As Pride is coming to a close this year, it’s crucial to support the LGBTQIA+ community all year long. This includes supporting organizations like the Trevor Project or watching media that’s been created by someone from the community. I recently watched the movie, The Normal Heart, and it’s heartwrenching. With the COVID-19 pandemic, The Normal Heart revisits a time when the US didn’t do enough to manage another pandemic.

The Normal Heart is based on a play written by Larry Kramer. The play follows activist, Ned Weeks (played by Mark Ruffalo in the movie), who notices this mysterious disease mostly impacting gay men. As he starts to discuss this disease at length, he’s surprised how he cannot get anyone to listen to him. This is during a prejudiced time where many felt this was “god’s punishment.” Ned falls in love with Felix Turner (played by Matt Bomer), although tragedy strikes when Felix is diagnosed with HIV. The play and the subsequent movie version highlight how the US failed its people by refusing to provide research sooner.

This movie is difficult to watch. It’s graphic in the way it needs to be to show how HIV has taken young, healthy men and turned them into frail human beings. There’s one man as he lies dying, calling out for his dog. I was crying throughout the entire movie because it hurt to know this is real. It’s amazing how far we have come in treating HIV and how many people can live completely normal lives. At the core of this story is the discrimination gay men faced in getting basic care.

For those who feel the US isn’t handling COVID-19 correctly, it seems we can only look to our past for our failures. It wasn’t until 1986 that Ronald Reagan mentioned AIDS while addressing the United States. This is stated in the epilogue of The Normal Heart. This is when discrimination becomes deadly.

The Normal Heart was a well-made movie honoring the brave people who passed away from this awful disease. It’s a movie that shows how media can influence public opinion and how our media can highlight issues before even our government can address them. I would recommend being in a good mental place before watching this because of the difficult nature of the movie. This movie is one of the reasons why Pride still needs to exist, so we never forget how our country failed its community.

It’s been six months, but I finally finished watching New Girl. I always start watching a new show, although I become bored and end up watching something else. I would go through phases with New Girl where I would watch a season in a week and then not watch the show for months. Since I finished New Girl in its entirety, I wanted to list off my favorite episodes of the show.

“Prince” Season #3 Episode 14

As a Minnesotan, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the Prince episode made it to this list. Jess (played by Zooey Deschanel) and Cece (played by Hannah Simone) are invited to a party held by Prince. Nick (played by Jake Johnson), Schmidt (played by Max Greenfield), Winston (played by Lamorne Morris), and Coach (played by Damon Wayans Jr.) all come to crash Prince’s party after Nick blurts out to Jess that he loves her. This episode is so fun. Prince gives the roommates great advice, and I like the episodes in season #3 where Nick and Jess are together. I got a little teary-eyed watching this, especially since Prince is no longer alive. R.I.P. Prince.

“Cooler” Season #2 Episode 15

This episode marks the first kiss between Jess and Nick. This kiss is one of the best on-screen kisses I have ever watched. I was re-watching this scene from various YouTube clips, and it sent chills up my spine. Jess and Nick are perfect together.

“Where the Road Goes” Season #7 Episode #4

As a cat lady, this episode has to be on this list. Winston hosts a funeral for his cat, Ferguson, who passed away from a heart attack. I was crying throughout the whole thing as someone who has lost two kitties in my lifetime. Losing a pet is never easy, and towards the end of the episode, we see Winston express his emotion over his lost furry friend. This episode is relatable.

“Normal” Season #1 Episode 20

I picked this episode because it’s the first episode to feature the drinking game True American. Jess invites her boyfriend, Russell (played by Dermot Mulroney), over to the loft where the roommates play a drinking game. True American is depicted throughout the series as one of the games the roommates play together. All I know about the game is that the “floor is lava” and to start a game by shouting “JFK” and “FDR”.

“Hubbedy Bubby” Season #6 Episode 2

In this episode, Jess and Cece make a bet with Schmidt about signing up voters for the upcoming election. Jess and Cece party at a sorority house to attempt to get them to register to vote. As Jess and Cece triumphantly lead the women to vote, they unanimously shout their support for Trump. I picked this episode because it highlights Jess and Cece’s friendship as they go on this quest together.

Honorable mentions include the pilot episode, Schmidt and Cece’s wedding, and Nick and Jess’s wedding. Let me know in the comments which episode is your favorite.

Recently, I have been getting into watching more horror movies. Typically, I hate horror movies. I’m not a fan of the “gory / over the top” horror. This is why I never got into The Walking Dead, or why I couldn’t watch past Saw II, because it felt a little too gross for me. Ready or Not was recommended to me to watch because of the darker humor, and it wasn’t gory. Ready or Not is an intelligently written, black comedy, horror film.

Grace (played by Samara Weaving) is ecstatic to be marrying her husband, Alex Le Domas (played by Mark O’Brien). The Le Domases are extremely wealthy as they own the “Le Domas Family Games” company. After Grace and Alex get married, they are forced to sit down and play a game. Grace draws the “hide and seek” card, which is the only card that forces the Le Domas family to kill the bride or groom-to-be. Grace doesn’t take hide & seek seriously until she sees a family member murder a maid. Grace has to fight the family and survive the night.

As I mentioned, I’m not into gore. There’s a little bit of gore because it is a horror movie, but not enough that I couldn’t watch the movie. I appreciate the eat the rich message in this movie. The reason why the Le Domas have their money is that they agreed to participate in this game ritual. They don’t care about what they have to do to keep their wealth. Even Samara utters in the movie, “fucking rich people”.

Samara Weaving is amazing in this role. I rooted for her throughout the movie. When Grace sits outside the mansion as it’s up in flames, smoking a cigarette, what an aesthetic. Adam Brody plays Daniel Le Domas, and he was a great character to watch, too. Supporting roles by Andie MacDowell, Henry Czerny, and Melanie Scrofano help make this rich family as evil as they are.

Ready or Not is a great film to play in a horror movie marathon in October. Another recommendation would be to play this movie as background noise during a board game night. Let me know in the comments if you watched Ready or Not and what your thoughts are. Additionally, if you have horror movie recommendations that aren’t super gory, I’m happy to hear those recommendations as well.

While watching promotional interviews for It Chapter 2, Bill Hader would discuss his TV show, Barry. I knew the show was airing, but I don’t have a way to watch HBO. Recently, Hulu has acquired a few popular HBO shows without purchasing the HBO add-on. This included Barry. Bill Hader and Henry Winkler won Emmys for this series, so it must be good, right? I concur that this show is worth watching.

Barry Berkman (played by Bill Hader) is sent to LA by his assassin mentor Monroe Fuches (played by Stephen Root). While completing his assassination, he discovers an indie theater where he decides to start taking acting lessons. Barry is living a double life by murdering people and acting in Gene Cousineau’s (played by Henry Winkler) classes. This is an odd concept for a show, but it works.

Bill Hader becomes Barry. Barry is shown to be struggling with his career of taking lives and wanting to be someone else. Acting has become his escape. Let’s be clear, Barry isn’t a good person. In the first season, especially, there’s a scene where Barry kills someone in a car. It’s shocking because I didn’t think Barry would go there, but he does. He’s balancing a fine line between doing his job and getting caught.

As a side note, Bill Hader is a great actor in darker roles. Another good example of this, besides Barry, is the movie The Skeleton Twins. It stars Hader and Kristin Wiig. It’s an emotional and depressing movie, but it illustrates how Bill Hader can act in darker material.

Barry cannot be described as a dark comedy without the appearance of NoHo Hank (played by Anthony Carrigan). NoHo Hank’s witty one-liners are hilarious, even if they’re about killing or torture. Bill Hader has talked about filming behind the scenes with Anthony Carrigan, and it sounds like there are shenanigans to be had.

Barry was a quick watch. Each season has eight episodes, with only two seasons. The third season was supposed to be out next year, I believe? However, with COVID-19, this will probably be delayed. Barry was an entertaining show, to say the least. Both seasons of Barry can be found on Hulu without the purchase of the HBO add-on.

My cousin watches so many movies! She made a Facebook status saying how she updated her Letterboxd account. After researching, I downloaded the Letterboxd app, and it has changed the way I am watching movies while in quarantine. I can follow friends, see their movie recommendations, and list movies on a watch list. Letterboxd is my new favorite app.

I’m the type of moviegoer who always watches movies I have seen previously. It’s difficult for me to force myself to watch something new. I don’t want to waste my time watching a movie I don’t enjoy. With Letterboxd, I can note which movies I have seen, and I can include reviews when I add them to my watched list. Since using Letterboxd, I have watched: Vice, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Knives Out, Ex Machina, and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish version).

Letterboxd has renewed motivation in re-watching movies. I’m planning on re-watching the James Bond films, Marvel movies, and, since it’s May, the Star Wars movies. I plan to log my thoughts as I finish the movies on my list. I created a list titled “The Movies That Define Me,” and I have been slowly adding my favorite movies to this list.

Letterboxd is an easy-to-use app. It has a good interface, is organized, and doesn’t crash. The app is free to use, although there are ads that pop up every now and then. For $19 a month, you can have an ad-free version, or pay $49 a month to become a patron. Becoming a patron allows for backdrops on your profile, along with early access to beta features. Right now, I’m not planning on paying for Letterboxd; however, it may be something I consider in the future.

If you use Letterboxd, feel free to add me! I’m BizarreBrunette. Letterboxd can be found on Google Play and the App Store.

During the mid-2000s, I was in middle school. When I was in 7th grade, the TV show Gossip Girl was really popular. Everyone at my school watched this show. One of my favorite characters on the show was Dan Humphrey because he was a writer and seemed less stuck-up than the other characters. Dan is played by Penn Badgley. Even if you don’t know Gossip Girl, Penn can be seen in other iconic films such as Easy A, John Tucker Must Die, and The Stepfather. Now Penn is playing a stalker / serial murderer in You, and it’s entertaining to watch Penn act in a completely different type of role.

Joe Goldberg (played by Penn Badgley) is the manager of Mooney’s, a bookstore in NYC. As Joe is working in the store, he sees a young blonde woman walk in and immediately she captures Joe’s eye. Guinevere Beck (played by Elizabeth Lail) attracts Joe’s attention enough that Joe becomes obsessed. He takes Beck’s phone and interferes with her life in subtle ways.

I can’t say much more than that without spoiling both seasons. Each season has a different tone. It keeps the story interesting between each season since they’re so different. During the first season, each episode tells the story of Joe and everyone in his life. As the episodes unfold, we can see Joe slowly fall into the pressure of not getting caught. Each episode leaves on a cliffhanger, which makes it difficult not to spend 10+ hours watching the season in one sitting.

You is a satisfying thriller on Netflix. The first two seasons are out, and the third season won’t be released until sometime in 2021. Anyone who enjoys serial killer documentaries would love this series.

I have been trying to watch more movies. Growing up, my mom and I would watch movies together as a way to spend meaningful time together. It sounds odd since when you watch a movie, you don’t speak during the movie. It’s when the credits roll that my mom and I would discuss the movie. Ever since going off to college, I put watching movies on the back burner. It was tough for me to find two hours to watch one movie versus watching thirty-minute TV episodes instead. Now, I try to watch movies on the weekends when I have more time to do so. This past weekend, I watched The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen for the first time, thanks to Hulu.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is based on a graphic novel written by Alan Moore. The movie introduces various literary characters as they are forced to work together to eliminate a common threat. These characters include Alan Quartermain, Mina Harker, Dorian Gray, Tom Sawyer, The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll, and Captain Nemo. Sean Connery plays Alan Quartermain, who, at the beginning of the film, causes a shootout in this rustic hotel lounge. It was badass to see Sean Connery still carry epic action sequences in his old age.

Mina Harker was another character I enjoyed seeing on screen. She has become a vampire since her adventures with Van Helsing and her fiancé, Jonathan. There’s this one scene where she’s in the library and she feasts on one of the men sent to eliminate the league. Plus, her black Victorian outfit was giving me major Renaissance / Cosplay inspiration.

According to Letterboxd, people vilified this movie. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has been credited as the movie in which Sean Connery retired from acting. There was drama between Sean and Stephen Norrington, the director of the film. Sean Connery, when he took the role, was paid so much money, they couldn’t recruit any other famous actor to be in the movie. This is according to Wikipedia, so who knows how accurate this statement is?

Many of the complaints with this movie include the terrible CGI, plot holes, and in one review,w this movie is a “dumpster fire”. When I watched this movie, I didn’t think the CGI was awful. The movie was made in 2003, so it’s not going to have the best technology available. I enjoyed the action sequences. There’s a shootout in a library while recruiting Dorian Gray, where I was entertained throughout the scene. This is also where Mina Harker shines, which I detailed above.

I’m glad I took the time to watch this movie. I have the first volume of Alan Moore’s graphic novel being shipped to my apartment for me to read. I read a review on Letterboxd from Karen who stated, “this movie fucking slaps and that’s that on that”. Karen, I couldn’t agree more.

If you have been active on Twitter in the past six months, you have probably seen some tweets about a hot priest. Andrew Scott from Sherlock is the one to blame for this trend. He stars as the love interest in the Amazon Prime TV show, Fleabag. This hot priest trend is what got me into watching Fleabag in the first place. Fleabag is a cleverly written, inventive comedy, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge deserves all the acting awards.

Fleabag stars. . . Fleabag. Fleabag is a confused, sexually active woman played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Fleabag lives in London, where she runs a guinea pig cafe that’s failing miserably. Her co-owner and best friend died after committing suicide after discovering her boyfriend had been cheating on her. Each episode reveals more about Fleabag’s life and her troubled relationships with her family. Olivia Coleman plays Fleabag’s manipulative and annoying step-mom. Both Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Olivia Colman do an excellent job of creating this family dynamic.

One of the main messages in the show is owning your mistakes. Fleabag makes a major mistake, which I won’t reveal because it’s a big spoiler. This mistake haunts Fleabag, and she struggles with forgiving herself and moving forward. The last episode of season #1 got to me, and I started crying along with Fleabag as she unravels all the decisions she made.

Now I have to mention the hot priest. The chemistry between Andrew Scott and Phoebe Waller-Bridge is unreal. The way they act together makes you genuinely believe they could make it as a couple, even though the hot priest can’t have sex. These two are my favorite OTP of 2020, and the year has barely begun.

Fleabag is only two seasons long with six episodes per season, so it’s a quick watch. Phoebe Waller-Bridge took home a Golden Globe for this role, and Fleabag won the Golden Globe for Best Television Series. If this doesn’t convince you to watch the show, I’m not sure what will.