BARBIE – Box Office Bonanza Barbie is a smash in the theatres, but a dud for Sandi and me. There are some cute bits, and I get the girl empowerment angle and the political agenda. There are also lots of stupid situations and dialogue. And again, it’s too long. The best parts of the film were self-deprecating nods to Mattel, the incorporation of Ruth Handler (Barbie’s creator) as a character and the actual Barbie dolls featured in the closing credits. “Just Ken” would say just skip it! But I know you won’t. Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.

OPPENHEIMER – Mirith, Mike and I agree this film will rake in buckets of Oscars. The performances are stellar. The director has an excellent reputation and body of work. The subject matter is historical, intriguing and relevant to today’s politics. There are powerful scenes that drive home the lessons to be learned from creating a nuclear world we must all now endure forever…..just the kind of picture the Academy loves. That said, it does have some flaws. The 3-hour running time should be reduced by at least half an hour. We were all squirming in our seats during the first hour of dense exposition leading us to mentally urge the movie to get on with it. Nolan uses black and white film in certain scenes, presumably to highlight some point or symbolism. What that point or symbolism was, we had no clue, so it didn’t work. Then there is a segment during interrogation where Oppenheimer is sitting in his seat having sex with his mistress. Michael says it was supposed to be Kitty envisioning her husband’s transgression during his questioning, but that was lost on me. Either way, it was a distraction and unnecessary in the scene. Lastly, Mike found the disjointed presentation of the story hard to follow. Chris Nolan is known for this type of storytelling, but in a timeline of events like this, it leaves the audience confused. Overall this film is quite good…just not quite as good as we were expecting! Cheers! Boyfriends – 1; Girlfriends – 0.

THE BEAR – Award winning show that proclaims itself a comedy, but to me, it screams drama (although there is comic relief). Either way, it’s outstanding! The work is excellent and the premise is refreshingly clever and different. The dialogue and situations are realistically fast-paced, frantic even, as real life often is…including the menu items they rapidly whip up on camera (usually in the midst of a crisis). It all rings true to daily existence. I haven’t seen any of these actors before, but I fully believe every one of them. Brilliant. Cheers! Boyfriends – 2; Girlfriends – 1.

ROCK HUDSON – ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWED – Released in 1990, this documentary focuses primarily on Hudson’s tragic AIDS diagnosis and the conflict between his on-screen ladies’ man persona and his private life of homosexuality (which was the case with many leading men of his era in Hollywood). A sad end that ultimately helped turn the tide on the stigma of AIDS and all the false narratives surrounding it. Worth viewing for those of us who remember Rock. Cheers! Boyfriends/Girlfriends – 0.

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING #2 – Murderous mischief thrives at the Anconia, a Manhattan condo complex, as season two gets underway. And the only witness to the crime is Mrs. Gambolini, a yellow-headed Amazon parrot. But she ain’t talkin’…at least not about the murder. I like this season even more than the first. The show manages to guest star a lot of great celebrities….Sting, Nathan Lane, Amy Schumer and my favorite, Shirley MacLaine. Lots of laughs, too. It’s delightful! Cheers! Boyfriends – 0; Girlfriends – 1 (Mrs. Gambolini).

THE FULL MONTY – Kelly and I loved the film when we saw it 25 years ago, so we were excited to watch the sequel in series format when it dropped on Hulu. It delivers the same quirky, off-beat humor and charm, but it’s also infused with heartbreak and sorrow which was not part of the movie storyline. All of the original cast reprise their roles and these Sheffield lads are dear to me. I like the way snippets of the original film are woven into the series – some briefly in the opening scene and then vanishing as the episode moves into present day, and some poignantly at the end. That end bit got to me. A few of the lads even manage to pull off a mini version of their famous striptease….sort of. It’s a bloody good ride! Cheers mates! Boyfriends – 3; Girlfriends – 1.