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 "Genevieve, are you displeased or just thinking?" -Jeff Probst Man, I loved the Journey that Rachel got to go on in this episode.  This is by far my favorite incarnation of the Journey twist that we've seen in the new era.  A puzzle to get an Advantage is good on its own, but having the puzzle and Advantage dragged into the ocean via anchor if you're not quick enough is incredible.  It felt the Pirates of the Caribbean mixed with a trap from  Saw .  On that note, I think Jigsaw would make an excellent host for Survivor if Jeff ever retires.  More of this stuff  Survivor!   I love the over-the-top mechanics.  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: We get a new underdog alliance in this episode.  It starts with Andy, Rachel, and Teeny and they end up bringing in Caroline and Sue.  I think this is a really solid group to go through the next couple of votes together.  It's smart that they all ...

 "Yeah, go tongue Chang." -Pierce Hawthorne "Environmental Science" picks up with the study group taking a test in Chang's (Ken Jeong) class.  When time is up, the students all put their pencils down, except Annie (Alison Brie), who didn't notice Chang say time was up.  Chang drags Annie and her desk into the hall and assigns the class to write a one page paper, in Spanish, on Annie's mistake.  The class complains and questions the assignment until Chang makes it a twenty page paper instead. The group freaks out about the paper and all of the work they have to do for their other classes, so they ask Jeff (Joel McHale) to talk to Chang and get him to cancel the paper.  Jeff reluctantly agrees and meets Chang in his office and deduces that Chang's behavior is because his wife left him.  Jeff agrees to take Chang out on a night on the town to embrace the single life and in exchange, Chang cancels the paper for Jeff, but not the rest of the class. Jeff l...

It's that time again: The Snubby Awards!  For those of you who don't know, the Snubby Awards take a look at all of the Best Picture nominees from a given year and determine if the best film won or if another was snubbed.  If that's the case, they win the coveted Snubby Award! This time we'll be taking a look at the 2024 Oscars, which was a overall great selection of movies.  All of them were good to amazing and I got something out of all of them.  The nominees were: American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Past Lives, Poor Things, and The Zone of Interest  with the winner being  Oppenheimer .  Did  Oppenheimer  deserve to win or did another movie get snubbed?  Let's find out! #10. Past Lives The story of two childhood friends who grow apart and meet again years later, this is a very contemplative movie about what could have been.  This is a sad, but sweet movie that makes one a...

 "By Zeus!  What sort of jackassery is this?! -Professor Whitman "Debate 109" picks up with Britta (Gillian Jacobs) snapping at the other members of the study group as she tries to quit smoking.  Pierce (Chevy Chase) offers to help and claims he is a hypnotherapist.  Feeling bad for snapping at Pierce, Britta agrees to his offer.  Pierce is completely inept at hypnotherapy, but when he falls over and hurts his leg, Britta pretends to be hypnotized and does not help him up. At a second hypnotherapy session, Pierce spots Britta with her eyes open and starts pretending to hypnotize her into having a threesome with him.  Britta wakes up to berate him and Pierce calls her out for pitying him.  When Britta goes for a smoke later, all she can think about is having a threesome with Pierce which gets her to give up smoking for good.   Greendale is set to take on City College in the final match of the Debate Championship, but Annie's (Alison Brie) deba...

 "They can't trust me, but I want them to." -Sam Phalen Another fun episode of Survivor 47 in the books!  There was definitely some questionable gameplay tonight, with everyone giving up their Shot in the Dark being at the top of the list.  I don't think any of them should have given them up.  Even a safety net that only has a 1 in 6 chance of saving you is better than no safety net.  I disagree with Sam; this was a hill to die on.  You can eat rice after the game.  But that's a criticism that I'm leveling at everyone, except for Rachel of course.  Anyway, apart from everyone throwing away their shot, let's get into who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: We'll start with Genevieve.  I feel very vindicated in my criticism of her move to take out Sol last week.  Everyone knew it was her move and it made her a huge target.  However, that was last week.  This week she managed to survive and knock out Gabe instead.  I...

 "Gata got got." -Sam Phalen This was a genuinely thrilling episode of Survivor  and none of the excitement had anything to do with people losing their votes.  Take notes, Jeff!  I was really annoyed at the prospect of having four people lose their votes.  Luckily, it only ended up being one.  But the chaos at camp and Tribal Council was a blast.  I'm bummed Sol went out as he was my favorite person left in the game, but it was an entertaining journey.  Let's get into who played well and who sucked. Played Well: I gotta give Andy some major props for the damage control he did in this episode.  We saw him having good conversations with both Sam and Rachel after betraying them in the previous episode.  As far as the episode tells us, he still has working relationships with both of them.  In fact, his relationship with Rachel may be stronger than ever.  He also ended up on the right side of the vote after all that chaos. Sam did a...

 "Have you figured it out yet?" -Mr. Reed Two young, Mormon missionaries visit the home of Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) to give him more information on their Church.  What starts as a theological discussion turns into a game of belief, disbelief, life, and death. What Works: I love the turn that Hugh Grant has made in his career.  He's been playing strange and wild characters more often as of late.  This is a role that is certainly against type for him, but it's obvious he had a blast in the role.  For being the antagonist, Mr. Reed still manages to be a fun character and shines any time he is on screen. Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher are no slouches either.  They play the two Mormon missionaries and both of them do a great job.  They play very different characters with surprisingly different perspectives considering that they are both missionaries.  They have great rapport with Grant and their conversations are my favorite part of the film. The dialogue...

 "I'm gettin' rid of Britta!" -Vaughn "Home Economics" picks up with Troy (Donald Glover) asking Annie (Alison Brie) for advice on asking a girl he has a class with out on a date.  At first, Annie believes Troy is talking about asking her out on a date and is very disappointed to learn otherwise, but suggests he can go to a concert on campus the next night.  Annie later gives Troy a blanket that her grandfather used to court her grandmother to use for his date and even helps him rehearse.  Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) pushes her to tell Troy how she feels, but Annie is hesitant because she doesn't want to ruin their friendship.  When Troy tries to go get ready for his date, Annie claims her appendix has burst and he takes her to the school nurse, who eventually quarantines Annie and gives Troy plenty of condoms.  Jeff (Joel McHale) looks a little more ragged than usual and deflects any questions about his appearance.  Britta (Gillian Jacobs) and Shirl...

 "I hate running." -Genevieve Mushaluk Man, I needed this episode of Survivor .  With the election results being what they were, I got pretty drunk to watch this episode with my buddies and it was a really nice break and a genuinely fun episode.  Although the alcohol may make this more challenging than usual, I'll try to break down who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: I really like that Tuku and Lavo joined forces along with Andy to take out a member of Gata.  Sam, Sierra, and Rachel are all solid threats and I would have been fine with any of them going home.  So good on all of them for making that move happen.  The final choice ended up being Sierra, which was better for some people than it was for others, but they all got on the same page to make the Sierra/Sam split happen. Kyle and Sue both managed to win Immunity and I think Kyle especially needed it.  The second he doesn't win, he's a prime target to go out.  It's too late to do...

 "Are you trying to get formidable with me?" -Jeff Winger "Introduction to Statistics" picks up with Annie (Alison Brie) announcing to the Spanish class that she is throwing a Día de los Muertos party that evening and anyone who goes will get extra credit, while Señor Chang (Ken Jeong) has to go and won't be getting paid.  Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) is very excited for her first college party and has even removed her wedding ring.  Jeff (Joel McHale) on the other hand wants to avoid the party and focus on seducing his statistics professor, Michelle Slater (Lauren Stamile). When Jeff asks Professor Slater out, she admits he is her type, but she doesn't date students.  Annie runs into Jeff and asks him to attend her party, since he's the cool guy and his presence will maker her party cool.  Jeff is convinced when Annie starts to cry. At the party, Pierce (Chevy Chase), who has become very insecure about his age and the amount of pills he needs to take, ...