Tag Archives: Netflix

Funny, Not Funny!

 “When an idea first strikes you as funny, then you quickly realize its seriousness, and the funniness disappears, leaving you only with the feeling of how not funny it really is.” — Urban Dictionary

The past week there’s been a spotlight on Dave Chappelle’s new stand-up comedy performance, The Closer, streaming on Netflix. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I paid close attention to the early reviews and scathing criticism of his transphobic and misogynist material. At the suggestion of a friend whose humor I appreciate — which is often politically incorrect yet delivers a thought-provoking message — I decided to watch Chappelle’s The Closer. Continue reading

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A Filmgoer’s Guide to the Best Films of 2019

“Certain things leave you in your life and certain things stay with you. And that’s why we’re all interested in movies — those ones that make you feel, you still think about. Because it gave you such an emotional response, it’s actually part of your emotional make-up, in a way.” — Tim Burton

“A good movie can take you out of your dull funk and the hopelessness that so often goes with slipping into a theatre; a good movie can make you feel alive again, in contact, not just lost in another city. Good movies make you care, make you believe in possibilities again.” — Pauline Kael

As in other years, first, before I share A Filmgoer’s Guide to the Best Films of 2019this is a reminder that I’m a cinephile and not a critic. I offer my thoughts and impressions on the films I saw this past year and comment on what worked for me, what didn’t, and what transported me. Movie-going is, for the most part, a solitary experience. Like other forms of art immersion, we respond intimately with the medium, emotionally, viscerally, and intellectually. Continue reading

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