Frasier - 2023 series reboot

We came for Toks Olagundoye and left with a reminder of old friends, incredible belly laughs and even a few tears. Toks is hilarious in her role as Olivia Finch and is an excellent match for Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane and Nicholas Lyndhurst as Alan Corwall. The comedic timing of the entire cast is truly amazing. I am glad Toks was in the show because I don't know if we would have watched and we would have missed out on some great comedy.

There are 10 episodes and there was only 1 we were not thrilled with (too much slapstick and cringe) and there is only one character that was a little out of place but by the end they found a way to make the character work. 

It was lovely to see the call backs to the original character of Frasier and the show Frasier. My favorite reference in the show is that the bar they frequent is called Mahoney's and that is to honor John Mahoney who portrayed Frasier's father in the original Frasier show and passed away a few years ago.

I am impressed with how they maintained so much of the original show and character even though we are quite a few years out from the original show. There are so many clever pieces to the show and probably some throwbacks that I might have missed. I do think it is best to watch if you have seen the original but it probably stands on it own too.

4 paws

The Marvels - Disney +

 

Three incredible actresses portraying three incredible characters. I absolutely loved all the scenes between the three leads. I hope they had as much fun together as it looked like in the film.

I loved how the movie fit into the timeline and it was good to see enough exposition to know what was going on for each character. 

I definitely loved the fangirling Ms. Marvel did over Captain Marvel. It was so real and true to her character and also felt like she was us in the movie. What a joy Iman Vellani is in the movie and from her own series. 

I was also thrilled to see Goose again  I loved how integral the cat was to this story 😉 Quite the clever storyline and use of the adorable cat.

There was really only one major part of the movie I didn’t like and it definitely didn’t seem to fit but overall I enjoyed the story. I’d love to see more of The Marvels working together in future movies. The three women were just amazing together. 

3 paws

Christmas Movies 2023 Part 2

The Hogfather

When Death and his granddaughter are the most normal part of the show, you know your in for something waaay off the beaten path.

Brainwise was very excited to watch this three episode miniseries on Amazon Prime. I had zero idea what to expect and even now that it’s finished I’m not sure I still know what I watched. But it was good. Not sure how I know this but I believe it to be true. The less you know, the better it will be for your viewing :)

3 paws

Candy Cane Lane

What an incredibly fun romp of a movie. Eddie Murphy and Traci Ellen Ross were perfection together. This was a great family show and I laughed so much. Very clever and different. Definitely would watch this again. 

3 paws 

Best Christmas Ever

While there is definitely some questionable humor in this movie, I ended up crying in the end. It was a lovely story about friendship and belief in magic. Brandy was lovely in her role and I’m glad they included her singing. I liked the story and it came with some twists and turns too. 

2 paws

Christmas Movies 2023 Part 1

Dashing Through The Snow - Disney +

Ludacris in a Christmas movie?? Yes, please. He is a joy in this role. I absolutely loved everything about what he brought to this role. He was a great Dad, wonderful social worker, and hilarious all around.

Madison Skye Validum, as the daughter Charlotte, was splendid and radiant. She just oozed happy and I would love to spend a day with her just to feel her joyous personality. She is an excellent actress too and brought everything needed to make her role believable and enjoyable.

Lil Red Howery was the incredible Nick, whose wardrobe was incredible. He was perfection in this role and think he got completely lost in the role as I had a hard time deciphering/rectifying who he was under the gorgeous robe.

I highly recommend this joyful movie that helps us all believe just little more in the goodness of this world and the magic we can find if we just look.

3 paws

Family Switch - Netflix

Jennifer Gardner and Ed Helms were hilarious and perfect in this movie. Emma Myers and Brady Noon were wonderful as their children in this movie. Except for one too over the top scene (and many might say there is more than just one), I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

Light and heavy all at once. A clever switcheroo that seriously looked so much fun to film. I can't imagine how much laughing there must have been on the set.

And even though you can figure the story out, it doesn't detract from the fun and the laughter that will be found during the movie. There is also an excellent rendition of Santa Claus is Coming to Town!!

3 paws

Merry Little Batman - Amazon Prime

Cute, funny, clever, fun and perfect for any DC or Batman fan.

I especially loved the change in animation for part of the story. It was perfect for conveying what was happening and definitely made me watch even more intently. 

There are a few scenes that could have been shorter but overall it was a fun and very different Christmas show. 

2 paws

3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost

Hallmark Channel blew me away with this one. 

Madeleine Arthur as Ruby is glorious. Simply glorious! I didn't even realize how many things I have seen her in until I looked her up on IMDB. She looked completely different here.

Makeup and costuming deserve awards for styling Ruby. She is stunning at every turn, from her clothing to her jewelry to her makeup to just her incredible self.   

This is such a clever and beautiful story and it’s carried out wonderfully by Julie Gonzalo, Chris McNally and Madeleine Arthur. 

The connection between the two women is amazing and I love how they support each other. I love how they grow and learn and become the best versions of themselves even with over 100 years between them. It's both good and bad to know that some things carry through the times and are the same for people regardless of the surroundings :)

Speaking of surroundings, I loved the set for this movie too. Beautiful home with beautiful furnishings. I would love to know what came first when creating this movie: the story, the setting, the costuming, regardless all of it is perfect and wonderful.

You all know I don't post too many Hallmark movies (I do watch them all), but this one really was just wonderful and different and I had to share my thoughts.

4 paws, 2 ears, 1 tail for all 9 lives ;)

Let’s put it this way, I didn’t delete this from my DVR when it ended because I’m going back to watch this one again. 

Star Trek: Lower Decks Seasons 1-3

As I wrote in my review of Strange New Worlds, I am so glad we had watched two episodes of this series before the crossover episode. It definitely helped us enjoy the crossover much more as we had background that would have been missing otherwise. I know that sounds obvious but really it made a huge difference with us liking the episode and not liking it.

So honestly, I did not like season one at all overall. It was a little too off kilter for me. The humor is not my favorite and it was hard to get into the silliness of it all.

Luckily, the next 2 seasons were better. They seemed better put together and flowed much better. There was story and things carried over into other episode and everything just worked better and I was able to get into it. I am glad. I know so many friends who rave about this series and I was sad I wasn't feeling it. 

Although I do have to say, if you have never watched any Star Trek, there is sooooo much you will miss in this series and sometimes it does make a difference to liking/understanding an episode and not. I asked Brainwise maybe the most questions during this series than any of the others... that is a lot of questions! I just don't recall past shows like he does, so he definitely enjoys the show much more than I do.

I do refuse to miss out though. I love how all these series fit together in so many different ways. So clever and so difficult and I appreciate it.

2 paws - season one

3 paws - season two and three

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - movie

 

I was unsure, even half way through, if I liked this movie. Then we got to the end and I found myself crying and I realized that I did indeed like this movie. 

I do believe it is MUCH better if you have any DnD knowledge, which I do not but it is a fun movie with more story than I expected. 

I was also very surprised to see Hugh Grant in here but he ended up being the right person for the role. There were a few things I wish were different but overall it was a fun rollicking story and movie.

Chris Pine was excellent in his role as was Michelle Rodriguez. Justice Smith and Sophia Lillis were also perfect for their roles. 

If you are looking for a fun 2 hours, I recommend checking this out. If you have any DnD background, I say you MUCH check it out. Then come back here and let me know your thoughts about it.

2 paws

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2

Brilliant and every single possible synonym!!!!

I am practically speechless from this season.

AND the musical episode... who ever in their right mind thought there would be a musical Star Trek episode??? Not me!! BUT it may be one of my favorite episodes of any show ever that I have seen. It was perfection from start to finish, including the opening credits and closing credits... in fact make sure you always watch and listen to them for all the episodes ... they tie in more often than you would expect.

I adore each casting in this show and I am grateful for the love and care each actor has for their character. These are big character shoes to fill and they all do it wonderfully. I can't even call out one of over any other. They all bring their A games every time and it looks like they all get along in real life.

I will also just place a name here which to me is proof of how amazing this show is: Carol Kane!

I am also glad we happened to watch 2 episodes of Lower Decks before we launched into this second season. As there is an episode with a cross over... yup you heard me.. a crossover with an animated show. Again, the brilliance this took to pull this off was outstanding... err out of this world ;) I was grateful to understand the incoming characters by watching the 2 episodes, I am pretty sure I would not have enjoyed it as much without the background.

I do love all the mentions of other parts of Star Trek but I do have to ask Brainwise quite a few questions to keep up with it at times. I just don't have the mental capacity to recall my Star Trek watching history and catch all the tidbits but Brainwise is like a Star Trek Encyclopedia at times :) and I mean that in the most loving way. Also you don't necessarily miss anything if you don't know the history, it just adds a layer if you do know it.

I have to say if you aren't watching this show... get off your butts and then hold on to them while you watch one of the best series out there.

4 paws and a tail (or is that contrail)

Fubar

 

Arnold ... is perfection in this role. But then he should be. It is pretty much all his past characters in one. This show is so clever in so many ways. I loved how they utilized all his previous movies and characters but made it feel like it was all new for this show. If you never saw a previous Arnold movie, you would still like this but it is waaaaay more fun when you have a history with him :)

Each character was perfectly cast and I loved how each character "related". There will be a second season and I am curious to see if some of the things I thought were going to play out in the first season will come to pass. 

I did originally think this was a movie so imagine my surprise when I found it was a series. I am very happy it was a series as they got to build on so much and make the story so much more intense and interesting. 

I think the best part was trying to not figure out what was going on and I just let each episode take me on a ride. A wonderfully crazy and fun ride.

4 paws

Good Omens - Season One

Amazon prime is where you can find this Neil Gaiman goodie. 

Although I wasn’t as enthralled as I expected through the first two episodes, it did find its footing with me as it went along. I felt like I was watching Monty Python and while I like some of their shows, there are some parts I don't like and I worried about this when it first started. But I hung in there and as I said, it did get better for me and I ended up enjoying it.

The kids were incredible and I feel like they had to really push themselves in their roles as they had very difficult tasks and stories to move through. I adored the relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley and I am sure this is why so many of my friends love this series ;)

I would definitely caution anyone who is easily offended religiously and possibly even generally. This is quite a heavy story and covers many controversial topics. It think overall though it can lead to many good conversations about religion, good and evil and what it means to be a human being.

I have never read the story that any of this is based on but I know Neil Gaiman is a brilliant storyteller so I know we will be watching season 2.

3 paws

And don't forget to check out The Hillywood Show's pardoy of Good Omens on YouTube after you watch the first season!!

Free Guy

 

Third of three movies of our Memorial Day Weekend.

And the BEST of the bunch! I mean this movie was hilarious, clever and amazing!!!

Ryan Reynolds is always a favorite and this movie was perfect for him or he was perfect for the movie, either way, he and the movie were perfection. 

Jodie Comer was amazing too. She had a huge role and she was incredible. I also loved the extra that you can watch about the making of her character - very interesting and insightful.

We laughed soooo much during this movie. We rewound at times because either we missed things from laughing or we just wanted to laugh all over again.

I can't believe we weren't spoiled at all on anything and I certainly won't spoil anything here but let's just say there was a great scene for Marvel lovers.

If you love video games, this is a must watch. I don't know much about the video game world but that did not hinder my viewing and loving of this movie. I can only imagine how much more can be seen and taken from this movie if you do know video games.

I can't wait to watch this again.

4 paws and a tail