Shrinking: Season 3 – TV Review

TL;DR Shrinking is the kind of show that has cornered the market in laugh-crying your way through an episode, and this final but not final season captured that beautifully

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the AppleTV service that I used to view this series.

Liz looking down from her balcony.

Shrinking Review introduction

Today, we are looking at a very odd sort of ending. Because in one sense, we have reached the end of a story, three planned-out seasons careening towards a goal. However, because of the impact of the cast and characters, we know there will be another season with another story. It is like wondering if you are saying goodbye to characters you love or see you later. It is in that space that we explore the final season today.  

So, to set the scene, things are looking up for the group of friends working their way around life, love, and finding themselves. However, while everyone is growing and changing, life finds its way to throw curveballs everywhere. Jimmy (Jason Segel) wants Alice (Lukita Maxwell) to get into Wesleyan, but he is very much not ready for his daughter to move across the country for college in Connecticut. Paul’s (Harrison Ford) Parkinson’s is progressing, and he can’t hold a pencil anymore. But nothing prepares you for the reason someone says, “My bad”. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Continue reading

Book Club: The Next Chapter – Movie Review

TL;DR – While it might not stick the landing, it is still an improvement on the first film, and the friend dynamic completely works.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are some photos during the credits

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening for this film.

The Book Club ladies arrive in Rome.

Book Club: The Next Chapter Review

Sequels are always a tricky beast to approach. There are few things worse in cinema than a follow-up to a film you loved falling over. However, this is not the case for me because I was not that impressed with the original Book Club. This means it is a case of seeing if the second swing at the ball can hit.

So to set the scene, the members of the book club Diane (Diane Keaton), Vivian (Jane Fonda), Sharon (Candice Bergen), and Carol (Mary Steenburgen), were going well until they had to shelter in place due to Covid, but that is only going to last a week. Many, many months of Zoom later, the women finally meet up for their next in-person book club, but Vivian has a surprise, an engagement ring. The shock and surprise were strong, but after that passed, there was an opportunity. Because back in the day, the four of them wanted to go on a holiday in Italy, and well, a bachelorette party was a fantastic excuse to fix a past wrong.

Continue reading

Book Club (2018) – Exploring the Past

TL;DR – A hyper-specific film that, while charming at times, also feels locked in a time long past.  

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film

Women look out a window.

Book Club Review

There are many reasons to watch a film, and if I am going to be completely honest with you, the one we are watching today probably would not have been the one I would have picked. I could say that this is all a part of my trying to broaden the films I watch, which I am. But the truth is that I have to see the sequel tomorrow for a review, and it felt like this was one of those films where you need the context before proceeding. It is not the best reason for watching a film, but it is also by far not the worst.

So to set the scene, for over 40 years, through marriages, divorces, deaths, children, and hotel remodelling, four women, Vivian (Jane Fonda), Diane (Diane Keaton), Sharon (Candice Bergen), and Carol (Mary Steenburgen) have all come together each month for a book club. Each of them is at a precipice in their lives as new or old things come crashing in. It is within this world that Vivian chooses Fifty Shades of Grey and their world changes.

Continue reading