It's Taika Waititi's World & We're All Just Living in It

Thor: Love and Thunder, Chris Pratt discourse, the Giannis movie, Miles Teller's grandma, and what the Gen Zers are up to now

Just two ripped gals enjoying the view. Excuse me while I bench everything in sight.

Thor: Love and Thunder was super fun! Like a delicious piece of candy! The plot was kind of a mess, but no one has ever asked candy, “Could you give me a little more substance?” I want my skittles colorful, tasty, ephemeral and UNCOMPLICATED!

Let’s talk about Thor for a sec. The first two Thor movies were SNOOZE-FESTS. Then, the third Thor movie came along. And Thor: Ragnarok was a tiny miracle that made us believe in cinema again. [Only exagerrating a teensy bit.]

The Fairy Godmother responsible for Thor’s glow-up?? TAIKA WAITITI. He was basically an unknown director of indie films before he put together a “sizzle reel” of Thor clips set to The Immigrant Song and Marvel hired him basically on sight. Taika turned Thor into the most sparkling, hilarious, delightful part of the MCU. He brought Jeff Goldblum in. He said “Cate Blanchett as Marvel villain is CULTURE.” He turned Chris Hemsworth into a comedian!!!

So, this movie—also directed by Taika—had a lot to live up to. And, to be honest, it’s no Ragnarok. But if you know anything about Taika’s projects it’s that you’re going to have a GOOD. TIME. And that’s what it delivers.

All that to say: I know I have some big Taika fans in the audience, so I’d love to hear what your favorite projects of his are! We are all All-Taika-All-The-Time household!! If I were to rank the ones I’ve seen, here’s the order:

1. Jojo Rabbit [watch this immediately if you haven’t]

2. Thor: Ragnarok

3. What We Do in the Shadows (the series. the film wasn’t as good, imo.)

4. Our Flag Means Death

5. Thor: Love and Thunder

6. Reservation Dogs

I would love to hear your favorites if I’m missing any!

In the News

Leona Flowers @MupTheQueen

They’re looking for an actor to replace Daniel Craig for future 007 movies. I think my grandson, Miles Teller, has proven that he has everything they’re looking for- talent, looks, strength,worldwide appeal & oh, so cool. He can be that guy!! Wouldn’t he be great?

Miles Teller’s Grandma thinks he should be the next James Bond.

Nobody works harder than Grandma!!! He’s not even British! To which she said, when a Twitter user pointed this out, “He could be, if necessary🥰” Honestly, iconic.

Kesha has a ghost show on Discovery+.

If you, like me, recall that she once claimed to have had “sexy time” with a ghost [whose name she would not disclose!], you know this isn’t gonna be your average ghost show! Although now that I think about it, every ghost show I’ve ever watched is horny for ghosts.🧐 Anyhoo, apparently it’s good?

My reaction to everything I hear about Chris Pratt.

I would like everyone to cease their opinions on Chris Pratt because it’s, like, WHATEVRRR and, in return, I would like him to be funnier in movies again! A fair trade!!

I have not seen his new movie but apparently we’re using it to once again divide our kingdom against itself, father against son, etc, and I think we have plenty else to sort out and maybe we could just chill on this one!! Personally, I love him when he’s charming in movies and I don’t care for his online persona and that’s FINE!!

Side note: Am I confused about how Chris Pratt has come out as “not religious”? And also as “not a Chris”? Yes, I am confused. Especially since his example of someone who calls him not Chris is his pastor? Which: Sounds religious! But, okay! Your truth, Chris/not-Chris!!!

Anne Hathaway, Barbiecore icon, sits next to South Korean singer Hwasa at the Valentino Fashion Show.

Finally: Barbiecore™️ continues to dominate the world!!
Thank you, Anne Hathaway!!

Watching: RISE on Disney+

A working title for this newsletter post was “Giannis: Love and Basketball” — because Thor: Love and Thunder wasn’t the only great Disney movie to come out this week!! I don’t always watch basketball movies, but when I do, it’s feel-good Disney propaganda.

RISE on Disney+ is delightful from start to finish — good for NBA fans and NBA non-fans, old and young, red, white, AND blue. It’s the story of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is currently a major NBA star [spoiler]. But I had no idea he had such a crazy and compelling life story!

A few takeaways:

• Giannis STARTED playing basketball when I was a FRESHMAN in COLLEGE. As I exclaimed during the movie: “He can’t have learned to dribble for the first time in just 2007!??” Readers, he did, and he’s in the NBA now. What are you doing with your life??? [I’m joking! I love whatever you’re doing with your life!]

• The actor who plays the mom is the most beautiful woman I have EVER. SEEN.

• We’re all Bucks fans now!! Hello, Milwaukee!! Go cheese, or whatever!

• Please enjoy this photo of Giannis twinning with his toddler children at the movie premiere.

*It’s worth noting for myself that feel-good movies about the immigrant experience are important, as are movies highlighting diverse experiences. But I’m also trying not to watch a happy movie about a person who is truly the exception to every rule, and then let myself off the hook from advocating for everyone who can’t be the exception.

The “What the Kids Are Doing” Beat - BeReal & GeoGuessr

Instagram is over. It’s all about BeReal now.

BeReal. is a social media app. Every day you get a notification at a random time that says *heavy drama voice*: “It’s time to Be Real.” You take a picture of exactly where you are and what you’re doing at that moment. But it’s ALSO taking a shot of you from your front-facing camera — so people get to see whatever you’re looking at PLUS all your double chins. And THAT, my friends, indicates to everyone how very “real” you are!! No filters, no jawlines, just REAL.

Also, you will learn two crucial truths:

1. No one is ever doing anything as cool as you think they are.

2. Your friends ARE hanging out without you.

[I only have four friends on it, which is basically all that my vanity can handle.]

GeoGuessr: Get ready to feel stupid.

@georainbolttouch grass? no. identify grass #geo #geography #geoguessr #geowizard #FORDfortheBuilders

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The children on TikTok are Geography geniuses and I’m still googling “Where is Milwaukee”!

So there’s this trend on TikTok based on the game GeoGuessr, which you can play here. You get dropped randomly into a spot on Google Earth and then have to guess where it is. Which, okay, fine, hard enough.

But THESE KIDS on TIKTOK can guess PHOTOS OF DIRT within like ONE SECOND!??!??! Please watch this kid do it. Your brain will melt.

Listening - Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet

Guys. This podcast has me CRYING [with laughter]. The whole thing is just a brother/sister comedy duo reading aloud one-star Yelp reviews. As someone whose primary hobby is reading one-star reviews, I’ve found my podcast soulmate. I cannot tell you the joy these cranky reviewers bring to my heart, complaining that the beach is too sandy(!!) and the water is too wet(!!).

I recommend starting with Episode 100 in which they round up the best/worst reviews from their first 99:

• 100: The Worst of Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet.

Reading

This beautiful and hilarious reflection on becoming a parent* from my favorite political comedy/opinion writer Alexandra Petri:

• What I’ve been up to the last four months - Alexandra Petri, The Washington Post

*[No, I am NOT becoming a parent. But many of my dearest loved ones are and so this was a fabulous read!]

That’s all for this week, friends! Thanks for being here, and as always, I would really love to hear your thoughts and opinions in the comments! See you next week 💖