Next in the Queue: Toy Story 4 + Jessica Jones + Quicksand

Toy Story 4:

imdb.com

• Rating: A+...Toy Story is still perfect. A 4-quadrant that everyone must go see! 
• As I said up top, Pixar has kept the Toy Story franchise one of, if not the best, all-time. Most people had the same reaction, as did I, hearing the news of Toy Story 4 since the first three made up of possibly the best trilogy of all-time (in the ranks of Star Wars original trilogy, Lord of the Rings, etc.) but never fear because Pixar doesn't make anything without a true purpose (except Cars 2: The Great Cashgrab). The returning cast of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Pots (Bo Peep gets a badass upgrade), and co. are as great as we remembered, but it was the newcomers that (at times) really stole the show. Tony Hale, Ally Maki, Keegan Michael Key, Jordan Peele, and Keanu Reeves (!!!) are fantastic as Forky, Giggle McDimples, Ducky, Bunny, and Duke Caboom, respectively. Each really have scenes to shine in. Forky who seemed cringe-worthy in the marketing was delightful, but not without deep social commentary and making you buy your children a spork toy. For every new Pixar movie, they seem to up the animation game to a point where you don't know how much better it can get. Let me tell you director Josh Cooley (ha) and crew do an breathtaking job with the animation; the least realistic aspects were the human character, everything else was photo-realistic! The story is excellent as usual and the ending will hurt. We literally grew up with Andy and his toys, as the first one came out in 1995, and that's what has made each movie more emotional for us 90's kids. 4 will leave you in tears too.  

Jessica Jones: Season 3 (Netflix):

Wikipedia.com

• Rating: B+...Jessica Jones Season 3 ends the Marvel Netflix mini-verse in a very satisfying way. It hurts me deeply that these shows are canceled but I highly recommend JJ nonetheless. 
• I could write a whole "Ode to the Marvel Netflix Universe," hell maybe I will, as it was something unlike anything we've seen in the superhero genre. But unfortunately Netflix cut all of their shared licensing shows (RIP to so many) so here I am praying Disney and Hulu pick these characters back up. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, ultimately The Defenders, as a whole experienced some really high-highs (all of Daredevil and JJ S1) and some really low-lows (Iron Fist S1). Jessica Jones season three feels like very satisfying conclusion to this corner of the MCU and one of their better seasons; especially following a dull season 2. Krysten Ritter (Jessica), continues to be the best fit and most charismatic of the leads, as the alcoholic, no-shits given, PI from Hell's Kitchen. Season 3 revolves around Jessica trying to catch a super intelligent serial killer, who at the same time is trying to frame her and all heroes as frauds (shout out to "My Hero Academia" fans). At the same time, she must rekindle her friendship with adoptive sister, Trish (Rachel Taylor), who has made a ton of bad decisions herself including experimental super powers. The cast continues to be one of the better ones on TV and the Jessica-Trish relationship is truly the heartbeat. While the villain, Gregory Sallinger, is easily hate-able and has many of the typical serial killer tropes, he is menacing when he isn't too cocky about his intelligence; most importantly he is a unique villain in the universe, not a retread. Challenging Jessica on a detective level, not physical. Otherwise the first 3-4 episodes are a little slow and the 13-episode order was Netflix's main issue with all of their Marvel shows, that they never fixed. Daredevil was some of the best TV Netflix has ever made and Jessica Jones was a solid 2nd place (Marvel-wise), so check it out. And in the meantime I will continue to get on my hands and knees to pray Disney revives these characters (with the same actors) in the future. 

Quicksand (Netflix):

wikipedia.com

• Rating: B...A solid crime-genre YA adaptation and easy, 6 episode, binge. Recommend you add it to your queue!
• Netflix has done an outstanding job with their foreign movies and shows with hits like "Dark" (German), "The Rain" (Denmark), and many more. Quicksand, from Sweeden, is one of their best to date. Based off of the novel by the same name, Quicksand opens up with a high school girl, Maja, who is arrested under the suspicion of murder and leading a school shooting. I'll struggle with the names but Maja is played by Hanna Ardehn who is stunning as the lead. The six-episodes tell the story of her relationship with bad-boy rich boyfriend, Sebastian (Felix Sandman), including their lively adventures, all the way to his drug-induced mental downfall. Fair warning, their relationship will stress you out beyond all but it's very relate-able to many. The latter-half of the series includes excellently-done courtroom drama, much better than many American shows. In fact, this series is better than the majority of US YA shows. It does not shy away from real-life tragedies of school shootings, drug-addiction, and mental disorders, making it all-to-relevant in our society. The more I write this up, the more I grow to appreciate the series. Thank you Mom for scrolling through Netflix and randomly picking Quicksand. Please get past the subtitles and this show a try. Maybe it will lead you to dive deeper into Netflix's excellent foreign library.