Oof I haven’t done one of these posts since SEPTEMBER. SEPTEMBER? Wow. But have no fear. My Netflix and my tv have gotten pleeeeenty of love. So, I’ve watched quite a few things since that last post in September. Some I’ve probably already covered/flailed about in a Monthly Rewind or a round up of my fave tv/movies of 2015….but oh well!
Movies I Watched
Whiplash
“Driven by his demanding music teacher, drummer Andrew is determined to succeed as a jazz musician — even if it destroys his personality. Under the shadow of his father’s failed artistic attempts, Andrew practices until his hands bleed.”
I LOOOVE J.K Simmons and he was amazing in this (as was the guy who played Andrew — the played off each other wonderfully). Like so amazing — his character was just….wow. I don’t even have words for his performance. It was such an intense and emotionally charged movie. I just kept feeling anxious for Andrew and just how far his teacher would push him. I was not at all disappointed with it given how much it was praised.
Rating: 4/5
Pitch Perfect 2
Will and I finally got around to watching this. I MEAAAAAAN….we all knew it was going to be a bit of a disappointment comparatively to the first, right? We enjoyed it and had many LOLS but I don’t think I’ll be rewatching it obsessively like I do with the first. I’m not going to lie it made me a little teary eyed though but WHAT DON’T I CRY ABOUT.
Rating: 3/5
Trainwreck
“Single and successful, Amy has no intention of settling down — or even going on a second date — until she meets the subject of her next magazine piece, a handsome doctor. Confronted with a real-life good guy, she begins to reconsider bachelorhood.”
Amy Schumer cracks me up so when Will and I were in the mood for a comedy we snatched this bad boy up from Redbox. I feel like I must first profess my love for Bill Hader. Like I LOVE him (especially in The Skeleton Twins) and he’s cute in this one but I don’t feel like there was much in this movie to see how great he really is. We laughed a lot, cackled even at times — but I can’t say it was anything revolutionary for me. Just a funny romcom that was pretty cliched overall but I still enjoyed to some degree? The LeBron cameos was greaaaat and I enjoyed him more than I thought I would. The fun factor was there though for a fun Friday night movie for us! You need to be okay with rather vulgar humor which normally isn’t always what I find funny (I’m more like dark humor or like quirky kind of humor if that makes sense?). Also I’m confused why it got nominated for so much stuff??? I mean, I’m an Amy fan but IDK GUYS.
Rating: 2.5/5
TV I Watched
Dance Academy
“Fifteen-year-old farm-girl Tara Webster has always dreamt of dancing. When she makes it into the best school in the country, her dreams come true but she is far behind in her training, and there’s more to surviving the Academy than just dancing.”
If you haven’t watched this what are you doing with your life??!??!?! Seriously…I binge watched this in such a short amount of time and GAH IT IS SOOO GOOD. I can give you references for people who watched this after they saw how obsessed I became with it and they too became so obsessed with it. By the end of the 3 seasons my life was ruined okay…but like in the best way. SUCH AN ADDICTIVE SHOW.
Rating: 4.5/5
Making A Murderer
“When Steven Avery is freed from a wrongful conviction, his search for justice raises questions about the authorities who put him behind bars.”
Want to get mad? Like REALLY REALLY MAD? Watch this show. Will haaaates the rate at which I binge watch stuff and he kept saying “Okay one more! WE HAVE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.” It’s such an interesting documentary series about a man and the criminal justice system. If you are into Serial…you need to be watching this. I have been reading soooo much stuff about this documentary after. SO MANY THINGS TO THINK ABOUT.
Rating: 4/5
Jessica Jones
” Haunted by her traumatic past, Jessica Jones uses her gifts as a private eye to find her tormentor before he can harm anybody else in Hell’s Kitchen.”
I freaking LOVED IT. Cannot wait for season 2 and I plan on reading the comics soon. Jessica Jones is so badass and intense and awesome. Will doesn’t do shows that aren’t based in reality so I was nervous that the superpower thing might be a dealbreaker but he was every bit as obsessed as I was. He said it wasn’t over the top for him. David Tennant’s performance as Killgrave is out of this WORLD — his character is so evil and twisted. A truly memorable baddie. Soooo gritty and dark. Recommend!
Rating: 4/5
I also finished binge watching Game of Thrones but I talked a lot about that and everyone watches it but OMG LOVE LOVE LOVE OBSESSION FOR REAL. 5/5
So catch me up on your movie/tv life!! Have you seen any of these movies/shows? What did you think? What have YOU been watching lately? I’d love to know anything that is standing out for you that you’d recommend to me!
Emmah says
WILL NEVER BE OVER THE DANCE ACADEMY THING, JAMIE. NEVER. And I’ve had more time than you haha.
Hmm, you should check out The Shannara Chronicles tv show! And the movie (this one is on Netflix) “Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List”! Pierson Fode and Matthew Daddario are in it, and I LOVE them!!
Emmah says
Oh, and Agent Carter, obviously!!
Kelsey Cooper says
Dance Academy. I actually cannot even. Too soon to start watching it again? Because with snow coming our way this weekend I just might. No shame.
Sakina says
Okay so I just added Dance Academy to my list of shows to watch this summer! School is really stressing me out, so I actually haven’t been watching a lot of tv. I did go to see Brooklyn last week and really enjoyed it (except for the ending). I’m currently watching Shadowhunters, even though it’s terrible, just because it’s one of those shows I can watch (while making fun of lol) without having to pay too much attention. Have you watched Vikings? I just started it a couple of days ago and was so surprised! The History channel needs to make more shows!!!
Amber @ YA Indulgences says
Ah, I’ve hardly heard of any of these! I have heard of Making A Murderer though, which I won’t watch because shows/movies and such about murderers, etc. scare me. 🙁
I’ve yet to even see Pitch Perfect 1, so I keep telling myself to work on that. I don’t think it’s on Netflix…I’ll have to check.
I have seen Jessica Jones! I’m so excited for the second season. Oh Game of Thrones, that show, haha.
I have been watching. . . Wait for it. . . Pokemon on Netflix, what they had of it anyway. I’ve been wanting to binge watch, but I don’t want to start new shows because I still have old shows I started years ago and haven’t finished, sigh. Other than that, I have my tentatively scheduled live shows, The Vampire Diaries, The 100, Pretty Little Liars, Girl Meets World…
Kristin @ Simply Bookish Things says
Well off I go to binge watch nearly all of the above! 😉
Ethan says
I agree about Whiplash and Trainwreck. I’ve been on the fence about Making a Murderer, but it sounds like I need to make the time to binge that one!
Zeee @ I Heart Romance & YA says
I’m not really into binge watching because i get bored way too easily. I’ve been watching Jessica Jones on and off as well and have yet to finish the last few eps of GOT. Also currently in the middle of The 100 season 1. Will def watch Making of a Murderer, too!
My husband has been in an anime mood lately so yeah, he’s been binge watching Naruto. This means that I am semi binge watching it with him. LOL. But I actually loved The 7 Deadly Sins anime on netflux and binged that sh*t in a week!
Emily says
BAH! I Just finished Jessica Jones and absolutely loved it and am SO pumped for the next season. It also got me super excited for the new season of Daredevil coming out soon! And did you know they are making a show about Nick Cage!? Pretty pumped for that. Though my husband said it should be about “Luke and Jessica falling in love, getting married, and fighting crime.” No, this is not a typical sentence from him. But I agree with him SO much!
I keep seeing people talk about Dance Academy, but have not yet given it a try.
I am currently watching the last season of Parenthood (or like realllllly dragging it out because I don’t want it to be over!). Also very far into Supernatural. I think we average like 2-3 episodes a night, so we are FLYING through it. Little nervous about what we will watch after we finish it. We also only watched 1 episode of Making a Murderer, but plan on more (fun fact…I live an hour from that town sooooo it’s quite controversial and an avoided topic. I have friends that remember doing reports on that case and such).
tabithasbookblog says
MAKING A MURDERER IS SO GOOD. AND IT IS SO STRESSFUL. (sorry bout the caps, but it’s def necessary when it comes to that show) Another good show along the same lines is the Jinx! It came out last year on HBO and it is so suspenseful and MAM really reminded me of it in terms of pacing. And I definitely agree with you on Pitch Perfect 2. It was good and worth the watch, but not as good as the first. But I think that was expected.
AWESOME POST.
Michelle @blogslikeagirl.com says
I love Jessica Jones! Definitely the show I’m most looking forward to season two.
I can’t seem to get into Making a Murderer but I’m still keeping with it.
Jeann @ Happy Indulgence says
I recently watched Jessica Jones as well and it was AMAZING! It was totally dark and intense and blew my mind. I like Jessica as the conflicted heroine, although it annoyed me how long it took to get to Kilgrave!
Rebecca says
Whiplash looks interesting. Strangely, I hadn’t heard of it before now. You mention you love J.K Simmons who I’m not familiar with. Anything of his I should add to my watch list? (I literally have a watch list.) Agree with you about Trainwreck. It had it’s funny moments, but it was quite weak. I find it so hard to find good, smart goodies. Like you, I like dark or quirky humor, which isn’t easy to find. Do you have any recs I might not have seen? And yes, Dance Academy is perfection and I’m so glad you finally got on board and binged! I hate the wait for Netflix shows, so I might wait a bit until I start on that. I suppose you can’t complain when they give you a whole season to binge though…
Things I’ve watched recently that I’ve loved:
Jane the Virgin – I have such a crush on Gina, and it’s such a fun, funny, heartfelt show. I got my parents onto it and they love it as well, so it has a wide appeal
My Mat Fat Diary – A teen show set in the UK 90’s, you might say? But it’s SO GOOD. It’s truthful, honest and it’s worthy of a watch just for the lovely Finn
The True Cost – Thought-provoking documentary that everyone should watch!
Oh, and have you watched The Good Wife? I think you and Will would both enjoy it. It’s smart, well-written and was my favourite show I discovered last year.
Tiffany (About to Read) says
Trainwreck is on my list of things to watch eventually. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Mel@thedailyprophecy says
I completely agree about Trainwreck. I’ve heard SO many things about this movie, but after watching it.. I don’t know. I felt underwhelmed. Pitch Perfect 2 also wasn’t as good as the first movie, but it made me laugh and the songs were catchy 😀 Das sound machine, holy crap! So good. I will watch Jessica Jones asap.
Alexa S. says
JESSICA JOOOOOONES. I loved that entire season! The actors they got to play the different characters were brilliant choices, and the complexity of the relationships juxtaposed with the crazy plot was so, so intense in the best way. I NEED SEASON TWO.
Francesca says
Yes! All of these are amazing (although haven’t actually seen Trainwreck and Dance Academy). I thought Miles Teller was brilliant as Andrew in Whiplash and the way it is filmed, the cinematography is really beautiful too. Man I watch things so fast on Netflix that I’m always looking for something new to get into, currently watching Sons of Anarchy, it’s alright but not really gripping me!
Rachel (Confessions of a Book Geek) says
I had a MASSIVE comment written, and my net connection dropped. Sigh.
So – here we go again.
I thought Making a Murderer was an AMAZING documentary and it enraged me. Really interested to see where that case goes. Whiplash I hadn’t heard of but my sister made me watch it and it was SO GOOD. THAT ENDING. There’s an emoji that matches that hand gesture you know – “not quite my tempo”. Pitch Perfect 2 was good, but I wish there was more focus on their relationship in it, I’m a Skylar fan. I haven’t seen Train Wreck yet, but it looks good. My original comment was in paragraphs and a bit more fan girly, but I need to post this quick in case my net drops again!! LOL
Kay @ It's a Book Life says
I too enjoyed Pitch Perfect 2 but it didn’t make me laugh nearly as much as the first one. :/ I just binge watched Making a Murder. Crazy! As for Jessica Jones… it was THE BEST! I don’t even have words for how good David Tennant is as Killgrave. NO WORDS.