Mick’s Micro Blog

Last Monday, I finished watching Breaking Bad. It was excellent (duh), and I can only recommend it.

I had watched the pilot back in the day but I hadn’t pursued further. When the show became really popular, I read the Wikipedia page to get the gist of it, but I didn’t want to commit to 60 hours of viewing. So I knew the story and how it ended.

Fast forward to November 2025. The show keeps appearing on lists of the best TV shows ever — alongside The Sopranos, Mad Men, The Wire, etc. while Games of Thrones seems to have faded — and I started to fall in love with Hal, Bryan Cranston’s character in Malcolm in the Middle. So, I gave Breaking Bad another shot because I was curious about how Bryan Cranston could act in a drama. This time, I was sold.

Much has already been said about the show, so I’ll keep it brief with a few thoughts:

• An excellent TV Show does not get spoiled. Yes, I knew how Breaking Bad would end when I started watching it. I knew who would die and who would survive. Yet, I loved every minute of it. Spoilers are overrated. I can think of only a handful of genuine surprises that weren’t gimmicks in all the shows I’ve watched. Questions like, “Will Rachel and Ross end up together?” or “Will AFC Richmond win the Premier League?” are mostly irrelevant.
• I think the TV show characters who spend the most time in white underwear are: 1. Hal, 2. Walter, 3. Homer Simpson. The similarities don’t stop there: Hal’s dad’s name is Walter. Both Francis and Jesse (who is not technically Walter’s son but, come on, he calls his own son Jesse once, their relationship is ambiguous) aspire to go to Alaska.
• One of the best jokes I read about the show is that if Walter White were married to Lois, she would find out and make him stop by the end of the pilot episode.
• Also, this what if Breaking Bad was just Hal’s bad dream alternate ending.

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The segment on the Daily Show about Calibri vs Times New Roman was hilarious. It’s not every day you encounter typeface humor.

Previously, there was the SNL sketches Papyrus and Papyrus 2 with Ryan Gosling, as well as Elle Cordova impersonating fonts.

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She’s Gotta Have It is an unusual blend: part Woody Allen in its talky, neurotic New York energy, and part French nouvelle vague in its playful breaking of form. The story itself is minimal, but Spike Lee seems more interested in his style than in the plot. It feels like watching a young filmmaker experiment, resulting in a vibrant and unique film. I was also pleased to encounter Spike Lee’s Mars Blackmon again: I knew him from his ads with Michael Jordan 🍿

My process for choosing what to watch at home involves trusting my past self, who added items to my watchlist. I can’t recall how this Tony Robbins film made it onto my list. I considered stopping after 5 or 10 minutes, but I decided to keep watching. By the end, I was left feeling confused and unsure about my thoughts on it. This clearly isn’t my typical interest, but my perspective has shifted slightly. I used to think of these types of events as luxury scams, but now I see them as condensed group therapy. If it helps people, then so be it. Documentaries often aim to introduce viewers to unfamiliar worlds, and I must admit that this one succeeded in that respect. 🍿

Wow! This was good. Like really good.

My Licorice Pizza review ended up like this:

I can see he is a very talented cinematographer but I feel frustrated that he keeps teasing me with amazing scenes while never making a movie that can fully awe me.

Well, Mr. Anderson delivered.

This movie refuses to be confined to a single genre. It blends drama, comedy, and contemporary western elements seamlessly. The subject tackles one of the biggest challenges facing our society today. The story is so well-written that it offers multiple perspectives on the issue without providing easy answers, all while remaining entertainin. It’s a mix of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, The Big Lebowski and any recent Tarantino movie of your choosing.

Here is a list of things I particularly enjoyed: the mundane versus the people, the ICE prediction, the Kennedy Jr. parody, secret societies, and the choice of name for the Christmas Adventurers Club.

I had issues with Anderson in the past — exhibit A: my review of The Master, exhibit B: my review of Phantom Thread — but all is forgiven. 🍿

Hyper frustrant. La trame narrative se déploie en de nombreux arcs, mais nous ne verrons le dénouement qu'au deuxième volet, donc dans un an. J'aurai oublié beaucoup de choses d'ici là. J'ai l'impression que le film se perd dans une folie des grandeurs qui me déconnecte du projet. 🍿

Film efficace et spectaculaire. Je ne comprends pas les critiques qui parlent d'un scénario prévisible ; certes, il l'est, mais rien de scandaleux. Quant à la romance, elle est moins une vraie romance qu'une rencontre qui brise deux solitudes. En ce qui concerne les personnages, le film mérite d'être salué pour sa durée de 100 minutes, ce qui est rafraîchissant. Tout ne peut pas devenir une série. Les décors d'un Paris "futuriste mais proche" sont très convaincants. 🍿

Une comédie pleine de bonnes intentions, mais qui souffre de sérieux problèmes de rythme, surtout au milieu du film. La fin est touchante, notamment le court moment où tous les enfants de la nouvelle génération dorment ensemble dans la même pièce. On trouve aussi quelques bonnes répliques, en particulier dans le car de tournée avec Lââm et les Worlds Apart.

A new opus that lacks significant novelty, except for the talents of Will Ferrell, the promising new character Poppy Prescott, and a fresh appreciation for Tears for Fears' Everybody Wants to Rule the World. Nevertheless, the Minions still deliver plenty of laughs. 🍿

We were looking for a Halloween movie, and this came highly recommended by a friend. It's neither good nor bad. I suppose a child might enjoy it when they first see it, but I found it, at best, mediocre.

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We chose it because we wanted a family movie with New York vibes. Watching it on its own, rather than immediately after the fabulous first one, allows the movie to shine a bit more. It has a big heart, the bird lady is very touching, and it's a lot of fun.

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