At times it can be too slow, too soap opera-y, and Claire’s disregard for the space time continuum can be very frustrating, but enough intrigue to keep me intrigued…and then holy cow does this show repeatedly jump the shark in seasons 3 - 4. Not sure if it was intentional or not, but it gets pretty whacky and oddly entertaining.
Spoonbridge and Cherry
Be it a hockey stick, loon, walleye, Jolly Green Giant, Ball of Twine or Paul Bunyan, we’ve got a lot of glorious “World’s Largest…” sculptures around Minnesota. The Spoonbridge and Cherry is one of Minneapolis’s grandest and most fun landmarks. Worth seeing in all seasons.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Outstanding performances by Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman and the rest of the superb cast in this extremely well told and important story. Dialogue heavy, yes…but you hang on every word.
Frozen Falls
One of the perks of experiencing all 4 seasons is seeing how that affects local waterfalls. Here’s Minneapolis’s beautiful and majestic Minnehaha Falls in the middle of a polar vortex:
The Luminary Loppet
Big Mouth
Relentlessly filthy…relentlessly hilarious…and yet poignant in a very profane way. Great voice work from a lot of really funny and talented actors.
Bridgerton
Great cast, production value, wardrobe and visuals. This starts as a very fast-paced, fun and fanciful fairytale. The drama builds and the tone shifts about half way through as it builds to the Season 1…(ahem)…climax.
Ready Player One
Remarkable how Spielberg goes from a character-driven, period drama like The Post to a visual extravaganza like this. Amazing range. King Kong v the DeLorean was really cool.
The Wolf of Wall Street
3 hours of conscienceless greed, decadence, debauchery and excess…in a very darkly funny way…which I did not expect. Scorsese is a master.
The Queen's Gambit
Move over Texas hold ‘em, here comes chess! Great to see this grand game finally get a mass audience in this highly compelling, engrossing and exceptional mini-series. Anya Taylor-Joy is perfectly cast and a true grandmaster.
Elf
Late to the party on this, but I get the hype now. This is an extremely funny, feel good movie. A holiday and comedy classic. Will Ferrell delivers a flawless performance. Francisco!
The Crown Season 4
The brilliantly executed continuing saga of the monarchy unravelling, raveling, unravelling and unravelling some more as it attempts to stay relevant and avoid being crushed under its own weight. Production value is beyond stunning in this series. All hail the Queen!
Guinea Pigs
My family recently inherited a pair of guinea pigs. I went from not having or really wanting pets to now looking to transform our entire home into a free range guinea pig habitat. Great pets!
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Excellent follow-up to the fabulous and often terrifying The Haunting of Hill House. Bly Manor is plenty creepy, but to me, the horror angle gave it more of a compelling edge vs Hill House which caused me to fear for for my life when it got dark out and I was home alone and saw a shadow or heard a noise or breathed. Visually engrossing, lyrical and poetic with a really skillfully told circuitous storyline that probably gets even better with repeat viewings.
The Mandalorian
Whether a Star Wars scholar or more of a casual fan, this series works at all levels. Really captures the essence, sky high production value and just…fun.
Enola Holmes
Great addition to the Sherlock Holmes universe. This is a very fun and fast paced ride carried by a fabulous performance from the outstanding Millie Bobby Brown.
...and winter is here.
You do you, Minnesota
Winter is coming...
The first snowfall of the year is always exciting. Mid-October is a little early, but hey, why not?
ZOOM! A lot of ZOOM
I certainly miss being on-location for video shoots, however I am grateful for Zoom allowing business to continue. The audio and video quality definitely is not stellar, but it is an aesthetic that is acceptable for the times. And in the last week or so, I was able to visit England, India, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Austria, Germany, Abu Dhabi, Italy, South Africa and Rhode Island. Too bad Delta miles are not included.
Cobra Kai
The nostalgia goggles were firmly in place for my screening of season 1 of Cobra Kai. This is a super fun, clever and engaging extension of The Karate Kid universe. Something I never knew I wanted, but found out I really needed. Hey, I have no issues with living in the past, but Daniel-san and Johnny Lawrence’s obsessions top even Uncle Rico.
