TV

A Legendary Christmas With John and Chrissy

A Legendary Christmas With John and Chrissy

A Legendary Christmas With John and Chrissy

Network:

NBC

Starring:

Chrissy Teigen

John Legend

Plot:

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen get into the holiday spirit with family and friends, including Darren Criss, Jane Lynch, Raphael Saadiq, Meghan Trainor, Awkwafina, Neal Brennan, Kim Kardashian West, Zach Galifianakis and many, many more.

Review:

Chrissy Teigen is smart, funny, and beautiful; and I’ve recently started spending more time on Twitter where she is queen. Since I don’t have cable I wasn’t sure if I would be able to watch her holiday special with her husband, John Legend, but I was excited to see it uploaded to Hulu.

So much fun! Of course, there was amazing holiday music, but it was also super funny. The mac and cheese focus group had me screaming with laughter. Loved it!

Christmas music, laughter, family, and celebrity cameos, what more could you want from a holiday special? Highly recommend and I hope, maybe, it becomes a yearly tradition for them and all of us.

5/5

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Anne with an E Season 2 (2017-?)

Anne with an E Season 2 (2017-?)

Network:

Netflix

Creator:

Moira Walley-Beckett

Starring:

Amybeth McNulty

Geraldine James

R.H. Thomson

Dalila Bela

Lucas Jade Zumann

Dalmar Abuzeid

Cory Gruter-Andrew

Plot:

The adventures of a young orphan girl living in the late 19th century. Follow Anne as she learns to navigate her new life on Prince Edward Island, in this new take on L.M. Montgomery’s classic novels.

Review:

Season 2 of Anne with an E is better than the first season. I liked the first season, but this adds new characters and some LGBT and racial story lines that I freaking loved.

Anne, Amybeth McNulty, is still at times annoying. At one point I screamed at the TV because of her, but she was also so sweet and accepting.

Cole, Cory Gruter-Andrew, the new boy at school is an artist and sweet and after a night a Diana’s aunt’s house realizes he’s gay. That he’s not alone and that there are others like him. His life is difficult, but his part of the story ends on a positive note.

Gilbert, Lucas Jade Zumann, is working on a ship out in the ocean where he meets Bash, Dalmar Abuzeid. Bash is a free black man from Trinidad. He shows us a whole new side of the time and world. It’s sad and at times unrealistic, as much as I would like it to be. Bash and Gilbert make plans for their future and return to Avonlea. Gilbert goes back to school, Bash tries to survive a Canadian winter. Eventually, Bash falls in love and Gilbert makes him a full partner on the farm.

Diana, Dalila Bela, discovers that her aunt loved another woman. She struggles with this, while Anne and Cole embrace it immediately. Being the sweet, loving girl that she is, she eventually realizes that love is love.

This season was really sweet, with a fair amount of drama. Some struggles with PTSD and medical issues, on top of everything else. I loved it. I really hope that we get a third season, while it’s not sticking strictly to the books, I love what they’re doing and I want more.

5/5

Supernatural Season 13 (2005-?)


Supernatural Season 13 (2005-?)

Network:

CW

Creator:

Eric Kripke

Starring:

Jensen Ackles

Jared Padalecki

Misha Collins

Samantha Smith

Mark Pellegrino

Ruth Connell

Alexander Calvert

Kim Rhodes

Briana Buckmaster

Jim Beaver

Plot:

Two brothers follow their father’s footsteps as “hunters”, fighting evil supernatural beings of many kinds, including monsters, demons, and gods that roam the earth.

Review:

I make myself wait until an entire season of Supernatural is complete and on Netflix before I watch because I can’t take the torture of watching it week by week. I started watching it by binging and watching it any other way just doesn’t work.

Season 12 was a great season, in my opinion one of the best, so I expected there to be a dip with Season 13 and I do feel like there was one. 13 had Sam, Jared Padalecki, seemingly stepping back from all the growth he’d made in the previous season. He was back to being in Dean, Jensen Ackles, shadow, following his lead, and not really doing much. It was a return to previous seasons and I, personally, dislike steps back, especially if they last an entire season.

At the end of Season 12 we saw a lot of death, since it’s Supernatural a lot of that was overridden or alternatre reality versions of the same characters were reintroduced. It’s one of the things that I love about the show, people rarely stay dead. Charlie, Felicia Day, is back and I’m beyond excited about it. I am concerned about bringing back Bobby, Jim Beaver, because I love his character so much but the boys have kind of moved on. Well, I say that but really have they? Nah, you can never move on from Bobby.

Mary, Samantha Smith, continues to make some selfish decisions this season. I understand that her life, or lack thereof, has been rough, but the shit her sons have been through you’d think she’d want to stick around. Instead she seems to be looking for ways to get away from them. She’s a hunter, sure, but she’s always pushing her boys away, it feels like there’s no love there.

Lucifer, Mark Pellegrino, was the main evil this season. They worked with him off and on, which had me shaking me head because you could see the betrayal coming a mile off. He’s evil and needed to be gone a while ago, though, I always enjoy how Pellegrino plays him. The finale had him and Dean fighting in a pretty amusing fight that had them thrashing about in the air before he was ultimately killed by Dean with the aid of Sam.

The big new addition to this season was Jack, Alexander Calvert, for a while you don’t know if he’s going to be bad or good and while he spent most of his time on the good side I can see some issues in his future. I’ve never been a huge fan of adding a younger cast mate to a show as a sort of newbie (I’m looking at you final season of Charmed) but he grew on me. I can see a future there and I really hope that they roll with it and don’t just kill him off for the emotional impact.

Best episode of the season was by far the Scooby Doo episode. Oh my god that was incredible, it has easily joined the list of my favorite Supernatural episodes and I can’t wait to watch it over and over. It was perfect.

Least favorite episode of the season was the finale. It was super predictable and I’m a bit tired of the whole angel possessing one of the brothers thing. It’s happened a lot, though, it has been a while. Feels like a throwback. I also thought the fight between Dean and Lucifer looked silly, their legs flailing in the air. Dean did look hot in the hipster hat though, so that was nice.

Biggest disappointment of the entire season though was that Wayward sisters didn’t get picked up. Jodi, Kim Rhodes, and Donna, Briana Buckmaster, are some of my favorite characters. I had such high hopes for that show. Supernatural with all women, how could you not want that? Huge loss, still sad.

My hope for season 14 is that Sam returns to being his own man and not just Dean 2.0. I hope that Jack doesn’t go bad and that he embraces the flannel and life of being a hunter. I hope that Dean is saved quickly and something else happens. I hope there is more Bobby, though, please don’t have him hook up with Mary. (It’s going to happen, I know it, I’ll deal when it does) I hope there is more Charlie too. Also, every episode is a Scooby Doo episode. Surely, that’s not too much to ask?

4/5

Dynamite Review Best of 2017

Movies

1.      Thor: Ragnarok – I don’t get to watch new movies much as they come out, but I was so lucky to get to see this in theaters. It was AWESOME! I’ve already pre-ordered the steelbook from Best Buy, I got the theatrical poster off of Disney Movie Rewards and it’s framed and in my kids bathroom, and I can’t wait to watch it again and again.

2.     John Wick 2 – Great action movie and addition to the series. Awesome world, I’m interested in the Stars series that’s potentially coming out.

3.     Kingsman: The Golden Circle – In your face, over the top action.

4.     Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – While not as good as the previous one I loved so many things about this movie. The colors, the characters, the relationships. I’m so glad that this is part of the Marvel Universe.

5.     Spider-Man: Homecoming – I really enjoyed this movie but what’s potentially more important, my daughter loves this movie.

6.     Moana – This is more an honorable mention since it came out in 2016 not 2017. Love the music and the story, reminds me of the Disney I grew up with.

Books

1.      White Hot by Ilona Andrews – The long awaited sequel to Burn for Me, so good.

2.     Wildfire by Ilona Andrews – Love this series so much, want more. Wasn’t too happy with the ending, but still love.

3.     Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan – Beautiful art, interesting story, need some answers though. The only comic I pre-order.

4.     The Rosetta Man by Claire McCague – Picked this up randomly and I ended up loving it. So happy when that happens.

5.     Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs – Not my favorite Patricia Briggs book, too many Doctor Who references, lots of other little things, but still a Patricia Briggs book so it’s going on the list!

6.     Heartstrikers Series by Rachel Aaron – This series didn’t come out last year, though they did have a book release that I haven’t read yet, but I had to put it on the list because I enjoyed it so much.

7.     The Guardians Trilogy by Nora Roberts – This is the kind of Nora Roberts series that I love. It didn’t come out in 2017, but after being wary of starting it because of her more recent books I got to it late.

TV Shows

1.      The Crown – I resisted watching this because I heard so much praise, but I’m glad I finally did. I destroyed the second season that recently aired and I honestly think it might be better than the first. Amazing show.

2.     Sense 8 – I love this idea so much and the second season wasn’t as slow as the first. The ending killed me and then when they canceled it, ugh, I never do TV show petitions but I signed them all. I canceled Netflix for the first time in years. I was furious. I’m hoping that the movie will be able to wrap things up but I seriously don’t see how that’s possible. I’ll probably never keep Netflix running continuously because of how they did this show.

3.     The Good Place – I had no desire to watch this last year, it just didn’t seem that funny to me. I ended up having the end of season one spoiled for me and that changed everything. I was able to binge the first season on Netflix and I’ve watched every episode of the second as it’s aired. So freaking funny.

4.     The Orville – Wow, I had no expectations for this show. I had hopes, but because of Seth MacFarlane I didn’t have many. I was certainly surprised and this has ended up being one of my favorite shows of the year. It’s like getting new episodes of Star Trek, only instead of the Enterprise team we’ve got the D tier crew. The jokes don’t always land and they’re reusing a lot of Star Trek plots, but I don’t care. I’m so glad that this has been picked up for a second season and I’m hoping that they continue to find their footing.

5.     Future Man – Loved this, it was so crude and hilarious and just came out of nowhere. Time travel, video games, the 80s, James Cameron’s AI, a terrible future, so many things that add up to funny. So glad we’re getting a second season.

6.     Legion – This is not my usual type of show. It’s wild and out there and very trippy. The only reason I watched it was because I needed something to keep me up during late night feedings and I ended up staying up just to finish episodes. Half the time I’m not sure what’s going on, but I honestly didn’t care. They gave just enough answers not to drive me crazy, but still left me needing to know more.

7.     Black-ish – I just discovered Black-ish this year and thank goodness Hulu has all of the episodes. Most episodes are nice, funny episodes, but the episodes that aren’t, the episodes where they “teach” you something are so good. This year there was one about postpartum depression that really resonated with me.

8.     Life in Pieces – I laugh in every single episode of this show. Love it.

9.     The Librarians – The third season was probably the weakest so far and I’m not overly thrilled with all that’s going on in the fourth season but I seriously can’t think of anything that would have me stop watching this.

 

Games

1.      Splatoon 2 (Switch) This was hands down my favorite game of the year. In an alternate universe I went pro, built a brand, and lived the life of the rich and famous.

2.     Stardew Valley (Switch) After putting in 160 hours on the PC version you’d think I’d be done with this game, but nope. As soon as it came out on the Switch I bought it and started all over again. Aided by the amazing guide my husband bought me for Christmas 2016 I’ve been chipping away at all the in game achievements.

3.     Lego City Undercover (Switch) I beat this once, then got halfway through beating it again before Splatoon 2 came out. I still plan on going back and working on unlocking everything, though, it’s not a priority because I certainly got my money out of this.

4.     Delicious Emily Home Sweet Home (PC) Really liked the story in this one, young married couple with a little kid get their dream house and fix it up. If I was crazy and didn’t mind construction around toddlers I could totally do this too.

5.     Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4) I’m stretching things a bit including this to my list. I got it for Christmas after trying it out at Red Box and finding it interesting enough to try more. I didn’t start playing it until December 31st and at this point I’m only a couple hours in, however, I love the idea a lot. I love that she’s a real looking woman and she’s kicking ass. So far they haven’t put her in super revealing clothes which is nice too. The world is interesting, however, I wish I didn’t have to use a bow and arrow. If I ever beat it, or put a significant amount of time in I’ll write a review.

The Flash Season 3 (2014-?)

The Flash Season 3 (2014-?)

Network:

CW

Creator:

Greg Berlanti

Geoff Johns

Andrew Kreisberg

Starring:

Grant Gustin

Candice Patton

Danielle Panabaker

Plot:

After being struck by lightning, Barry Allen wakes up from his coma to discover he’s been given the power of super speed, becoming the Flash, fighting crime in Central City.

Review:

For the first half of the season I watched episodes about a week or so after they aired on my DVR, then we got rid of cable and I had to watch them online on CWs website. Eventually I couldn’t take that anymore and I decided to wait until they were up on Netflix.

I don’t know if it was the waiting in between episodes or maybe watching shows like Silicon Valley and Westworld that made me unable to really get back into enjoying The Flash. It was cheesy, but took itself way too seriously, and the story felt like the same thing they’ve been telling over and over. Plus the whole Iris is going to die thing felt like it was dragged on forever and I just wanted it to be over and didn’t care what happened.

I dropped Arrow earlier in the season because I wasn’t enjoying it anymore, I know everyone else thinks it’s a return to the glory days, but I just didn’t like it. I think, and this makes me sad to say, I think I’m going to drop The Flash too. That leaves me with just DC Legends of Tomorrow because I dropped Supergirl after the first episode of the second season.

Maybe I’ll watch the crossovers. Not sure. Is this the end of an era for me?

3/5