New Thing #5: His & Hers

The synopsis for His & Hers is: His & Hers is a thriller that follows the investigation into a series of murders in a small town, told from the alternating perspectives of an estranged couple, news reporter Anna Andrews (Tessa Thompson) and Detective Jack Harper (Jon Bernthal). 

One of my pet peeves is when people review things that they clearly were never going to like. When film critics who love high art pan a Jason Statham movie for being what one expects out of a Jason Statham movie, my response is, “Who is this review for? The scant few people who might think THIS TIME Jason Statham’s Beat ‘Em Ups might reach high art?”

I bring this up because, as much as I love Whodunnits, “His & Hers” basically hits everything I don’t want to watch so I feel like I’m not in a place to make a recommendation or real review of the show. One problem with going in blind on a show is that you miss the obvious red flags that you aren’t going to like it.

For starters, with so much going on in this world, the last thing I want to watch is a show with a bunch of people leading depressing, dreary lives. And, good lord, is everyone in this show dreary. Anna and Jack are estranged after losing their daughter. Anna comes home to find that her mother is dealing with alzheimer’s or dementia. Jack is staying with his sister and having to raise his niece because his sister is a drunk and doesn’t know who fathered her daughter.

And maybe it’s all of this dreariness but everyone in the show also seems like a bit of an asshole with a potential dash of psychopath. The one person who seemed somewhat OK is Priya, an Indian woman who seems to be recently hired to the local police department. Jack calls her “Boston” to really hammer home the fact that she’s not from around there. That’s pretty much all we ever learn about her. In the end, she’s more plot device than character.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Netflix greenlit this show right after watching HBO’s Mare of Easttown but the problem is HBO makes prestige drama and Netflix makes (mostly) pulpy trash. I think you can get away with dreary jackasses when you’re really digging into characters and hitting some deeper themes. Dreary pulp is exactly what I don’t want - a depressing show that doesn’t make sense in the end. I wasn’t wild about how “Sirens” ended but at least the journey was an enjoyable watch. And the goofiness of the ending didn’t feel so out of place in a world that already felt a bit unreal.

“His & Hers” felt like Netflix was trying to make an HBO style show, realized they couldn’t pull it off, so then the last two episodes they quickly switched to Ryan Murphy over-the-top approach. I can’t stress enough just how stupid the last two episodes of “His & Hers” are. There are some implausible moments in the first four episodes but the last two feel like they were written to be spoofed on SNL.

Beyond the general issues I had with the show, there weren’t really any other saving graces for me. Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal had no real chemistry and their one Emmy-bait scene when they finally talk about what happened to their relationship was just one trauma cliche after another. And, honestly, after watching them be dreary jackasses and potential murderers for four episodes, I quite frankly didn’t give a shit about their relationship. You really need to buy into the concept of “I love the leads in a show because they are the leads” to hold out any hope that these two crazy kids can make it work in the end.

If I was going to give a Recommended Expectation aka Recxpectation for this one, I’d say: Expect a dreary, depressing version of a trashy summer read adapted by Netflix, a company that (mostly) specializes in pricy straight-to-DVD level entertainment.

New Things #4: Interactive Jeopardy

Interactive Jeopardy at Alamo Drafthouse is something I’d definitely recommend for all trivia and Jeopardy fans. That isn’t to say that it is not a little bit weird. Essentially, you’re going into a movie theater to play a game by yourself on your phone.

The way it works is that there’s the Jeopardy board on the big screen (you also see the answers and the leaderboard up there) and a host sitting in front of the screen who reads the questions and answers. Everyone logs into the game on their phone. To start off, the host picks a category/dollar amount. Then everyone can answer or abstain (a few people didn’t realize that you lost points by answering incorrectly) and the person who submits their answer first gets to pick the next question/amount. But control of the board doesn’t really matter since even the Daily Doubles are available for everyone. I never won control of the board but I was able to go for a true Daily Double… and nailed it!

There are no teams for this, everyone plays on their own, and the room is very quiet as the host is the only one talking. Our host asked if we wanted music playing during the game and a couple people forcefully answered No! so that was the end of that idea.

Still, it’s a lot of fun. I had a real rollercoaster of a game. After the first half of Round 1, I was in 6th out of 17. By the end of Round 1, I was in 15th place. But the second round saw me mount a big comeback - helped by the Cinematic Oakland category in which I was able to double up to 20,000 after my true Daily Double. I ended the second round back in the top 10 and then went all in on Final Jeopardy and was able to get it right, vaulting me into third play and winning me a free popcorn! I was entirely too jazzed for someone my age about coming in third and winning something I didn’t really want or need but hey, simple pleasures!

I can’t make it next Wednsday but I’m already signed up for the following Wednesday.

One odd thing about Alamo is that they have Interactive Jeopardy on the same night as they have a team trivia night. The trivia night takes place in the bar area and is hosted by Geeks Who Drink. Maybe they want to corner the market on DTLA trivia folk - both people who want to go solo and those who want a team game - but it strikes me as odd to have rival trivia nights at the same place.

Resolution: Be Social Sober

I’m not going to do New Year’s resolutions per se. This year, when I realize something I don’t like about myself or some failing of mine, I’m going to immediately make a resolution to improve.

After dinner, I went to give Death & Company one last shot (more on that later) and I was seated next to a woman who was also alone. It was pretty evident that she wanted to chat but I just sat there like a loser and kind of avoided eye contact and just kind of spun my glass. Even after she introduced myself, I didn’t try to be social and friendly or, dare I say, human. Even as I was sitting there, I was wondering why I just didn’t strike up a conversation.

Now, if I had had a few more in me, she probably couldn’t have shut me up. It’s a bad habit I’ve fallen into so the resolution for the rest of the year is to be friendlier and more open with chatting with people when the opportunity presents itself.

On the same note, I’ve somehow stopped looking at people when I talk. Not sure when I picked up this stupid habit but it’s kind of weird. Obviously, you don’t want to lock eyes with someone and glare into their ojos while talking to them but I’ve somehow gone the opposite direction and am often looking past them or just not looking up which is less creepy but more rude.

So those are two self-improvement needs for 2026. I’ll let you know how I do.

As for Death & Company, it’s definitely Off The List for me. It’s basically a date bar for the young ‘uns. It might be the darkest bar in LA and while the music isn’t obnoxiously loud, it’s not exactly old folk friendly. Basically, whenever I’m there I feel like Al Pacino in Scene of a Woman.

The other thing I don’t love about it is that it’s a completely seated establishment,. You walk in and a host brings you to your seat. Even the bar seats are doled out by the host. This is why I call it a date spot; it’s certainly not a neighborhood bar to pop in for a drink. That being said, the bartenders were very friendly and I’ve heard that the mixed drinks are delicious but that’s not enough to bring me back.

New Things #3: Hojokban

Hojokban is a new Korean spot - coming from NYC - on the border of Little Tokyo and the Arts District. I gave it a go for dinner this evening and I’m going to give it another shot because there’s a lot on the menu that seems tasty. I decided to splurge on the priciest item - the hojok galbi (short rib) - and it was good but I don’t know if it was $64 dollars good.
The one thing that I’ll definitely nix is the Magpie Country Folk Saison. I feel like the first saison I tried was great and ever since then, I’ve been disappointed by them but, every so often, I still go back and give it another go and am once again disappointed.

2026 To Do List

The 2026 To Do list is up and this year I’m also going to try to keep tabs on everything I’ve done and gone to and give a quick Green, Yellow, and Red review or gray if I had no opinion or thought it was too quick to judge the locale.
Right now, it’s mostly restaurants with a few bars but I’ll hopefully add some more options in the future. You can bet on a lot of Escape Rooms making the cut.

Ready or Not, They WIll Kill You

I’m a fan of variations on a theme so I’m never mad when someone decides to take a premise of one film and go their own way with it. Hotel Artemis wasn’t the greatest movie but I liked seeing a kind of new spin on the idea of The Continental from John Wick.

Taking this to a new level is They Will Kill You, which not only seems a lot like Ready or Not (or You’re Next or a bunch of other trapped-in-a-building flicks) but it’s also opening on the SAME DAY as Ready or Not 2. I have to think that that doesn’t bode well for the quality of the film or, at least, Warner Bros’s faith in the movie because you’d think you’d want a little distance from the carbon copy that already has a built-in audience (since the first Ready or Not was better than I expected.)

Anyway, here are the trailers for Ready or Not and They Will Kill You. I didn’t post Ready or Not 2 because it spoils the first film, which you should check out if you haven’t already.

The films open March 27th which gives everyone ample time to come up with their list of favorite carbon copy movie duos. The two that always immediately jump to mind are Antz/A Bug’s Life and Armageddon/Deep Impact.

Monday Musings 1/5

Two random thoughts this morning.

I’m pretty sure that about 2/3 of the battery-operated devices that I own exist solely so I can steal the batteries from them for my TV remote control.

The world of sports has a lot of stupid discussions but nothing is dumber than “Legacy” debates/questions. ESPN asked, How will the Raiders stint affect Pete Carroll’s legacy? The same way that Hakeem Olajuwon’s Toronto stint affects his legacy. Not at all. Vince Lombardi actually had a fairly successful and impactful year in Washington before he passed away and nobody mentions that either.

2026 Karaoke Playlist

One of my sillier goals for 2026 is to try all new songs or, at least, never do the same song twice at karaoke. I live next to a bar The Mermaid that has karaoke nights on Tuesday and Thursday and on Wednesday nights, down the road a bit, Uncle Ollie’s Penthouse (one of the better new bars in LA imo) has Gong Show Karaoke - three comedians watch you perform, can gong you off stage, and if they let you finish, they then give you a review kind of American Idol-style. The night I went, the winner of the evening went home with a fancy new bong.
My recent go-to’s have been Mr. Brightside, Say It Ain’t So, and Lonely Boy but I want to try to mix things up in 2026 so I’ve been compiling a Spotify list of potential karaoke options. At first, I went for a lot of deep cuts until I remembered that a lot of songs aren’t available for karaoke so I nixed those from the list. The Mermaid and Prime Time Pub (another fave karaoke spot) both go with the modern version of karaoke which is just pulling up videos from YouTube so there are far more options than the standard karaoke that has books of song choices but, even then, some deeper cuts aren’t on YouTube yet.
I’m added some of my standards to the list but the rule - if I stick to it - will be to delete a song from the playlist after I sing it and then it is off-limits for the rest of the year. Listen, I said it was one of my sillier goals!

New Thing #2: No Other Choice

New Thing #2 is No Other Choice from Park Chan-Wook, director of Oldboy and The Handmaiden (which I still haven’t seen.) Whenever I think of The Handmaiden, I think of a date I went on. I think I “met” the woman on Hinge and when she arrived at the roof bar at Mama Shelter, I immediately saw that she was out of my league and I think I saw that she saw that as well. She wanted to move to one of the daybeds - she laid back, I tried to awkwardly sit/lay on my side and never got comfortable at all - and we talked for a bit about movies and she brought up “The Handmaiden” she said “Oh, it’s the most…” and then had a very awkward pause as if she suddenly questioned whether she wanted to continue the sentence but then powered through, “erotic movie I’ve ever seen.” Her hesitance at saying “erotic” did not come off at all like shyness; it was more like she didn’t like the idea of even the word erotic and myself being in close proximity, so I knew that the date was a one and done. We went to see a show at The Pantages and afterwards I walked her to her car and when I hugged her goodnight she gave an “Awwww.” that wasn’t exactly emasculating but definitely made me feel like she was wrapping up her charitable deed for the month.

As for No Other Choice, it’s the rare movie that put together a trailer that doesn’t totally ruin the movie for you. If you want to go in mostly blind, it’s a dark comedy about a man who loses his job and finds himself unable to care for his family so he considers walking down a dark path to get back to financial security.

No Other Choice is a very interesting movie. I feel like it could have gone deeper into some of these stories and characters but, at the same time, I’m not quite sure if I would have been all that interested to go much further. It might have been some of the slapstick humor in the film but by the midpoint, I felt like a lot of the film’s tension was gone. I wasn’t watching a man struggle with a horrible decision. Everyone in the film seemed to think there was truly no other choice so the film was more watching what people would do when they had to act in a way they might not want to. It was less “What will they do?” and more “Dark hijinks ensue.”

I’m a huge fan of variations on a theme and I wouldn’t mind seeing Americans remakes of this film from different angles. A full-on dark comedy. A more dramatic reading of it. Versions that take on the perspectives of different characters. This isn’t to say that this version isn’t worth watching. No Other Choice is in my Top 20 of 2025 and would be on the same tier as Sentimental Value, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, A House of Dynamite, and Marty Supreme; films I admired and respected but I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed them and I had a level of disengagement from them for some reason.

New Thing #1: The Plague

Well, I’m sorry to report that my first film of 2026 will go down as one of my least favorite films of 2025. “The Plague” is a movie about bullying and the struggle to fit in but with a tinge of body horror that, in my opinion, only detracts from the main point of the film. This is a film made by and for grownups who have been bullied in the past. This movie is more “Been there, that sucked” than teaching any lessons for the kids who are actually dealing with bullying. In fact, I wouldn’t be stunned if it had adverse effects on younger audiences. I get how the body horror element and the over-the-top score will hit a sweet spot for indie film fans and critics but, for me, it added an open-endedness that I think would leave many kids with the wrong ideas.

Tomorrow’s movie is “No Other Choice” by Oldboy director Park Chan-wook. I’m a little nervous about this one because I was not a fan of his last film, “Decision to Leave”.

New Year, New Blog

2025 was a wasted year for me. I don’t think I’ve slept more in my life. Even as an infant, I probably didn’t sleep as much as I did last year. I’m pretty sure that I accomplished a grand total of zero of my goals so the goal/resolution for 2026 is to just be a functioning human being as I close out my 40s.

I’m going to reboot the 500 Things Challenge and also try to fill up my RecomMendos; I feel like a lot of my recommendations are from years ago. I also want to try to reach out to people more and set up more dinners or events. I feel like I’ve fallen off on that front. Honestly, the only front I was committed to last year was seeing movies - I don’t think I’ve ever seen 70 new movies before. So sleeping and films were the big winners in 2025.

This post is just to kick off the blog. Hopefully, I’ll have more nteresting things to say in the future,

Happy New Year!