Nice way to start out the year!
TV:
Hawkeye – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Euphoria: Season One (rewatch) – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cheer – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Beatles: Get Back – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Hawkeye. I was pretty ambivalent about him in the Avengers movies, but the duo of him and Kate Bishop was a lot of fun and I think Hailee Steinfeld was really fantastic. Big ups to Florence Pugh for reprising her Black Widow role of Yelena—I hope she keeps popping up in the Marvel universe. Watching Cheer made me nostalgic for the days on my high school dance team, the high of competing and closeness you feel as a team. Granted, we didn’t have to experience cameras, being thrown in the air, and sexual assault scandals. I finally got around to watching The Beatles: Get Back. It was so fascinating watching these four guys who had spent the last seven or eight years together, unknowingly creating some of the most important and recognizable pieces of entertainment ever. You could really tell in the second episode that they started to feel more comfortable after moving to Apple Studios. They were back in their domain and could be more themselves—goofing around, turning nonsense into masterpieces like “Maxwell Silver Hammer” and “Two of Us”.
Movies:
Harry Potter 20th Anniversary Special – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Black Widow – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Beanie Mania – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Belfast – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Fallout – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Surprise, surprise—I cried my eyes out during the Harry Potter Special. Thinking this was going to be only focused on Sorcerer’s Stone, I had no idea that they would go through each movie, talking with the directors and actors about their experiences. Alan Rickman was greatly missed. Florence Pugh stole the show in Black Widow. It was a fun Marvel movie, but definitely not one that I’ll go back to. As someone who participated in the Beanie Baby craze, Beanie Mania was a nice bit of nostalgia. I finally made it to the discount theater and saw the brilliant Belfast. Written and directed by Kenneth Branagh as an ode to his childhood, this movie was really lovely. The acting was superb and just reminded me that Jamie Dornan is so handsome. First thing, I’m a total Dance Moms stan—from season one, episode one all the way to the finale. I totally have kept up with some of the girls on Instagram and seeing Maddie Ziegler flourish has been such a thrill, first in West Side Story and now in The Fallout. This was a tough movie to get through, in that the subject matter and how it was handled felt so real. Opening with a school shooting, the movie follows these two girls who trauma bonded after surviving the shooting together in the bathroom. It was gritty and raw and truly heartbreaking watching these girls try to navigate the world after their lives have completely blown up. The lead actress, Jenna Ortega, was especially wonderful.
Lindsay Glenne 