No Hard Feelings generated a lot of buzz when it was released. It was Jennifer Lawrence’s first take in a raunchy comedy, and there was significant conversation surrounding the age difference between Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman. I wasn’t able to see No Hard Feelings in theaters, but as soon as I saw it was available to watch on Netflix, I set aside time to watch it. No Hard Feelings was funny, but I don’t think I would go out of my way to watch it again.

No Hard Feelings focuses on Maddie Barker (played by Jennifer Lawrence) as she works as an Uber driver in Montauk, New York. She’s struggling to pay her mortgage for the beach house that her mom left her when she passed away. Maddie’s car is repossessed by her ex-fling, Gary (played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach). Maddie has to figure out plan B since she can’t be an Uber driver without a car. Maddie meets Percy’s parents (played by Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti) through a Craigslist ad as they are looking for a woman to date Percy (played by Andrew Barth Feldman) and bring him outside of his shell before he goes off to college. In exchange, they will gift Maddie a car. Maddie gets to work at seducing Percy, but finds that she starts to care about him. Percy challenges Maddie, and Maddie reveals things to Percy that she kept buried. Percy eventually finds out about the deal and is hurt that Maddie would use him for her own gain. This forces Maddie to challenge some of the things that Percy has brought to light about herself.

I think the first thing that’s worth mentioning is that Jennifer Lawrence knocked this out of the park. It’s surprising to me that she hasn’t done much comedy before this. I thought this was raunchy, and Jennifer seemed in her element. I would love to see Jennifer Lawrence in more comedies in the future. I think the chemistry between Jennifer and Andrew was also charming. By the end of the movie, it’s clear that they have developed a friendship even though they are at different points in their lives.

This brings me to the conversations that were had when No Hard Feelings was released. There is an age difference between Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman. Jennifer was in her 30s when this movie was filmed, while Andrew was 20. I think the reason this was talked about so much was that Andrew looks younger than his actual age, while Jennifer is clearly an adult. To be clear, I do not condone or support underage relationships because that is a crime. It’s why the movie Licorice Pizza gives me the ick. Licorice Pizza, for those who aren’t aware, is a movie that centers around the relationship between a 15-year-old boy and a 25-year-old woman. Notice how I say boy because a 15-year-old boy is a child versus a 25-year-old woman who is an adult. I do not care how well-acted Licorice Pizza is; it grosses me out. It’s not okay to romanticize this type of relationship, and I don’t care about the genders that are involved. Anyone underage (regardless of gender) should not be in a romantic relationship with someone who is over the age of 18. I will say that I didn’t get the same vibes with No Hard Feelings as I did with Licorice Pizza.

The other interesting thing about No Hard Feelings and the age gap is how this is flipped. It’s extremely common for male actors to be significantly older than female actors. The first movie I thought of that fits this is For Your Eyes Only, which was a Roger Moore Bond film. Roger Moore was 53 while Carole Bouquet (who played Bond’s love interest) was 24. That’s a 29-year age difference, which is way more than the age difference in No Hard Feelings. Now granted, Carole Bouquet was in her mid-20s, which I think feels a little farther away than 18; however, it’s still a large age gap. I think if we are going to have conversations about age gaps in movies, we absolutely should. These conversations should be created equal, and if we are going to be upset about an older actress and a younger actor, we should also feel the same if it’s an older actor and a younger actress.

No Hard Feelings was funny, and I’m glad I took the time to watch it. I don’t think the age difference ruined the movie by any means, but I think you could easily tell that Jennifer does look older than Andrew. It wasn’t my favorite romantic comedy, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

I have a lot of happy memories attached to Doctor Who. I started watching Doctor Who in college, and it’s one of the first shows that my now-husband and I watched together as a couple. Doctor Who was a show I would watch with my roommate at the time, and we were fascinated by the adventures that The Doctor would have. I stopped watching Doctor Who sometime in Capaldi’s series, and I haven’t had a chance to return to the show. I wanted to do a full rewatch, but that’s a huge commitment. When I heard that Disney+ would be carrying all the new episodes of Doctor Who going forward, I was ecstatic. I know there may be some mixed opinions about Disney+ right now; however, I feel that with Disney+ airing new episodes of Doctor Who, it might allow new fans to join the fandom. As part of this joint venture, the holiday special is live on Disney+, debuting Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor. I was impressed with Ncuti’s portrayal of The Doctor, and I have high hopes for the new series.

The Church on Ruby Road opens with Ruby Sunday (played by Millie Gibson) being interviewed by television host, Davina McCall (played by Davina McCall herself). Ruby is partnering with Davina to help find her birth parents, as Ruby was dropped off at a church as a baby. After the interview, Ruby experiences a bout of bad luck. Ruby’s foster mother, Carla, brings home a new baby, Lulubelle, whom Ruby agrees to watch while Carla runs errands. While Lulubelle is under Ruby’s care, she is kidnapped by goblins. Ruby rushes to help and meets The Doctor (played by Ncuti Gatwa), who is also chasing after the goblins. Ruby and The Doctor agree to work together to save Lulubelle and stop the goblins.

As far as companions go, I like Ruby. Ruby reminds me a lot of Rose (played by Billie Piper), who was a companion during both Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant’s series. She’s caring, curious, and willing to dive into any sort of adventure. I think Ruby and The Doctor have good chemistry together as friends. I personally prefer the companions who serve as The Doctor’s equal to the companions who fall in love with The Doctor. Speaking of The Doctor, I like Ncuti’s portrayal of the character. He seems spunky, yet calculated as he plans out how to escape from the goblins. This is kind of a small thing to bring up, but I noticed that in the poster for Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road The Doctor’s nails are painted. I think that’s a nice touch. The Doctor is someone who is unique and stands out, so it’s nice to see The Doctor bend gender norms.

One thing that Doctor Who is known for is being heartfelt. This holiday special was no different. There’s a moment where The Doctor has to travel back in time to when Ruby was dropped off at the church. The Doctor is seen holding Ruby as a baby and whispering to her, “Happy Birthday,” as he sets her down in front of the church. Don’t mind me crying at a Doctor Who special. I think it’s a nice hint of foreshadowing because it sounds like the series will expand on Ruby’s backstory, and I’m interested to see where that goes.

Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road is available to stream on Disney+. While some fans might not like the fact that Doctor Who is on Disney+, I think it’s a great idea. Since Doctor Who is more available to me, I might end up watching this series and get back into keeping up to date on new episodes.

Call of Cthulhu was my first introduction to tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). I spontaneously drove to a game store where someone agreed to hold a one-shot for Call of Cthulhu. I was mesmerized by the setting, along with the balance between a character’s death and a character losing their sanity. Horror TTRPGs aren’t for everyone, as they are often extremely high-stakes. When I heard that Critical Role was going to do live shows based on their horror TTRPG, Candela Obscura, I was thrilled. I just watched the second arc, “Chapter Two: The Circle of Needle and Thread,” and it was so thrilling to watch.

In “Chapter Two: The Circle of Needle and Thread”, there are five Candela Obscura investigators who are finishing a mission on a train. The five investigators include Marion Collodi (played by Luis Carazo), a medium who can occasionally see visions of the future, Dr. Jinnah Basar (played by Zehra Fazal) a medical doctor who is an asset to Candela, Sean Finnerty (played by Brennan Lee Mulligan) a soldier, Auntie Bee Monroe (played by Marisha Ray) a criminal and friend to Sean, and Nathaniel Trapp (played by Travis Willingham) an investigative journalist. After completing their mission on the train, they are assigned a new mission to look into these creatures that have gone after another Candela operative, Allison Suarez. Things quickly get out of hand as the five investigators struggle to keep control of the situation.

The GM (Game Master) in this three-episode arc is Spenser Starke, who helped write and design Candela Obscura. I was watching Spenser’s Critical Role Instagram takeover before the third episode was released. Spenser’s background is in film, which I feel comes out in the episodes. I mentioned above how the five investigators started the episode on a train. The way that Spenser described the scene, it felt like I was listening to a Mission Impossible opening. Additionally, Spenser would open each episode with a detailed description of some horrific event, and I’m not going to lie, it was unsettling at times. Spenser is such a good GM and really knows his stuff when it comes to crafting a horror story.

Besides the GMing, I liked what each person brought to the story. I think that Brennan Lee Mulligan stole the show. The way that Brennan / Sean talked about his vivid flashbacks from the war and all the things he was forced to do, my heart broke for him. There’s a quote that Sean says, “No, Ma. I don’t wanna play soldier no more” in the third episode, and I started tearing up. Brennan created this conflicted, interesting, and morally ambiguous character that I think had a lot of depth. The other characters were interesting in their own right. Auntie Bee plays a pivotal role in the final episode. It’s easy to not take her as seriously since she is supposed to be an older character, yet she can hold her own if she needs to. There’s also a good role-playing dynamic between Dr. Basar and Marion that develops throughout the episodes. I think the cast was a huge highlight in bringing the world of Candela Obscura to life.

I was reading some of the comments, and someone had suggested that Spenser was “too harsh” as a GM. There are moments where Spenser will hand out injuries to the characters if they don’t roll well. I personally didn’t think that Spenser was being too harsh. I think horror TTRPGs are supposed to create this feeling of being on edge. There are real consequences to a character’s actions, and that should be taken seriously. I’m sure the cast had conversations with Spenser before the episodes were filmed, so I think everyone was on board with that. I like Spenser’s GMing style, and I hope he decides to GM any future Candela Obscura arcs for Critical Role.

I’m looking forward to what Critical Role will do with Candela Obscura. I’d love to be able to sit down and play the game sometime, maybe at a future Gen Con perhaps?

In my Freshman Year of college, I had two posters in my dorm room. One was a movie poster of The Bourne Legacy, and the other was of Hawkeye from The Avengers. If you couldn’t tell, I had a crush on Jeremy Renner at the time. Hawkeye was one of the Marvel characters in the film franchise, where he was forgotten about at times. He appeared in the various Avengers films, but didn’t get the same spinoff treatment as the other characters did. It’s a shame because I felt there was a lot more to explore with his character. It’s a surprise to me that it’s taken me this long to watch Hawkeye, considering how big a fan I am of Hawkeye as a character. Watching Hawkeye was the perfect way to kick off the holiday season.

Kate Bishop (played by Hailee Steinfeld) witnesses the attack on New York, which puts The Avengers on the map. She sees Clint Barton (played by Jeremy Renner) falling off a building and grappling himself to safety. Since then, Kate has been determined to never feel helpless again and has decided to take archery lessons. Flash forward to the present, Kate is in college and gets in trouble after destroying a clock tower. She comes home for the holiday break and is forced by her mother to attend a charity event. Kate investigates a secret auction that puts her in a perilous position. She’s saved by Clint, who has taken his kids to New York for the holiday. Clint realizes that Kate is in way over her head and agrees to help her investigate further.

As someone who read Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye comic run, it’s clear this series takes inspiration from the comics. There’s the appearance of Lucky, the dog Kate Bishop runs into, who becomes a close companion throughout the episodes. The way that Hawkeye and Kate Bishop’s costumes look, which were designed by LARPers. As a comics fan, I love how this felt like an adaptation of Matt Fraction’s series.

I thought Kate and Clint had a good working partnership together. Kate is similar to Kamala as she’s been a big Hawkeye fan. Clint, from his experience with S.H.I.E.L.D., is professional and wants to wrap this up as quickly as possible, so he can spend the holidays with his kids. For only six episodes, I thought Kate developed a lot as a character. In the first episode, she’s naive, immature, and spoiled. She doesn’t realize that Clint is giving up the potential to see his kids on Christmas to help her. I think Kate comes around and is grateful for Clint’s help, along with taking her role more seriously.

Can we also talk about the LARPing? I loved how Clint and Kate ended up teaming up with the local LARPing group and how they ended up designing their costumes. Also, when Clint needs to retrieve his suit, he shows up to claim the suit at a LARPing event. How fun! I thought it was cool to see them team up together in the final episode.

If all of that wasn’t enough, the guest appearances were top-notch. For not watching Hawkeye for two years, it was not spoiled that Wilson Fisk (played by Vincent D’Onofrio) would make an appearance. I was shocked in the best possible way. I am a big fan of the Marvel Netflix shows, and Wilson Fisk was a standout. I liked how this was tied to Kate’s mom. Besides Fisk, I liked Kate’s banter with Yelena Belova (played by Florence Pugh). I knew that Yelena would appear in Hawkeye, which I thought tied into Clint’s backstory. With Yelena discovering the death of Natasha and how she blames Clint for it. Clint accepts Natasha’s death and how he couldn’t have prevented it. I thought it all came together nicely in the end, with both Yelena and Clint accepting Natasha’s death and learning to let it all go.

Hawkeye, in my opinion, did justice to Clint Barton, along with tying up various story elements from the other films. I would love to see more of Yelena, Kate, and Clint working together. I hope this isn’t Jeremy Renner’s last portrayal of the character.

I have talked about how excited I am about The Marvels. This is one of the few Marvel movies I was really looking forward to. When The Marvels was released in theaters, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone that the movie was getting negative criticism. This wasn’t necessarily from movie reviewers, but from other fans. I was able to see The Marvels before the Thanksgiving holiday, and I loved it. The Marvels was such a fun film to see in theaters.

Carol Danvers (played by Brie Larson) is roaming space with her alien cat sidekick, Goose. She’s notified by Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) about an anomaly created when Dar-Benn (played by Zawe Ashton) recovers a magical band that looks similar to Kamala’s. Meanwhile, Monica Rambeau (played by Teyonah Parris) also investigates, and when she touches the anomaly, all three of the Marvels switch places when they use their powers simultaneously. The trio is forced to work together to prevent Dar-Benn from creating jump points that could destroy the barriers that protect multiple realities.

I loved how Monica, Carol, and Kamala have to work together. Kamala finally gets to meet her hero, and Monica, who hasn’t seen Carol since she was little, has to work through the feelings of abandonment she feels from Carol. Carol misses Monica and reckons with the consequences of being gone from Earth for so long. All of these dynamics interweave throughout the story, and I find it really interesting to see how the three work together. As always, I loved Kamala. Iman Vellani is too precious, and I hope to see more of her in future Marvel adaptations.

There were so many great scenes throughout The Marvels. The beginning battle, where the enemies appear at Kamala’s house, and all three are rotated in throughout the fight, was so entertaining. I loved Kamala’s parents and brother attacking one of the guys with a mop and a broom. Another fun scene involves Flerkens and multiple of them. I won’t say too much more than that.

Another thing that I liked was how this was a shorter Marvel film. Most films these days are 2 1/2 hours, which is time-consuming to watch. The Marvels is at 105 minutes, which isn’t even two hours. My attention span is short at times, and I liked how this was a shorter film.

While I loved The Marvels, I understand that not everyone did. There is nothing wrong with differing opinions in fandom. If someone comments on this and says they didn’t like the film, that’s fine! We are all allowed to like different things. With that being said, I find that some negative critiques from this film include insulting Brie Larson or Iman Vellani, or throwing in the word “woke” or talking about how diversity is ruining comics or Marvel. These are the types of opinions that go beyond having a respectful opinion. I don’t stand for insulting others or trying to debate the importance of representation and telling stories from all backgrounds. If you don’t like the film, that’s fine, but don’t use that as a shoe in for being a jerk.

The Marvels was so fun, and I want to see it again in theaters. With the after-credits scenes, I feel hopeful of seeing more of Kamala in the near future.

I have felt disconnected from the Marvel cinematic universe. I saw Ant-Man earlier this year, and it was fun. I didn’t see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. #3 because I figured it would be sad and didn’t want to cry in the theater. I haven’t watched Secret Invasion yet, but the reviews are not the greatest. I was spoiled about a certain character’s death in one of the first few episodes, and I’m a little salty about it. With all that said, the Marvel movie I’m looking forward to is The Marvels. The Marvels isn’t a Captain Marvel sequel, but more of a team-up between the various versions of Captain Marvel. I know some aren’t a fan of Brie Larson, but I’m personally looking forward to this movie.

I watched Ms. Marvel last year, and it was so good! I am excited to see Iman Vellani back as Ms. Marvel. Ms. Marvel is one of my favorite characters in comics. She’s nerdy, passionate, and genuinely a good person. She is the quintessential superhero. There’s a moment at the end of the trailer where Ms. Marvel looks at Goose as Goose breaks out the tentacles and eats a few of the enemies. She screams in absolute terror. That’s the most real reaction you can have to seeing a cat eat people.

This leads to another thing that I’m looking forward to. Seeing Goose! Who doesn’t want to see a loveable, alien tentacle kitty? There’s also a clip from the trailer of more kitties floating around, and I think Goose could use a friend.

What’s interesting about The Marvels is that this movie does the most with acknowledging the TV series on Disney+. There’s obviously Ms. Marvel, but also Monica Rambeau (played by Teyonah Parris), who was highlighted in WandaVision. With Carol’s friendship with Monica’s mom, Maria, I could see some touching conversations between the two of them. While Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness picks up from WandaVision, The Marvels could provide an essential link between the Disney+ shows.

I was reading the comments of The Marvels trailer, and they were surprisingly not as toxic as I thought they would be. I think people should let everyone enjoy what they want to enjoy. I get that this movie might not be what other fans are looking for, but if someone likes something, let them enjoy it.

I’m excited to see The Marvels, and even if the reviews aren’t great, I’m sure that I will have fun watching it.

I have been a big fan of ND Stevenson ever since he guest-starred on the first campaign of Critical Role. I also followed the webcomic series that he was publishing. One of the graphic novels ND is most famous for is Nimona, which I haven’t gotten around to reading yet. While at a friend’s house, we were sitting inside and she suggested watching a movie. She recommended Nimona as she watched it for the first time a few weeks ago. Nimona was so good! I’m motivated to go back and read the graphic novel.

Ballister Boldheart (voiced by Riz Ahmed) is about to be knighted in a grand ceremony. Ballister will be the first commoner to become a knight, as normally knighthood is granted to those who have familial ties. As Ballister begins the ceremony, a mysterious bolt comes out of his weapon and kills Queen Valerin (voiced by Lorraine Toussaint). Ballister knows he never intended to hurt the Queen; however, there is a warrant out for his arrest. Ballister is visited by Nimona (voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz), a shapeshifter, who decides to help him. Together, Ballister and Nimona work together to uncover the real culprit behind Queen Valerin’s demise.

I loved everything about this movie. I liked the voice actors; I thought they really helped bring these characters to life. Riz, Chloë, and Eugene Lee Yang from The Try Guys (who voiced Ballister’s partner, Ambrosius Goldenloin) were all superb. The animation was great, especially during all of Nimona’s shapeshifting into different creatures. I liked the world Nimona takes place in. There’s a lot of lore about the history of the city, which plays a big part in how things are revealed later on in the movie. It feels Dungeons & Dragons-esque with all of the fight sequences and backstory that’s introduced.

Nimona was such a fun and heartfelt adaptation. I can’t wait to read the graphic novel. Nimona can be streamed on Netflix.

While at Gen Con, one of my friends started a conversation with a woman in cosplay. I had no idea where her cosplay was from. She explained that she is dressed as a character from a web series she made called Incognita’s Infamous Adventures. She handed our group flyers and said they were doing a live sing-along at Gen Con on Sunday. My friends and I thought it would be fun, so we went to the event. It was so fun, and I have had the soundtrack on repeat ever since.

Incognita’s Infamous Adventures is a superhero-themed musical. The story focuses on Incognita (played by Sarah Michelle Bailey), a superhero who hasn’t made it big yet, so she works at a corporate office job in the meantime. She works with her best friend Connie (played by Darci Wantiez), who is also her sidekick. Incognita meets Adam (played by Christopher Bailey), who is the new employee at the office. Adam also happens to be a supervillain named Baddio, who is Incognita’s nemesis. Incognita and Baddio are unaware of each other’s existence in their lives. Eventually, Incognita and Baddio learn about Hilaria, a supervillain who is coming back to wreak havoc on the city, which forces Incognita and Baddio to work together.

I’m not normally a big musical theater person, but I love the soundtrack. It’s upbeat and fun to listen to. I find myself singing along on my way to and from work. It’s definitely made my commute more enjoyable. I think the other thing that stuck out to me about Incognita’s is the quips. Since Incognita works an office job, some one-liners poke fun at that. My friends and I found ourselves laughing at some of the humor throughout the show.

After doing the singing live, the cast did a short Q&A about how they created the series. I have a lot of admiration for the cast since they self-funded the project. They talked about the challenge of that and how they are starting to work on season #2.

Incognita’s Infamous Adventures is so fun and catchy. Incognita’s Infamous Adventures can be streamed on Amazon Prime.

To start off 2023, I finished Vox Machina, Critical Role’s first campaign. It was a bittersweet moment since it took me two years to watch every single episode. I felt I needed a solid break from Critical Role, so I could absorb the ending of Vox Machina. I watched a few of the one-shots and focused on watching other TV shows I fell behind on. I decided that I was finally ready to start on The Mighty Nein, which is Critical Role’s second campaign. I watched the first episode a few days ago and wanted to share some first impressions of the show.

As far as the characters, I think the two characters that I felt drawn to right away were Fjord (played by Travis Willingham) and Yasha (played by Ashley Johnson). Fjord has this cowboy persona with the voice that Travis chose for the character. Fjord seems to be one of the more intelligent characters within the group, and it’s fun to see Travis play someone vastly different from Grog. With Yasha, I liked how she is the bodyguard of sorts, and she has these one-liners that are delivered with no enthusiasm, which makes the whole group laugh. Also, I like how Yasha and Beau start flirting right away. I’m curious to see if that develops into something later.

The first episode primarily took place at a circus when someone from the audience turned into a zombie-like creature. I like how there’s a certain level of darkness that’s been introduced right away. Vox Machina felt like a group of adventurers goofing off in a tavern, while The Mighty Nein might have more gothic undertones, which is usually what I gravitate towards.

After finishing episode #1, I’m definitely invested in the campaign. Out of curiosity, I did a quick search to see how many hours the The Mighty Nein campaign is. It’s only 550 hours, no big deal. Now, I have only 547 hours of content to watch. Wish me luck!