Lady Bird

Over the weekend, Lady Bird won a Golden Globe for Best Picture - Comedy or Musical, and an enormous wave pride swept over Sacramento as we watched Greta Gerwig give her acceptance speech. “I want to thank my mom and dad and the people of Sacramento, who gave me roots and wings and helped me get where I am today,” she exclaimed in tears. “Thank you, thank you!”

Ali Wong

Netflix's new special, Ali Wong: Baby Cobra, is fierce and edgy. It's great to see a pregnant, Asian, female comedian, doing stand-up, and it's even cooler that her jokes wasn't all about her belly until much later in the show. That's because she's much more than that. Her content range from "trapping" the perfect man, Asian women and longevity, going to the bathroom at work, sex with homeless guys, to "leaning in".

Marc Maron praised her comedy in his podcast and even admired her for being so different. She's from San Francisco, Chinese-Vietnamese-American, and is a writer for ABC's Fresh Off the Boat. Her career is vivid, just like her.

Master of None

Netflix recently debuted Master of None, a smart comedy about a New Yorker navigating through life with modern worries. Like Aziz Ansari's comedy stand-up and his book Modern Romance, his new show is full of poignant observations about love and it's perfectly doused in humor to avoid the cliche.

His study of love is not only about romance, but it's also about family. The actors portraying his on-screen parents are actually his real mom and dad! And it's really sweet to see how they interact, in the second episode. Perhaps what Aziz does best is exploring all sides: the point of view of parents, the other person in an affair, women, elders, etc. Every episode is a thoughtful insight in the new way we manage relationships, while still trying to keep ourselves intact.

Orange is the New Black

I know I'm very late in the game, but I just finished Orange is the New Black (in true binge-watching form on Netflix). I grew to love a lot of the characters and especially love how each episode presented the flashback-narrative of the character's life before incarceration. Even with all of the raw humor, there's true insight into the human behavior and the flawed system that tries to keep them in place.

"We're all in here because we took a wrong turn going to church." -- Poussey

Tig

A couple of weeks ago, Netflix released an original documentary about the comedian, Tig Notaro. Her comedy show at the Largo, despite filming being prohibited, was instantly made viral when she came on stage and decided to be real about her situation: "Hello... Good evening.... I have cancer... How are you?"

At the time of that show, she had just been diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer. That news followed a series of tragedies that Tig experienced shortly before; her mother passed away and she recently went through a break-up. Despite it all, what kept her going was getting on stage and resuming her stand-up routine. She didn't expect that that push for humor in the face of all of this would bring her a different perspective and opportunities to start a new life.



Perhaps, her sweetest outlook is how she came to understand that everything in life is part of a larger plan.

"God never gives you more than you can handle. Never. Never. When you've had it, God goes, alright, that's it. 

I just keep picturing God going, you know what? I think she can take a little more. And the angels are standing back, going, God, what are you doing? You are out of your mind.

And God was like, no, no, no. I really think she can handle this."

- Tig Notaro

ballet 422

I know very little about the ballet world, but watching Ballet 422 - a documentary about the birth of the 422nd ballet for the New York City Ballet - took me up-close to a place that was once mysterious and magical. The film took apart the pieces that creates a ballet and showed how Justin Peck, a talented, young choreographer pieced it together with tasteful vision. It's amazing to watch how an idea was conceived into the form of an iPhone video and pen and paper, then brought to life with dancers, costume, and music. Even just watching them work their way towards the premiere made me very nervous.

A great documentary that captures the creative process and bringing ideas to life.

// Transparent

Over the Thanksgiving break, I binge-watched the entire season of Transparent on Amazon Prime. I immediately got hooked with each family member and the family dynamic makes every relationship with the father very real.

It's about three adult siblings who are trying to get used to their father coming out as transgender. In the meantime, they all have their own secrets that they're battling with and each have to go their own path to find honesty and happiness.

Every episode is beautifully written with a soundtrack that goes along perfectly. It tells the story about how it's not always simple to be yourself and love someone at the same time.

{ the skeleton twins }

Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig have a new movie coming this September and I'm excited to see it! It's about a pair of twins who were separated for 10 years and are just trying to fill in the space while also learning to cope with issues in their own lives. I love watching SNL actors in dramatic movies; they make them so much lighter through their comedic personalities that the result is always touching.

{ le week-end / valentine's }

Valentine's Day is around the corner and everyone is in a loving spirit. Whether you're in a new relationship or you've been married for years, Le Week-End is a new movie about appreciating your other half. This couple brought themselves in a new, romantic environment of Paris and will surely remind them of why they are together.

And for V-Day, share these wonderful, cute/awkward cards made by Emily McDowell:

{ moon song by karen o }

The Moon Song, written and sung by Karen O, was recently nominated as one of the Best Original Songs for the Academy Awards. It was written for the Spike Jonze movie Her, about a heartbroken man who falls in love with a computer operating system. If the song is any indication of how sweet and intimate the film is, I can't wait to see it.

I'm lying on the moon

My dear, I'll be there soon

It's a quiet starry place

Time's we're swallowed up

In space we're here a million miles away

There's things I wish I knew

There's no thing I keep from you

It's a dark and shiny place

But with you my dear

I'm safe and we're a million miles away

We're lying on the moon

It's a perfect afternoon

Your shadow follows me all day

Making sure I'm okay and

We're a million miles away

{ when harry met sally }

The Mindy Project has been one of my favorite shows lately. Her character's confidence is sexy and charming and her life is like a rom-com. I found a fan-made music video of how the show parallels with When Harry Met Sally. So cute.

{ secret life of walter mitty }

Doesn't this look good? Starring Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, and Sean Penn. I'm really looking forward to it this Christmas!

{ Movies to watch }

It's movie season and amidst all the action/superhero movies out there, I'm always in the mood for sweet, funny, romantic comedies. Here's a couple of movies I'm looking forward to.


The third installment of a story about a couple...


A documentary about a director searching for answers about her true father...


And who doesn't love Joseph Gordon Levitt?

{ google chrome in human situations }

Don't you just love the personal touches in Google Chrome commercials? They could make technology blend so seamlessly into normal, everyday life and still find ways to improve the way we communicate with our loved ones -- especially through distance and time.

Watch some of their commercials below (it gets me every time):

{ celeste and jesse forever }

Celeste and Jesse Forever

You know those couples who seem too perfect for eachother? You know, those couples who finish eachother’s sentences and can be extraordinarily silly together that it freaks their friends out whenever they’re on a double date. That couple is Celeste and Jesse, played by Rashida Jones and Andy Samburg. The movie is about how they are more than a couple… they’re best friends, and that’s the most special thing to have in a relationship.

{ like crazy }

One of my favorite movies recently is Like Crazy, a small film directed by Drake Doremus, with Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones as Jacob and Anna. It’s a simple story of two people falling in love and being pulled apart by distance and time. The amazing thing about this film is how well and accurate it captures the maddening feeling of wanting and missing someone.

It’s set against the backdrop of two countries, America and England, with beautiful images and soundtrack. Personally, I’m in love with all the music, especially the scores done by Dustin O’Halloran. Those pieces, even listening to them alone, are terribly heartbreaking, but at the same time, like the film, they’ incredibly hopeful.

 

P.S. Have an amazing Valentine’s with your loved ones no matter where you are :)