Other Media Reviews

Movie Review: Emma (2020)

Emma. Handome. Clever. and Rich. She looks like she's gonna murder people and never get caught.

Let’s get this out of the way – Clueless remains the best film adaptation of Emma, the novel by Jane Austen, to date, in terms of capturing the essence of the novel’s title character. Having said that, the current (2020) version offers sumptuous scenery, costuming, and staging, gorgeous cinematography, some adept historical touches, and nuanced acting. I sometimes disagreed with the film’s interpretation of Emma Woodhouse, but never with actress Anya Taylor-Joy’s actual performance, in … Continue reading Movie Review: Emma (2020)

Movie Review: Birds of Prey (2020)

Before we get into Birds of Prey, my experience, and what this means for moviegoers like myself, I’ll just give you the TL;DR portion of the review now. Go see it. The movie is fun, cathartic, has some amazing cinematography, and a kickass soundtrack. But there was a sadness that accompanied this movie, which occurred when I emerged from the theaters and made the dumbest decision of my life, which was logging onto Twitter. The … Continue reading Movie Review: Birds of Prey (2020)

Guest Squee: Good Omens (2019)

Good Omens Poster

This guest review comes from Rhoda Baxter! Rhoda writes contemporary romantic comedies about smart women and nice guy heroes. She also writes multicultural women’s fiction as Jeevani Charika. Her latest Christmas novella is Christmas for Commitmentphobes. Rhoda can be found on her website or on Twitter (@rhodabaxter). … Good Omens is being shown on TV in the UK. It’s been available on Amazon Prime for months and on DVD since November. I know it’s not … Continue reading Guest Squee: Good Omens (2019)

Movie Review: Little Women (2019)

Little Women movie poster showing Saoirse Ronan running with snapshots of the other characters in bars across the side

Where should I start with this movie, you guys? Should I start with the acting? The costuming? The structure? The subversion of romance? The female rage? Single moments of brilliance? The warmth and love and humor? The personal note that after I read Little Women as a child I called my own mom “Marmee” for a year which suggests that I am not an impartial viewer? This movie is remarkable. Little Women is the story … Continue reading Movie Review: Little Women (2019)

Movie Review: The Aeronauts

The Aeronauts may not be a very good movie, but it sure is a captivating one. I was cranky going into to the movie (for reasons I’ll explain later) and cranky after the fact. During the movie, however, I was charmed. There are few flaws that can’t be masked by beautiful photography and by the combined charisma of Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, both of whom looked like they needed a hug at all times. … Continue reading Movie Review: The Aeronauts

Movie Review: Anna and the Apocalypse

After the second song of the musical Anna and the Apocalypse, my teen viewing consultant looked at me with puzzled eyes. “Mom,” she said slowly, “This is…good!” And it is. While I spent my entire first watch of this movie trying to figure out what it was, I watched it again the next day and found it weirdly affecting for a zombie musical set during Christmas in the fictional town of Little Haven, Scotland. The … Continue reading Movie Review: Anna and the Apocalypse

Movie Review: The Knight Before Christmas

The Knight Before Christmas - Vanessa Hudgens in a . red lace dress standing back to back with a curly haired man in a suit of armor and impossibly sparkly jewels

Alright, bitches, I watched The Knight Before Christmas so you don’t have to. Or so that you will watch it immediately. It’s on Netflix and I’m not here to judge your choices. I highly recommend that you use the subtitles because they are, presumably accidentally, super funny. I was disappointed by this film even when judged by the standards of other holiday films, but I will admit that the leading man is cute. The plot … Continue reading Movie Review: The Knight Before Christmas

Charlie’s Angels (2019)

Charlie's Angels 2019 poster - Kristen Stewart and Ella Balinska fist bumping in front of naomi scott they are shot from below so they look tall and empowered

I saw Charlie’s Angels by myself in a theatre the Friday of opening weekend. It was absolutely delightful, and immediately upon exiting I told Amanda that she needed to see it. I also said, “If you go see Charlie’s Angels, I’m going to need you to text me when you’re done to let me know you’re okay.” Amanda: Is it good?! Sarah: I had SUCH a good time. But the amount of lesbian energy is … Continue reading Charlie’s Angels (2019)

Guest Review: Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung

Rookie Historian poster from netflix showing main characters looking at one another against a back drop of tree blossoms

This guest review comes to us from Heather Morris! Heather Morris is a cyborg librarian living in North Carolina. She’s a Cool Aunt, a True Crime junkie, an ARMY, and an anxiety-riddled Gemini. You can find her on Twitter @NotThatHeatherM.  … I’ve recently fallen deep down the rabbit hole of K-dramas available on Netflix. I enjoy them for many of the same reasons I love romance novels. For one thing, you know from the beginning, … Continue reading Guest Review: Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung

Guest Squee: Schitt’s Creek

We’re so glad to welcome this guest squee by HeatherT, especially as some of us are Schitt’s Creek fans. We hope this squee gets you to watch it, if you haven’t yet! HeatherT is a lawyer in Minneapolis who lives by a lake (really) with two cats. She loves cooking, reading, watching great shows and writing about them. She would like to enjoy gardening, but that’s more aspirational than real. … If you are like … Continue reading Guest Squee: Schitt’s Creek

Movie Review: Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is arguably one of the best bad movies I’ve ever seen. It’s terrible. It makes zero sense. It’s also completely aware of the fact that it’s terrible and makes zero sense, has fun with that awareness, and therefore transcends objectively awful into glorious F+ territory. This movie is a messy, ridiculous delight. This movie understands that we’re here for epic CGI battles between giant monsters and that we don’t need … Continue reading Movie Review: Godzilla: King of the Monsters