Shownotes

Last week I asked readers to share their preferred weekday for receiving this newsletter, and the winner is: Friday. Let’s see if we can stick to that.

By the way, it’s been a year of Media Diet. Who woulda thunk it! If you’re interested in a Media Diet subscription which will give you access to the shared media server on Plex, now is the time to sign up, as I’m giving 35% off the annual price as a birthday special.

Get 35% off for 1 year

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On (2022)

directed by Dean-Fleischer Camp - screening in theatres & Media Diet Plex - watch trailer

Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. But when a documentary filmmaker discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope at finding his long-lost family.

Not to be melodramatic, but if I had seen this movie as a child, it would have changed the trajectory of my life. Dean Fleischer-Camp and Jenny Slate created an immaculate, heartwarming masterpiece that is very unlike the typically oversaturated and noisy children’s tales. I wonder if kids actually sense the melancholic notes in Marcel? Eh, who cares. I, an adult woman, loved this, and that’s what matters. Some surprisingly profound moments and quotes (“An audience is not a community”, “I truly enjoy the sound of myself connecting to everything”) about life, loss and happiness.

Tags:
Freshly Divorced Vibes
The :) Genre
Written By Women

Catastrophe (2015-2019)

by Sharon Horgan & Rob Delaney - 4 seasons streaming on Amazon Prime & Media Diet Plex
I’m not linking the trailer because I’ve never seen a worse trailer in my life

Catastrophe is a British television sitcom that aired from 2015 to 2019. It is created, written by, and stars Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney, who portray single people who become a couple after she unexpectedly becomes pregnant following a fling while he is visiting London on a business trip.

I. AM. CACKLING. This is the best comedy I’ve seen since binging Schitt’s Creek. It’s nothing like Schitt’s Creek, mind you. Catastrophe is unsentimental, vicious and brutal. Schitt’s Creek is just the benchmark for my good time.

Trigger warning: Catastrophe is extremely white and incredibly straight. Unless you count being Irish as some sort of minority, the show’s only saving grace is Sharon Horgan1 and her precious humour. She’s doing more for representing comedic women over the age of 35 than anyone else and I’m just in awe at how (HOW?!) superbly funny one person can be.

Tags:
What Even Is Reality If Not A Skewed And Perverted Rom-Com
Sharon Horgan Ultras

Only The Brave (2017)

by Joseph Kosinski - VOD & Media Diet Plex - watch trailer

Members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots battle deadly wildfires to save an Arizona town.

I’ll be honest, I watched Only The Brave because j’adore Jennifer Connelly and as a ✨ completionist ✨, I need to see her in everything she’s done. That aside, I was also curious to explore Kosinski’s work before he made “the 2022 joyride that saved cinema”, Top Gun: Maverick2. I didn’t expect to enjoy a burly firefighter movie but was ultimately committed, surprised, shocked, and then just really, really devastated I hadn't seen this in IMAX.

Kosinski made an unbelievable sad and true story work in a genuinely effective way by restraining the macho celebrations, and instead letting the technicalities of firefighting do most of the heavy lifting. Only The Brave tells tragedy through a gentle and humanistic lense. Beautiful and heartbreaking.

Tags:
Movies That Are Better Than They Have Any Right To Be
Earth Is The Murderer
I’m Not Crying You’re Crying
Dad Movie Collection

This Grandma’s Home playlist on Spotify contains exactly what it says on the package: “It’s giving coastal grandmother, it’s giving Diane Keaton, it’s giving Apple Pie”. (B)

Speaking of Apple Pie: Why Do Moms Love Fall So Much? (A)

Industry is so intense right now. 🥵 How is so much sex, drugs and stock-market fiddling even legal on TV? Every episode is an octane-fuelled housefire3. If you're not on it yet: it's Succession and Euphoria mixed with some peak Gamestop drama, all rolled into one thing and transplanted into London’s financial district. Celeste did more for baby dykes in episode 6 than Sarah Michelle Gellar in Cruel Intentions don’t even @ me (A)

Started watching The Resort but gave up a few episodes in. It’s trying to be White Lotus but lacks the cast and conviction. I don’t have time for this. (C)

The very unseemly Armie Hammer story4 was wrapped into a three part documentary, House of Hammer, spear-headed by his aunt and some of his accusers. I don’t have time for this, either. (D)

This tweet about another unseemly matter lol (A)

Sometimes I buy the crap that I see on Instagram ads. Usually, I’m terribly disappointed. Here are two orders that I really liked (despite the infuriating pricing): Misfits Vegan Protein Bars and Yummy Eats Vegan Ramen5. (B+)

On TV, Showtime’s new American Gigolo reboot just dropped6, and I’m curious about the Steve Carell mini-series The Patient on Hulu. Meanwhile my movie watchlist is expanding at the same rate as the universe: Honk For Jesus, Save Your Soul (2022), Funny Pages (2022), Where The Crawdads Sing (2022) are on my watchlist for this weekend.

Another cookbook I’m loving: Snacks For Dinner. (A)

2

Also a movie with Jennifer Connelly. Even after over 15 years, I dream of her AND her cut-out sweater from Requiem For A Dream, a movie I will never watch again.