or meaningful about it to me personally. It is a vehicle to bring stars together and deliver compelling scenes. It succeeds at what it sets out to be. Beyond that, I don’t know that it does anything extremely interesting. 

It has been confirmed that the show will get a forth season. I will be there to watch it. 

Welcome to Wrexham Season 2... So Far

The first season of Welcome to Wrexham was a big surprise for me. I wasn’t sure what to expect out of a documentary about movie stars buying a football team from Wales. I assumed the show was going to be mostly about Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds. It wasn’t. It was about the people of Wrexham, and why the football club meant so much to them.

I think the show did an amazing job making the story of Wrexham into something extremely compelling. There were a couple episodes that didn’t land as well, but overall it was very strong. The second season has continued where the first season left off.

What is interesting now is that I already know what happens with the football team this season. It doesn’t factor into my enjoyment of the show at all.

So far the highlight of Season 2 is the episode about autism. It is short. It is hardly about the team at all. It didn’t matter. I loved it. Hearing the parents of autistic children talk about the guilt they feel totally broke me up inside. Parenting is difficult. It is typically a very humbling experience no matter what. I have felt plenty of guilt because I am not prepared, willing, or able to provide my child with what she needs at every moment. When extra challenges are added to that dynamic it creates an immense test of character & patience for parents.

I don’t know how long Welcome to Wrexham will go, but they definitely have something here. I continue to be impressed by the style of the show. They have done a great job telling personal stories that are easy to connect with despite the extraordinary nature of the situation.

Deadloch on Amazon Prime

Deadloch on Amazon Prime Streaming is one of those small-town murder mystery shows. It reminds me of Broadchurch and Top of the Lake in a lot of ways. But Deadloch is different. It isn’t satisfied with being an entry into this category of show, it also wants to satirize the genre. It wants to tell a compelling murder mystery and be funny at the same time. For the most part it succeeds.

The attempts at humor cause the tone of Deadloch to be all over the place. There are characters that seem to be from completely different shows interacting. Initially I found it maddening. I wasn’t sure I would make it through the first couple episodes. Then it seemed to be self-aware enough to know how antagonistic it was being to the audience. The show got itself under control and started moving the plot forward. 

Deadloch is set in Australia and has tons of fun curses and insults. Mostly funny, sometimes stupid. Generally the dialog in the show is a mix between being sincere, awkward, and bizarre. Every characters seems to be an over-exaggerated version of whatever they are playing at. It was difficult to take anything seriously, but I’m really not sure we were supposed to. 

There is the character trope of a loose cannon cop from a larger city coming in to solve the small town murder. That character is always so brash, but deep down they have this pain they are trying to escape from. All that stuff exists in this show also. I got worried when everything started lining up. Thankfully they didn’t spend much time on it. It felt like there was an entirely separate subplot that was mostly cut out in the edit, and I am thankful for that. 

I think Deadloch is worth a watch, mainly because it is different. It makes an attempt at balancing the somber tone of a murder mystery with humor and absurdity. It doesn’t always work, but it created an interesting experience that I enjoyed. 

Silo on AppleTV+

This show started off with such promise. The first episode set up this big mystery that I wanted to learn more about. I was ready to invest in this story. After the strong start the story slowed way down to the point where I questioned why I was even watching anymore. If I hadn't been able to binge the last 5 episodes there was no way I would have been able to stick with it. The ending was sort of compelling, but it took way too long to get there.

I cannot recommend the series. I was hooked from the beginning and yet by the end I felt like I wasted a lot of time. It has a strong premiss but then totally fumbles the execution. 

Silo is a hard sci-fi about a future society that lives underground in a silo. There is a video feed of the outside that shows a desolate landscape. If you request, you are allowed to go outside and you are asked to clean off the camera sensor. You will never be given the opportunity to come back in. Everybody who goes out makes the choice to clean the sensor, then as they walk away they collapse and die. 

What?!? It is a pretty interesting mystery. Everything gets off to this fast start with lots of action and murder. Then the entire story comes to a grinding halt after Rebecca Ferguson becomes the sheriff of the silo and ignores her duties to try to figure out what happened to her boyfriend. 

I cared nothing about any of the characters in this show. I think they wanted us to care, but they just did such a bad job of making anybody likable that none of it worked. There was so much focus on the mythology of the relics from the before times. None of it was compelling. None of it seemed to amount to anything. 

When we are first introduced to Rebecca Ferguson she seems awesome and extremely competent. Then the rest of the show she sucks. I really wanted to like this show, but as I sit here reflecting on the season I just have bad feelings about it. 

It has been renewed for a second season. Weirdly, I am probably going to watch it to see what happens. I am actually interested in reading the book this show is based on. If I get through the series before the second season starts maybe I will not feel the need to watch anymore. 

Great premise. Strong start. Really disappointing execution over the second half of the season. Watch at your own risk. 

Barbie

I hadn’t been to the theater to see a movie in months… maybe even over a year. But nothing could keep me away from Barbie. Actually my wife and daughters decided a movie would be a good afternoon activity on a 97° summer day so I decided to tag along.

There is a lot of buzz about this movie. Generally the reviews have been positive. I thought it was great! I laughed more than I expected to. It was fun, but also interesting. It looked amazing, especially at the beginning in Barbieland. It referenced films from 2001: A Space Odyssey to The Matrix to Justice League.

Barbie had a strong start but faltered several times on the way to a lackluster ending. I definitely enjoyed the movie, but in the end it’s reach exceeded its grasp. I liked that it challenged the cultural legacy of Barbie, but just asking the questions was not enough for me. I didn’t get the ending. I also understand that I may not have the right perspective to appreciate what the ending was trying to say.

There are a lot of people that have written much more thoughtful reviews of the movie. Here are a couple…

➞ Barbie Is Very Pretty But Not Very Deep 

➞ Why Barbie Must Be Punished

Both of those reviews have plenty of criticisms of the plot and the ideas presented therein. I agree with a fair bit of those criticisms, but I think it is all about perspective. It is a really funny comedy that digs into the psychology of a mid-life crisis. It is a witty farce that explores the modern-day mother/daughter relationship. It is so successful in delivering an extremely entertaining story.

At the same time, the movie references a lot of stuff that it might not agree with in the world, but it doesn’t seem to want to make an actual statement about them. Maybe I missed them. Maybe another watch will clarify the social commentary.

A movie doesn’t have to make a strong political statement to be good. I don’t need a lot of meaning out of a comedy. But it feels like Barbie is getting some sort of weird credit for merely bringing up the fact that something exists in the world while cracking jokes in its general direction. I think I would like to listen to an interview or two with Greta Gerwig and then watch the movie again. Would it make more sense? Would it have more meaning? I don’t know. Either way, I would surely enjoy the experience of rewatching.

Fleishman in in Trouble

I watched Fleishman in in Trouble on Hulu. Each episode is around an hour long. There are eight episodes in the first season. I would be surprised if this show came back for a 2nd season. Not saying it is bad. I think the story has been told and I don't see a need to continue it. 

This is a tough show. I can't say that it was an enjoyable experience, but I was enthralled by it. It was heartbreaking. Some parts hit really close to home. It is about a group of people the same age as me. It introduces this idea that even if everything has gone well in your life and you find yourself in a good spot, it doesn't change the fact that you chose a path and now your options are limited. You can't help but look back and think "what if". 

When things are going well in life it is easy to avoid thinking about the possibilities of all the other lives that you didn't pursue. But when things start to fall apart in life, it is hard not to question every decision you have ever made. Fleishman is in Trouble gives us a perspective into both scenarios. 

The other theme that really stuck out to me with Fleishman is in Trouble is how much power other people have to hurt us. As soon as we open up and get close to someone, we give them so much power. Even if they don't mean to, the little things they do can rip us apart. Relationships fall apart a little bit at a time... and then all at once.

I loved how the first 70% of this show focuses on Toby's story, but then completely turns everything on it's head by telling Rachel's story. Perspective is everything. It was heartbreaking when Toby was presented with the pain that Rachel was going through and he showed no compassion. I didn't know what to make of that. I don't know what will happen when they talk again. I am not giving either one of them enough credit to believe they are going to do the right thing. 

Overall Fleishman is in Trouble is well constructed and thought-provoking. It was never "fun" to watch. Most of the time I could only do one episode at a time and then needed to move onto something else to lighten things up a bit. 

As a 40 year-old married man I found it compelling. I probably identified most with our narrator, the Lizzy Caplan character. Her search for meaning in life was familiar. Her realization that she got what she wanted and she still wasn't satisfied was haunting. 

Shrinking Season 1

I think there is a real possibility that you haven’t ever heard of the show Shrinking on Apple TV+. It flew under my radar for a while. The gap between episodes in Ted Lasso Season 4 gave me the motivation to give this show a try.

In a lot of ways Shrinking works for the same reasons that Ted Lasso works. Lasso is better in nearly every way, but they have the same vibe. Shrinking is more of a drama than a comedy. It is actually pretty heavy material with quite a bit of levity thrown in. I don’t think I would ever laugh out loud during Shrinking, but that is fine with me.

We are given likable characters that are struggling with life and just wearing their problems on their sleeves. That is a fun place to spend time. Nothing needs to happen to transcend the tv drama/comedy genre. It was a good show that I enjoyed watching and blew through the first season in no time.

At first I didn’t know what to think about Harrison Ford. I liked his character and overall he played it well. There were some rough moments, especially at the beginning. Sometimes it didn’t feel like he fit. I think it got better, or more likely I just got used to it.

In general the show started out shaky for me. The tone right out of the gate felt a lot different than what the show eventually got to. At some point they just made up excuses for these people to be together all of the time for no good reason and it settled into a groove.

The overall situation of the show is incredibly sad, and seeing father and daughter navigate their relationship is heartbreaking. I don’t think the girl smiles at her dad until the final episode of the season. They threw us that little bone right at the end.

My favorite part might have been the neighbor, Derek. It was Jefferson Darcy playing the exact same character he did in Married With Children. That was an excellent touch.

BEEF on Netflix

BEEF is really good, but definitely not perfect. It fits into a genre of show/movie where something small happens and then continues to spin out of control until we reach ridiculous levels. It succeeds in spite of that escalation to absurdity. 

The plot is about two people who cross paths in a road rage incident. Both individuals are under stress anyway, and this event seems to be the breaking point in their lives. They decide they hate one another and dedicate a portion of their lives to making each other miserable. They don't realize how similar they really are. 

The show explores a lot of territory as we see more of these characters' lives. 

We have a hard-working wife who feels completely disconnected from her husband. Their family's financial security depends on her success, and she has put a ton of pressure on herself. There is interesting business, friendship, and mother-in-law dynamics she is dealing with also. 

We have a sibling relationship that is so interesting and heart-breaking. A character who is willing to work hard and earn everything he has, but who can't avoid the temptation to take shortcuts even though he knows they will be his undoing. 

Both of the main characters are extremely interesting. Their stories are cautionary tales and a reflection of how relationships can become defective over time. Things continually degrade and we are unable to identify or fix the root causes. 

At its best, BEEF is exploring those relationship dynamics. While I loved the cousin character, the chaos he brings to the plot did not work for me. I thought some of the spectacle that comes toward the end distracted from what the show was actually about. 

Overall I would highly recommend BEEF, but it won't be for everybody. The acting is phenomenal & the stories are for the most part interesting. The show manages to be funny and completely depressing most of the way through. I'd like to watch the series again at some point. The feelings it inspires and makes you sit in seem worth revisiting. 

Banshees of Inisherin

In Bruges was such a great movie. I was excited to see Collin Ferrel & Brandan Gleason team up for another romp. I didn’t quite understand what I was in for with Banshees of Inishiren. I absolutely loved this movie, but it was bleak. In fact, I think this movie was about hopelessness. Yet, it still remained fun to watch. This was a great film that I am looking forward to revisiting. 

Collin Ferrel lives on a small island. There isn’t much going on. There isn’t much potential. It is a place of routine. It is a pretty depressing place. It gave me the feeling of rats in a cage. There isn’t any potential. There isn’t much chance of getting out. 

Collin spends his days doing chores around the house and then going to the pub and chatting with his best friend. Then one day his best friend decides he doesn’t want to talk to him anymore. From there things unravel. It is clear these people feel like they don’t have anything to lose… except maybe a precious little donkey. 

This movie is heartbreaking and funny at the same time. It is a difficult needle to thread, but this movie does it expertly. I am not going to delve deep into this movie in this post. If you have HBO Max you should absolutely watch this movie. If you don’t, it is worth buying or renting on the on-demand service of your choice. 

I plan to watch Banshees again before I try to write about it in-depth.

NOPE

Jordan Peele is a talented Director. He consistently makes interesting movies. Nope is interesting, but easily my least favorite of his three films. Generally I think he is on a downward trajectory. 

Nope seems to be trying to make a statement about humanity’s obsession with spectacle. At the same time the movie itself makes a spectacle. It has a commentary on how the entertainment industry chews people up and spits them out. There are interesting ideas in there, but I found them cumbersomely explored. 

Nope is not a bad movie. It was enjoyable to watch, but left me wanting a lot more. There are plenty of things that Peele introduces for us to consider. But I felt like I didn’t get it. I decided to read some reviews and it is clear I am not the only one who wasn’t tracking with the message of the movie. 

I cannot recommend this movie. However, I think there is plenty for people to enjoy. It just falls short for what I wanted & expected. 

Time for spoilers…

We start the movie with a scene of Gordy, which is potentially the most interesting element of the movie for me. Gordy is a chimp who stars in a sitcom. One day he loses it and bashes the heads of his co-stars. Gordy was exploited for the entertainment of humans… much like the child star that survives the melee. 

Those are some of the first images of the film and set the stage for what we see in the rest of the movie, which is about a UFO terrorizing a horse farm. There were some nice homages to classic alien movie sequences. I quite liked the guy from Fry’s, but overall it didn’t engage me. 

Early on when we were at the horse ranch I just wanted to get back to the tv set with the crazy chimpanzee. When I realized how the separate stories tied together I was let down. The Ricky Park character was interesting, but we didn’t get to spend enough time with him. I wanted to know more of how he went from child star to shitty cowboy park owner. I believe we are to understand that Ricky fed horses to the ufo creature? Did people watch this happen and survive in the past? I was a little confused by this. Was Ricky more aware of the creature’s true nature? 

I guess that is the biggest spoiler of the movie. We are led to believe that this is a UFO movie about aliens. It is actually a creature movie about some flying beast that is just trying to survive. We don’t know much of anything about it. It east stuff and then regurgitates a lot of it back up… or down. 

I didn’t find the movie all that exciting, but I was looking forward to what happened at the end. I wanted to see how this showdown was going to go. I even liked the addition of the cinematographer with the crank camera. That was all building to something that I was looking forward to. Then I ended up hating nearly everything about the end. The culmination of everything was a massive let-down. Again… I don’t think it was bad… it just wasn’t interesting. 

I feel like I could sit through Nope again and it might hit me different. I might find more to latch onto. I am almost sure I would like it better the second time around. However, I am just not sure it would be worth dedicating the time to.

The Menu

I heard The Menu was good via my favorite film podcast. I saw it was available on HBO Max so I made sure to not read or listen to anything else about it so I could go in unsullied. I am really glad I did. I really enjoyed it, and not having any clue what was happening really added to the experience. 

As the story unfolds it took me a little bit to get my bearings about what was going on. As the audience we follow a specific couple. I had a really difficult time figuring out the nature of their relationship. I also didn’t understand the man’s role in the dinner party until the true intent of the chef started to be revealed. 

The first part of the movie was confusing, but I liked that experience. It was great. It set the stage for this grand show, but the second half didn’t deliver. There were several things that came from a much more conventional film. I was waiting for something more profound and meaningful, but it let me down. 

This movie is about a chef making food, but more generally it is about an artist creating art. Once art is put out into the world the artist has no control over how it is received. It will be misunderstood and criticized. It will be loved and appreciated for the wrong reasons, by people the artist doesn’t like or respect. Usually the artist has little recourse. They become tortured. They may change their art in constant response to the dialog from fans and critics. This movie is about an artist who is tired of the narrative. He doesn’t want to play this game anymore. He wants to take back control of his legacy, for better or worse. 

I really liked the ideas that were set up. I was just really underwhelmed by how it all got resolved. Still, this is a movie worth watching. For me it might even be worth watching a 2nd time. The movie will hit different once you understand what is going on. I want to experience the first half again and see if I still appreciate it as much as I did the first time around. 

I recommend The Menu. If you have HBO Max it is a solid psychological thriller that will keep you guessing. 

** Spoilers **

There were several plot elements down the stretch that didn’t seem to match with what I thought the movie was trying to do. 

I didn’t like the sequence where he made the men run away, only to immediately catch them. I guess this was to give them a glimmer of hope, much like the coast guard guy showing up. He wanted to watch the guests get that sparkle in their eye thinking there was a chance to get out of this, just to see it die again. 

I also didn’t like the fight between the girls. That was like a scene from an action movie. 

These things weren’t terrible… they just didn’t fit with what I thought the rest of the movie was doing. They weren’t as narratively interesting as I thought this movie was going to be able to achieve. 

Those things were minor compared to my biggest complaint with the ending. I hated the way the girl gets to escape. It was so simplistic and surface-level. She saw a picture from when he worked at a burger place… so she asked for a burger so he would realize his love for cooking once again. It was all so… lame.

I don’t know what I wanted to happen, but I wanted it to be more interesting. I wanted it to carry more weight and have more meaning. 

The Menu wasn’t as satisfying or deep as I wanted, but it was still a good flick that is definitely worth a watch.

Everything Everywhere All At Once

After hearing about how great this movie was for the last several months from critics I respect, I decided to go to my local Redbox and rent it. I knew very little about this film going in. I knew that it was going to be about multiple universes. I hadn’t even thought about the title and what that might mean in the context of a multi-universe plot. I also knew it was from The Daniels, who also made Swiss Army Man, an incredible cinematic journey. 

Everything Everywhere all at Once is less absurd than Swiss Army Man, but it still extremely absurd. It is also funny, and touching… and completely chaotic. I really enjoyed the ride. I would highly recommend watching it. It isn’t conventional and it isn’t going to hit right for everybody, so consider that my disclaimer. 

I think it is remarkable how this film can morph into different things for different people. There is so much going on that different people will derive a different meaning depending on their perspective. The relationship between mother and daughter is central to the film, but I actually latched onto the dynamics between husband and wife. There are several other key relationships that could define the movie for you. 

For me the movie was about finding the joy in the life you have. It was about appreciating your family and being thankful for your shared history. Those are the feelings that struck me through the narrative. It is entirely possible to have a separate reading based on your own life experience. 

I think we are ready to get into… spoilers

As I saw it, the multiple universes and the chaos going on inside the daughter’s brain is a metaphor for our current world. Our focus and attention are fractured. There are always more inputs to distract us from our current reality. The daughter has cracked under the pressure of expectations. She has become nihilistic. There is no reason to even try anymore. 

Her mother must dive into this world of chaos and find her. While doing so she is confronted with her own daemons. Does she like who she is and what she has become? She also is reintroduced to her husband that allows her to see him in a new light. She realizes that he has also made sacrifices along the way. 

We all get wrapped up in our own selfish nature. We all feel like we are the victims of our own circumstance. It is easy to tell ourselves a story that any negative emotion was the result of something somebody else did. We don’t want to take responsibility for our own situation. 

This movie had depth. There were moments that were touching. It was also completely insane. There are giant dildos and butt plugs. There is a reality where everyone has hot dog fingers that squirt out mustard.  Considering all of the chaos and complexity of the plot, the movie was easy to stay engaged with. I was right there with it all the way. That is an achievement. I often give up trying to keep track of what is going on in time travel and/or multiple universe type movies. Only the good ones keep me right there with it. This one was good. 

I don’t have a ton else to say about the movie. I have thought about it a fair bit since I finished it. I plan to watch it again. I highly recommend it, but understand if you don’t love it as much as I do. 

The White Lotuses

The first season was about wealth & privilege. The second season was about love & relationships. Both seasons had some gay sex; a fairly negative view of humanity, and the depressing reality that you should just learn to settle with what you are given.

I watched the first two seasons of the show all in one stretch. It worked well for me. I am glad I didn’t have to wait week-to-week for new episodes, or even a year for the 2nd season to be available. It helped me to compare the themes and see how similar the seasons really were.

This is a slice-of-life show where we get to meet different people and see them navigate life and relationships for a week. This week just happens to be while they are on vacation at a very fancy resort. Most of the people are very wealthy and entitled. I’m not sure exactly what the show was going for, but to me everybody is painted in a fairly negative light. The first season was filled with horrible people. I found characters more relatable in the second season, and therefore liked that season a bit better.

Each season starts with a scene that lets you know somebody has died at The White Lotus. Then the show goes back in time one week and shows you a group of vacationers arriving, with the presumption that one will not return home. All of the chess pieces are set, and then as viewers I guess we are supposed to figure out who is going to kill who. As we get closer to the end there are several scenarios where it is clear we are supposed to think this is the death scene. This feels tedious to me.

While the themes have a lot in common between the two seasons, the characters do not. There is only one element of character continuity and I wasn’t happy when I saw who it was. Jennifer Coolidge’s character was my least favorite from season 1. Her performance of a mentally unstable filthy rich woman was so over-the-top. I expected the worst going into season 2. However, it was a lot better this time around. Maybe I just got used to her performance, but for me the character was way more likable this time around.

I am interested in what people take away from this show. It is fun to watch, but it also seems to want to make statements about society. Most of those statements are not good. There is very little positivity in the show. Both season have couples that reconnect and go home a stronger couple than they came. I suppose that could be considered positive. Both season also have couples where at least one member hates their life but has resigned themselves to living in misery. I suppose this is a commentary on how frequently humanity detaches from their dreams and relies on distraction to get through each day.