@skwigg after all of the hoopla over fb yesterday - people posting about it right and left - I actually stayed up (relatively late) to watch it last night. It was mind-blowing. 🤯 I can't say I'm too surprised, but it both fascinated and appalled me. I've never been more afraid for my kids. I already see pictures of my nieces on IG asking friends to rate them and posting pics with fish lips, etc. They started that when they were around 14 years old. I can't say I'm guilt-free of using social media. FB scares me anymore but I have to use it because of teaching live fb Jazzercise classes (although I could be on it a lot less, that's for sure). I don't think it's done anything positive for me in terms of my self-esteem. I'm pretty sure much of my confusion over eating is correlated with the accounts I follow on IG and I'm 39! I at least have the awareness of what SM does to me psychologically and behaviorally but I still find myself going down the rabbit hole. I'm definitely guilty of grabbing my phone when emotions get big. It's odd because lately I've felt really lonely and missing connection with friends and family and I reach for my phone. I know it's because I want to connect with people through social media, but the irony is that I think it's more disconnecting and isolating than anything else. All I end up doing is comparing everyone else's amazing lives to my lonely one.
On a more random note, I have another niece who just turned 12 and lives in Vegas. She's one of the only middle schoolers in her grade that has a bright orange flip phone. It doesn't do anything except make phone calls. I'd like to go down that route for my kids when it becomes necessary for them to have a phone. 😂
The dramatizations were totally cheesy. My mom said those were the only parts of the movie she understood..lol.
If you have not watched Ted Lasso yet, please do so at once. It is charming, goofy, and optimistic, everything the world needs right now. It's on AppleTV+. I was very resistant to watching it. I don't like sports. I don't watch comedies because most of them are stupid. Why would I watch a sports comedy? My best friend pleaded with me. Brené Brown gushed over it. Finally, I caved. The first episode was ok, by the second one I was totally hooked. It restored my faith in humanity. Brené encourages us all to be awkward, brave, and kind. This character fully embodies that sentiment, plus he's from Kansas City and there are Arthur Bryan't BBQ references.
For feel-good, life-affirming shows, I also recommend My Octopus Teacher on Netflix. It's about a burned out cinematographer in South Africa who starts going into the ocean every day to visit a particular octopus. It's gorgeous to look at and very moving.
I also really loved The Biggest Little Farm, a $3 rental on Amazon. It's a stunningly beautiful documentary. This couple got kicked out of their apartment because their rescue dog with separation anxiety wouldn't quit barking. They decided to buy the dog a farm, and really had no idea what they were in for. I have so much more respect for farmers and ranchers. I don't know how they do it! https://youtu.be/UfDTM4JxHl8
Then another really good but not so life-affirming documentary was An American Murder: The Family Nextdoor. It's on Netflix. Fantastic true crime. It gave me nightmares. LOL What's so amazing about it is that there is actual video footage of the whole investigation, no corny reenactments. There are social media posts and texts detailing who the people are and what was happening in the marriage, doorbell video of the last time the woman is seen, police body cam video from when they first entered the house, interrogation room video of the polygraph test. It was intense.
I still have a few days off to watch movies and streaming. Any suggestions?
I liked An American Murder too. I’m into true crime, so that was right up my alley. Then in the opposite direction I’m loving The Great British Sewing Bee. I love the sewing (I wish I was as good as the contestants), everyone is so sweet and nice to each other, even the judges. It’s very heartwarming.
The Undoing with Nicole Kidman looks interesting. I haven’t watched it yet though.
My son has taken over my Amazon Prime streaming service. This means that all the show recommendations are for him. Sharknado came up as a top suggestion the other day! Only a little boy could believe that storyline makes sense. He loved it. He did start pelting his sister with toy sharks after watching it though.
I don't watch much TV (although Emily in Paris is on my list) but I'm very interested in Ted Lasso. My husband is the night owl who watches all the TV so I mentioned some of the shows to him. He said he also heard that Ted Lasso is very good but he warned me that the American Murder series might be a little too sad (for me anyway). He said a lot of it was fb movies and videos that the wife posted of the kids and the husband/dad goes into detail on how he murdered his family. That was enough to deter me from checking it out, but it may still be good.
I'm all for feel good movies about animals, too. I'm sure those would be fun for my kids!
Be warned that animals die in both the farm and octopus movie. They're wonderful, uplifting movies but circle of life and all. Just know that if you're going to sit down with the kids.
I'm still emotionally scarred from Frosty the Snowman melting when I was a kid. LOL
I’m of no help, bc I‘ve been watching MLB highlights on YouTube, and still a lot of Great British Baking Show. My husband and I have gotten into a Korean soap called Crash Landing on You, which is about a romance between a North Korean military officer, and a South Korean CEO who winds up in the North after a freak paragliding accident takes her there. It has a lot of light touches, but there’s still some political undercurrents going on, and my hubby really likes it since he lived in South Korea for six years. And I‘m a sucker for Korean dramas in general.
I made the mistake of watching the next to last season 2 episode of Unsolved Mysteries the other night, lol. It was the one on the unidentified (to this day) woman who was found dead in an Oslo hotel room 25 years ago. I’m convinced she was a spy who was uncovered, or double-crossed, and secret-squirrel stuff like that keeps me up at night! It was good but I get more worked-up by that compared with thrillers or horror movies. So I might watch the American Murder documentary, but hope I don’t get so over the top.
I haven't watched all the new Unsolved Mysteries but I saw a preview of the Tsunami Ghosts episode that freaked me out. I know if I watched that one I'd be scared to get up and walk to the bathroom in the dark.
I've been watching real TV this week as opposed to cat videos on YouTube. So far I've seen:
Hillbilly Elegy on Netflix. It's a Ron Howard / Bryan Grazer film staring Glenn Close and Amy Adams. It's a memoir from a guy who grew up in Appalachia but made it into Yale law. It's interesting because critics almost universally hated it but the audience score is almost 90 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes. I was entertained, maybe because I have crazy relatives. I thought Glenn Close was awesome as Mawmaw.
The Sound of Metal on Amazon Prime. It's about a heavy metal drummer who suddenly loses his hearing and has to grapple with that. It was very good. It scared me a little. I'm married to a musician and spent years in deafening nightclubs and arena concerts. My ears ring constantly and occasionally do that thing where they ring loudly and then the volume drops and everything gets muffled, exactly like in the movie. What if it didn't come back?! 😳 I really felt for this guy and was totally sucked in to his story.
The Flight Attendant on HBO Max. A party girl flight attendant with a slight drinking problem has a one night stand in Bangkok and wakes up next to a dead guy with no memory of what happened. Chaos and intrigue ensue. This is a series, and annoyingly, they didn't release it all at once. I watched 7 in a row and now I'm waiting, waiting, waiting to find out what crazy thing happens next. It's quite funny at times. Her lawyer and best friend is Zosia Mamet (Shoshanna from Girls).
Murder on Middle Beach on HBO Max. I started watching this when I ran out of Flight Attendant episodes. It's true crime. An HBO director investigates his own mother's unsolved murder. So far it's quite good.
I forgot to add, I'm amazed at how many yoga videos are available on Amazon Prime Video. I found a Yin Yoga for Pain Relief series that has been great even though I'm not in pain. Today, I found a 15-minute flow that was perfect. The fact that there are so many great yoga videos free with Prime has kept me from paying for an online yoga subscription, which is what I thought I'd have to do.
@skwigg, I‘m adding the Sound of Metal onto my queue. I live with tinnitus, and have more hearing loss than my husband, who was an Army artillery officer for a few years. Going to a ton of shows and concerts in my youth definitely did a number on my hearing, even more so than with my husband hearing a bunch of heavy fire go “boom” on a regular basis for two or three years. And so cool that Prime has yoga videos! I had no clue, but that’s so helpful, especially since I won’t be doing an in-person class anytime soon.
I just started watching James May: Oh Cook! on Prime, and it’s goofy.He made Top Gear watchable even though I could care less about cars and gadgets, and he’s no less entertaining here. While he often says in the episodes he can’t cook, I think he’s a lot better than he lets on.
I'm excited about this thread picking up, because I'm finally getting back into watching (granted, only one) shows! We just finished The Undoing. Holy wowzers! My mom told me she watched all 6 episodes in one evening 😂 It was that. good. We just started The Flight Attendant last night and it is VERY good! We didn't get past the first one as I go to bed at an ungodly early hour, but I'm hooked. I'm sad to hear they haven't finished all however-many seasons, but at least it's given me something good to watch.
I tried The Handmaid's Tale and just couldn't do it. I think I'm the only person on this planet who watched 2 episodes and couldn't continue. It was so disturbing to me, although I'm having my husband give me updates so I can carry on with the story 😁
I also dabbled with Emily in Paris as I'd heard it was good. It's ok, but for some reason the main character (Emily) really annoys me. I admire her confidence and ballsiness, but c'mon - how is someone seriously that perky that often? :-D
I need to mention Sound of Metal to my husband. He's also a drummer and the show sounds right up his alley. Nothing to do with drumming, but I worry about my son's hearing all the time. When he's using his iPad for distance learning he has the volume up so loud - same on his headphones. He also does it with the TV, too. His hearing tests at the pediatrician come back normal, but I still worry about it. Anyway, thanks for getting this thread going again!
I saw Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max. That was really fun in a nostalgic 80s way. Malls. OMG. In the 80s we had such a sense that we were living in the future. We dressed like we were from the future, the music was futuristic with all the keyboards. Of course, now it's just comical. The movie was fun. It's great to get new-release blockbusters at home.
I got a month of Disney+ so I could watch the new Pixar movie, Soul. It was no Up (my favorite Pixar movie), but still thoroughly enjoyable. I especially loved the cat, Mr Mittens.
I had heard all the enthusiastic reviews of The Mandalorian. I enjoy Star Wars but wasn't geeky enough to get Disney+ just to watch it. I was a fool! LOL Baby Yoda is the best thing that ever happened! Even if you're not a huge Star Wars fan, The Child is heartwarming and hilarious in every episode. I really, really loved it. It's exactly what I didn't know I needed. I watched Season 1 in a weekend. I'm excited to start Season 2 maybe tonight.
@skwigg after all of the hoopla over fb yesterday - people posting about it right and left - I actually stayed up (relatively late) to watch it last night. It was mind-blowing. 🤯 I can't say I'm too surprised, but it both fascinated and appalled me. I've never been more afraid for my kids. I already see pictures of my nieces on IG asking friends to rate them and posting pics with fish lips, etc. They started that when they were around 14 years old. I can't say I'm guilt-free of using social media. FB scares me anymore but I have to use it because of teaching live fb Jazzercise classes (although I could be on it a lot less, that's for sure). I don't think it's done anything positive for me in terms of my self-esteem. I'm pretty sure much of my confusion over eating is correlated with the accounts I follow on IG and I'm 39! I at least have the awareness of what SM does to me psychologically and behaviorally but I still find myself going down the rabbit hole. I'm definitely guilty of grabbing my phone when emotions get big. It's odd because lately I've felt really lonely and missing connection with friends and family and I reach for my phone. I know it's because I want to connect with people through social media, but the irony is that I think it's more disconnecting and isolating than anything else. All I end up doing is comparing everyone else's amazing lives to my lonely one.
On a more random note, I have another niece who just turned 12 and lives in Vegas. She's one of the only middle schoolers in her grade that has a bright orange flip phone. It doesn't do anything except make phone calls. I'd like to go down that route for my kids when it becomes necessary for them to have a phone. 😂
The dramatizations were totally cheesy. My mom said those were the only parts of the movie she understood..lol.
If you have not watched Ted Lasso yet, please do so at once. It is charming, goofy, and optimistic, everything the world needs right now. It's on AppleTV+. I was very resistant to watching it. I don't like sports. I don't watch comedies because most of them are stupid. Why would I watch a sports comedy? My best friend pleaded with me. Brené Brown gushed over it. Finally, I caved. The first episode was ok, by the second one I was totally hooked. It restored my faith in humanity. Brené encourages us all to be awkward, brave, and kind. This character fully embodies that sentiment, plus he's from Kansas City and there are Arthur Bryan't BBQ references.
For feel-good, life-affirming shows, I also recommend My Octopus Teacher on Netflix. It's about a burned out cinematographer in South Africa who starts going into the ocean every day to visit a particular octopus. It's gorgeous to look at and very moving.
I also really loved The Biggest Little Farm, a $3 rental on Amazon. It's a stunningly beautiful documentary. This couple got kicked out of their apartment because their rescue dog with separation anxiety wouldn't quit barking. They decided to buy the dog a farm, and really had no idea what they were in for. I have so much more respect for farmers and ranchers. I don't know how they do it! https://youtu.be/UfDTM4JxHl8
Then another really good but not so life-affirming documentary was An American Murder: The Family Nextdoor. It's on Netflix. Fantastic true crime. It gave me nightmares. LOL What's so amazing about it is that there is actual video footage of the whole investigation, no corny reenactments. There are social media posts and texts detailing who the people are and what was happening in the marriage, doorbell video of the last time the woman is seen, police body cam video from when they first entered the house, interrogation room video of the polygraph test. It was intense.
I still have a few days off to watch movies and streaming. Any suggestions?
I liked An American Murder too. I’m into true crime, so that was right up my alley. Then in the opposite direction I’m loving The Great British Sewing Bee. I love the sewing (I wish I was as good as the contestants), everyone is so sweet and nice to each other, even the judges. It’s very heartwarming. The Undoing with Nicole Kidman looks interesting. I haven’t watched it yet though. My son has taken over my Amazon Prime streaming service. This means that all the show recommendations are for him. Sharknado came up as a top suggestion the other day! Only a little boy could believe that storyline makes sense. He loved it. He did start pelting his sister with toy sharks after watching it though.
I don't watch much TV (although Emily in Paris is on my list) but I'm very interested in Ted Lasso. My husband is the night owl who watches all the TV so I mentioned some of the shows to him. He said he also heard that Ted Lasso is very good but he warned me that the American Murder series might be a little too sad (for me anyway). He said a lot of it was fb movies and videos that the wife posted of the kids and the husband/dad goes into detail on how he murdered his family. That was enough to deter me from checking it out, but it may still be good.
I'm all for feel good movies about animals, too. I'm sure those would be fun for my kids!
Be warned that animals die in both the farm and octopus movie. They're wonderful, uplifting movies but circle of life and all. Just know that if you're going to sit down with the kids.
I'm still emotionally scarred from Frosty the Snowman melting when I was a kid. LOL
I’m of no help, bc I‘ve been watching MLB highlights on YouTube, and still a lot of Great British Baking Show. My husband and I have gotten into a Korean soap called Crash Landing on You, which is about a romance between a North Korean military officer, and a South Korean CEO who winds up in the North after a freak paragliding accident takes her there. It has a lot of light touches, but there’s still some political undercurrents going on, and my hubby really likes it since he lived in South Korea for six years. And I‘m a sucker for Korean dramas in general.
I made the mistake of watching the next to last season 2 episode of Unsolved Mysteries the other night, lol. It was the one on the unidentified (to this day) woman who was found dead in an Oslo hotel room 25 years ago. I’m convinced she was a spy who was uncovered, or double-crossed, and secret-squirrel stuff like that keeps me up at night! It was good but I get more worked-up by that compared with thrillers or horror movies. So I might watch the American Murder documentary, but hope I don’t get so over the top.
I haven't watched all the new Unsolved Mysteries but I saw a preview of the Tsunami Ghosts episode that freaked me out. I know if I watched that one I'd be scared to get up and walk to the bathroom in the dark.
I've been watching real TV this week as opposed to cat videos on YouTube. So far I've seen:
Hillbilly Elegy on Netflix. It's a Ron Howard / Bryan Grazer film staring Glenn Close and Amy Adams. It's a memoir from a guy who grew up in Appalachia but made it into Yale law. It's interesting because critics almost universally hated it but the audience score is almost 90 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes. I was entertained, maybe because I have crazy relatives. I thought Glenn Close was awesome as Mawmaw.
The Sound of Metal on Amazon Prime. It's about a heavy metal drummer who suddenly loses his hearing and has to grapple with that. It was very good. It scared me a little. I'm married to a musician and spent years in deafening nightclubs and arena concerts. My ears ring constantly and occasionally do that thing where they ring loudly and then the volume drops and everything gets muffled, exactly like in the movie. What if it didn't come back?! 😳 I really felt for this guy and was totally sucked in to his story.
The Flight Attendant on HBO Max. A party girl flight attendant with a slight drinking problem has a one night stand in Bangkok and wakes up next to a dead guy with no memory of what happened. Chaos and intrigue ensue. This is a series, and annoyingly, they didn't release it all at once. I watched 7 in a row and now I'm waiting, waiting, waiting to find out what crazy thing happens next. It's quite funny at times. Her lawyer and best friend is Zosia Mamet (Shoshanna from Girls).
Murder on Middle Beach on HBO Max. I started watching this when I ran out of Flight Attendant episodes. It's true crime. An HBO director investigates his own mother's unsolved murder. So far it's quite good.
What is everyone else watching?
I forgot to add, I'm amazed at how many yoga videos are available on Amazon Prime Video. I found a Yin Yoga for Pain Relief series that has been great even though I'm not in pain. Today, I found a 15-minute flow that was perfect. The fact that there are so many great yoga videos free with Prime has kept me from paying for an online yoga subscription, which is what I thought I'd have to do.
@skwigg, I‘m adding the Sound of Metal onto my queue. I live with tinnitus, and have more hearing loss than my husband, who was an Army artillery officer for a few years. Going to a ton of shows and concerts in my youth definitely did a number on my hearing, even more so than with my husband hearing a bunch of heavy fire go “boom” on a regular basis for two or three years. And so cool that Prime has yoga videos! I had no clue, but that’s so helpful, especially since I won’t be doing an in-person class anytime soon.
I just started watching James May: Oh Cook! on Prime, and it’s goofy.He made Top Gear watchable even though I could care less about cars and gadgets, and he’s no less entertaining here. While he often says in the episodes he can’t cook, I think he’s a lot better than he lets on.
I'm excited about this thread picking up, because I'm finally getting back into watching (granted, only one) shows! We just finished The Undoing. Holy wowzers! My mom told me she watched all 6 episodes in one evening 😂 It was that. good. We just started The Flight Attendant last night and it is VERY good! We didn't get past the first one as I go to bed at an ungodly early hour, but I'm hooked. I'm sad to hear they haven't finished all however-many seasons, but at least it's given me something good to watch.
I tried The Handmaid's Tale and just couldn't do it. I think I'm the only person on this planet who watched 2 episodes and couldn't continue. It was so disturbing to me, although I'm having my husband give me updates so I can carry on with the story 😁
I also dabbled with Emily in Paris as I'd heard it was good. It's ok, but for some reason the main character (Emily) really annoys me. I admire her confidence and ballsiness, but c'mon - how is someone seriously that perky that often? :-D
I need to mention Sound of Metal to my husband. He's also a drummer and the show sounds right up his alley. Nothing to do with drumming, but I worry about my son's hearing all the time. When he's using his iPad for distance learning he has the volume up so loud - same on his headphones. He also does it with the TV, too. His hearing tests at the pediatrician come back normal, but I still worry about it. Anyway, thanks for getting this thread going again!
I saw Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max. That was really fun in a nostalgic 80s way. Malls. OMG. In the 80s we had such a sense that we were living in the future. We dressed like we were from the future, the music was futuristic with all the keyboards. Of course, now it's just comical. The movie was fun. It's great to get new-release blockbusters at home.
I got a month of Disney+ so I could watch the new Pixar movie, Soul. It was no Up (my favorite Pixar movie), but still thoroughly enjoyable. I especially loved the cat, Mr Mittens.
I had heard all the enthusiastic reviews of The Mandalorian. I enjoy Star Wars but wasn't geeky enough to get Disney+ just to watch it. I was a fool! LOL Baby Yoda is the best thing that ever happened! Even if you're not a huge Star Wars fan, The Child is heartwarming and hilarious in every episode. I really, really loved it. It's exactly what I didn't know I needed. I watched Season 1 in a weekend. I'm excited to start Season 2 maybe tonight.