Holiday Round Up

So the holidays are almost behind us which means I have been stuffing myself at the theater with the half dozen films that released over the last couple of days. How did this year pallet fare? Well let's run them down:

Mortal Engines (1/5)
After seeing Mortal Engines I really wanted to say it was a 2/5 because the third act was so bombastic, however this film just doesn't work. It's undeniable from every angle except the visual effects, its a shame too, I was on board this moving monstrosity throughout the marketing and up to the opening narration threw me off.








Bumblebee (2/5)
Finally a watchable Transformers film. While its only the second best of the saga for me (the best being bays first film) Bumblebee still hits where the previous five films dare not to venture, having characters and genuine emotion behind it. The film flounders dramatically with plenty of disposable characters at play, but at least its trying and the chemistry between Charlie (Steinfeld) and "B-128" is more then enough to propel the film when it begins to sag.




Aquaman (2/5)
Its fun. That's what Warner Brothers wanted this to be right? Well its fun. It's not particularly deep (pun intended) or substantial, there is an easy 40min that could be trimmed without changing the narrative in the slightest, but at least its fun. In all honesty Aquaman gave me just what I wanted, a goofy action extravaganza, but I felt lacking. The film felt shallow (no apunologies). Aquaman panders to a basic pallet offering everything it promises in spades leaving me wishing I asked for more. 






Marry Poppins Returns (2/5)
Of all the films this season Marry Poppins disappointed me the most. There were early Oscar ramblings for this film! I was hyped, ready for the La La Land of 2018. No, Marry Poppins is not "shallow" like Aquaman nor does it "flounder" like Bumblebee, its just weak. Its a pitifully weak story. Problems presented throughout the course of the narrative have no satisfying solutions. I have this new succubus theory surrounding the whimsical nanny and I'm not sure if that makes me like this film more or less. In the end Marry Poppins may not be the most disposable film this Christmas, it has its bright spots, but its most certainly the least fulfilling.



If Beale Street Could Talk (3/5)
A great romantic drama came to a theater near me this Christmas and its name Beale Street. Sure it has its piece to say, but the narrative behind it is strong, the performances tight and its scenes some of the best in 2018.









Vice (3/5)
I had a minor anxiety attack watching this film, not because of its subject matter but more to do with the film making and how its constructed. Nevertheless, Vice is a excellent follow up for Mckay after The Big Short, practicing all of Mckay's strengths even though it doesn't reach touch it as a film. Vice is the greatest high school documentary ever made, just please don't show this to high-schoolers.





And that's it...at least for now. Stay tuned for the definitive best and worst of 2018 list.

I Have Internet Again!

Remember when I started posting more? Well that was right before I got anew job, moved to a new city as spent the last 5 weeks or so without internet or my desktop. It's good to be back! Here is a quick catch up

Ralph Wrecks the Internet 4/5
Takes a while to start hitting hard but the third act is everything I could ask for in a sequel to one of my favorite movies

Creed II 3/5
A worthy yet formulaic follow up to the incredible first Creed.

Robin Hood 1/5
Raise your hand if you saw this one...that's what I though.

The Grinch 1/5
Not as bad as I feared, even though all my fears turned out to be true.

Instant Family 2/5
A little heart goes a long way but what does work in this film never outshines what doesn't.

Fantastic Beasts: the Crimes of Grindelwald 1/5
This makes me really sad. Everybody is trying there best here but the screenplay Rolling gave everybody to work with is just terrible.

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle 2/5
It can't hold a candle to Favreau's Jungle Book two years ago, but it might have turned out a descent film if Warner Brothers hadn't abandoned it towards the end of production.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 5/5
Both a love letter to the Spider-Man mythos and an extraordinary original story in its own right. The best Spider-Man film since Rami's Spider-Man 2.

That's it for now. Have a great holiday season everybody and may the movie going be as merry as I hope its going to be.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

How Did This End up Under the Tree!?                               1/5


Costumes
     While seemingly reusing many of the assets from last years Beauty and the Beast, the costumes in the film are conservatively great











Rotten Tomatoes 35%                                  Cinemascore: B+

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is the worst film of 2018 so far. Where as Night School was just bad, this is ambitiously bad, and I don't mean in the risk taking since. The Four Realms follows every Disney cliche from the previous years to a soul crushing teeth. No character here is interesting, many are unbearable, even the title character "The Nutcracker" is embarrassingly shallow. Disney seems to have a habit of releasing one film every year that fails on nearly every conceivable level, at first I thought that to be Wrinkle in Time, then Solo gave that a run for its money, but Nutcracker is a different level of bad. So little about this movie is good and too much is just awful. This is an unforgivably bad film, keep Christmas looking bright and avoid this one like a lump of coal.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Rock You it Does!                                                                 3/5


Biopic
     The Film is simultaneously a retelling and embellishing of the sensation that is Queen

Standout
     I echo what so many others do, Rami Malek as Freddie makes this movie everything it is

Musical
     Well kind of...at least this is more a Musical then Star is Born so I guess that counts.

Crowd Pleaser
     An A on Cinemascore, and applause from the audience I was with.


Rotten Tomatoes 59%                                  Cinemascore: A

Bohemian Rhapsody is just as fun as the trailers made it out to be. Rami Malek crushes it and runs away with the movie as the legend Freddie Mercury. The film does suffer from some pacing issues most noticeable in the later half of the second act and into the third; the script lets down some of the film's bigger moments surrounding Freddie's personal life. However if what you wanted was a greatest hits homage to Queen, or a peek into the life of of the infamous Mr. Mercury, Bohemian Rhapsody is stuffed with more then you could ask for.

Quick Update

Sorry for the shortage in posts recently. I'm between jobs right now but once I get settled into my new place the posts should start flowing in.

Bad Times at the El Royale

False Advertising! Bad Times at El Royale is Not Bad at All       3/5

Suspense
     A true suspense film that made me grip my seat more than I though I would

Original Movie
     The film is an original narrative from director Drew Goddard

Standout
     Is it weird if I think this might be Chris Hemsworth best performance?

Cinematography
     Many scenes are intelligently shot, using close ups head shots to dispel truths from lies

Rotten Tomatoes 71%                                  Cinemascore: B-

We may not have a Tarantino film until next summer but at least we have Bad Times at the El Royale from one of my favorite script writers Drew Goddard. Goddard's original film, brings a half dozen misfits to one place for a good old fashion mystery/ battle royal film. There are plenty of shady characters to get behind, whether your fancy is a priest who isn't actually a priest (Bridges), or a trigger happy bad-ass who kidnapped her own sister (Johnson), El Royale keeps it fresh enough throughout its daunting two and a half hour run time.

Well I'm in the camp that El Royale is ultimately a good time at the movies I can't pinpoint where exactly its weaknesses lie. It has weaknesses, this is a far from perfect film, but the chemistry between its standout characters and the plot that propels them has me pointing fingers between the direction and the script (which was written by the director so Goddard gets the blame either way). There are clear thematic and narrative points introduced throughout the film that get dropped as the narrative chugs along. Story beats happen, they just do. The end result is that rather all of El Royale's assets coming together in the end to tell one overarching plot, the narrative slithers from point to point. This is by nature a very Tarantino thing to do but it's always in the service of the characters or theme. Here its feels very disconnected. The film is a thumbs up from me overall but I curious to see how I feel about this one several months later.

First Man

First Man Goes Where Many Have Gone Before                        3/5

Biopic
     For those Neil Armstrong fans out there, your prayers have been answered

Encore
     Gazelle and Gosling reunite after La La Land

Production Points
     NASA is portrayed rough and experimental, all to the films benefit




Rotten Tomatoes 88%                                  Cinemascore: B+

First Man reunites Ryan Gosling with Academy Award winning director Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Whiplash), this time for a science-fiction thriller/ biopic focusing on Neil Armstrong (Gosling) up to the famous Apollo 11 Mission. If you were born in the last week and just learned to read (which if you are congratulations that's amazing!) let me fill you in. Armstrong (not to be confused with his not-cousin Lance) was the "First Man" to walk on the moon, a defining moment in not just the cold war but in the history of humankind. However, while depicting epic set piece moments such as the moon landing and the infamous Gemini missions, First Man balances its script with a heavy amount of "down to earth" dynamics with Neil between his family and his comrades at NASA. Does it work? Well yes but not as well as I think it could have. Let's discuss.

This movie is everything I could ask for to sate my October sci-fi fix. Rather then diving into broader thematic concepts, or implementing natural and physical science into the narrative, First Man depicts NASA as a shoestring collection of improvisers, building with legos and rebuilding every time something falls apart. I love this, it adds a serious amount of tension to the numerous missions as astronauts obsessively study their spacecraft praying for the shuttle to hold together. The performances are also pretty great with Claire Foy leading the charge as Neil's husband; there is a dinner scene just before the third act where she hardly says a word and yet I couldn't take my eyes off her. Chazelle continues to shine as a director, if you saw Whiplash and/or La La Land you'll know how important a score is to Chazelle; First Man delivers a creative spin to the formula that comes together in the third act. Finally the set pieces are great and worth the price of admission alone for all the reasons I discussed above.

So if the performaces, sets and direction are all pretty great where are the the cracks? Well unfortunately within the same framework. The score for example I praised in my posties also represents a major problem with the film. An hour in a half into First Man the score was one of my biggest negatives. It dragged along inconstantly introducing unoriginal motifs throughout the film. It wasn't until the third act when all the leitmotifs were played in tandem to reveal the scope of the score that Chazelle's design finally click. This criticism for the entire film, and not just for music, but narrative and characters. Goslings performance is another point of negativity and I have to echo the criticisms of many others. It's not due to Goslings lack of talent or interest, its shown though the film to be a deliberate choice of the director to have Neil portrayed as stoic and calculated. It doesn't sink the film, but it ultimately hurts more than it helps.

The genre Chazelle chose to take a swing at is one many directors before him have threaded over the last couple of years. Nolan, Scott, Villeneuve, and Cuaron have all helped their respective sci-fi genre films pop distinctively; First Man takes little risks and stands out much less. It has some standout moments and strong performances across the board, but it can be better. It should be better. The choices made by Chazelle this time around help his film, but simultaneously hold it back from rocketing to the stars.

Films 2018 I didn't Review

Very very quick catch up on all the films I didn't review this year:

Black Panther (4/5)
Game Night (2/5)
A Wrinkle In Time (1/5)
Love, Simon (4/5)
Pacific Rim: Uprising (1/5)
Ready Player One (2/5)
Rampage (3/5)
Avengers Infinity War (3/5)
Deadpool 2 (3/5)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (1/5)
Oceans 8 (2/5)
Incredibles 2 (3/5)
Tag (2/5)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2/5)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (1/5)
Hotel Transylvania 3 (3/5)
Skyscraper (2/5)
Christopher Robin (2/5)
Searching (4/5)
Peppermint (1/5)
Night School (1/5)
Smallfoot (1/5)

I probably missed a bunch that I also saw, but there were the ones that came to mind when I though back on the year.

Venom

Toxic in Good Ways and Bad                                              2/5



Standout
     Give the man credit, Hardy is holding this movie together with all his freakish symbiotic strength.


Comic Book Movie
     I'll never not be excited for a marvel movie (even though this isn't Marvel Studios at all)

Rotten Tomatoes 30%                                  Cinemascore: B+

Warning! Incoming Rant!
For everybody saying Venom fails as a movie because of its disconnection to the famous wallcrawler, Stop. That's not why Venom is bad,  Venom is not tied to its comic book origins nor does it suffer from deviating from them. Films do not fail because they "mis-adapted" their source material, they fail because the film itself didn't captivate its audience and or executive its premise to the individuals expectations. That's enough of that, lets get on with the review.
Rant Over...Actual Review in 3...2..1..

I'd be a liar if I said I hated Venom. That's not true. Once Eddie gets roped up with his symbiote counterpart I smiled from ear to ear for a solid thirty minutes. There is a gem of a great idea in here; Eddie and "Venom" on their own may not be very interesting characters but the chemistry between the two in their infancy is incredibly entertaining. It's too bad that Venom fails in nearly every other aspect. Cliche plot? Check. How about the Villian? Complete with evil monologues and questionable motivations. Production and Editing? Barely passable at best. Venom does not work, and that's actually disappointing because the dynamic between Hardy and, well himself, is actually solid and could have thrived in a better script.

For the uninitiated, Venom is an alien symbiote that through a series of events (depending on the iteration of the story) finds its perfect match in Eddie Brock (Hardy). In this film, the Life Foundation brings the symbiote to earth and Eddie is an ex-reporter who recently had a falling out in his relationship. Once Eddie makes contact with the symbiote after sneaking into the Life Foundations super secret laboratory, the alien latches onto him and introduces himself (itself?) as Venom (also Hardy). The two, now one, embark on a dual quest throughout the city fighting armed hostiles and exposing secrets in accordance with their own motivations...and eat the occasional bad guy or two.

Sounds exciting right? Funny thing, everything there is boring stuff. The Life Foundation experiments, the rampaging throughout the city, even the vore is sub par to weak as genre films go. The first act crawls through cliche after cliche making it a slog to sit through. The real entertainment comes from the interplay between Brock and his alien counterpart. Seeing the two fighting to coexist, especially when Hardy is ignorant of the symbiote's influence, makes for some laugh out loud moments. In addition, Venom's commentary over Brock's scuffle from the trailers gives stale and familiar moments a bit more of a bite (pun intended).

The fun doesn't last long however. Eventually the film is thrown drastically into its third act without allowing the chemistry between its two leads, Brock and Venom, to breath. The third act of Venom had me scratching my head out of frustration as rule after rule established in the narrative previously are tossed out the window. I really can't exaggerate how ludicrous it becomes. The film is still entertaining, but it switches gears from "good Marvel movie" to something more a kin to The Last Knight or Fantastic Four(2015).

Venom is a movie who’s best moments are sandwiched between two shallow acts. Its first act is bland, unoriginal and a drag that turns forty minutes into a marathon. Its third act becomes nonsensical, and breaks many of the previously established rules in its narrative. Its second act however, harbors the fruits of its promising premise. Eddie and Venom's chemistry is captivating in its early stages, and sets the foundation for some great interplay within and between some standard set pieces. If not for everything else letting Hardy down, Venom might have not just been passable but a standout among comic book films this year.

A Star is Born

Familiar is the Beat that Moves the Heart                        3/5


Soundtrack
     The soundtrack for this film is a must, even containing major narrative beats among the tunes.

Oscar Potential
     Despite not being one of my pick, the movie is an early front runner ahead of "Oscar-bait" season.

Well Acted
     Great Performances across the board, Bradly Cooper in particular.

Directorial Debut
     Though it shows, A Star is Born is a great first film out the gate for Cooper's New Career path.



Rotten Tomatoes 91%                                  Cinemascore: A

I didn’t enjoy A Star Is Born as much as I hoped. Don’t let that be a knock on the movie, blame the nearly ubiquitous Oscar buzz, much of which is not undeserved. Bradly Cooper performance as Jackson is exceptional, a clear standout among the many fantastic roles he has portrayed throughout his career. Lady Gaga, or Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (different sources use both so I guess so will I), as Ally is also really great despite the role tailoring to her strengths. After watching however, I had a few grievances with the film I didn’t think I would have going into it. Though the weakness did not deter me from enjoying the film overall, they are not negligible and pulled the film from what could have been a standout in its year for me to a very good, but not great, experience in the end.

Let me start with some of the problems. This is Cooper’s directorial debut and it defiantly shows. The editing and pacing is inconstant, there are several instants where shots will cut in and disrupt the pacing of scene or narrative. One such example includes a medium shot of Jackson eating out of a bag of Cheetos after an emotional first night with Ally. It occurs just after an intimate moment and right before the next scene transition where Ally drives home for the night. “What was that? Why was that there?” All questions left unanswered throughout the duration of the film, and while it gave me a chuckle due to the awkwardness of its placement, it’s only the first instance I noticed of its nature throughout the film.

Another complaint of mine comes to the nature of music throughout the picture. For me a musical is when narrative is communicated through songs, whether that be through dialog, a common theme, or even emotional purposes. A Star is Born has more than enough songs to be considered a musical but only two or three of the ballads are consistent with my definition above. Many of the songs in the film while great (I’m listening to the soundtrack now while writing this review), end up communicating repeated messages rather than narrative beats. The result left me with the feeling of watching a series of music videos rather than an operatic experience. Ally’s evolution is really the only constant beat touched on in each song but that was just as effectively communicated in the scenes between her and Jackson where is most of the meat of the movie can be found.

I said it in the introduction and I’ll say it again here; Copper performance as Jackson is real highlight of A Star is Born. Ally, though she is portrayed as the main protagonist, works much better as a supporting character in Jackson’s narrative. Her evolution though his lens made a familiar Hollywood story feel fresh and even tragic, I wish this is where the movie shifted more of its focus. Gaga’s meta defining performance may be whats getting the attention here but make no mistake, if you ask me, this is Cooper’s film from beginning to end.

This weekend is a weird one from me. I saw two films, one with high expectations and one with lowered. The film with lower expectations, feature a certain self-naming symbiote, surpassed them though not for the reason’s I guessed; the opposite is true for A Star is Born. Overall the movie is pretty good, but it did drag a little for me and I wouldn’t consider it in my top five this year (which has been a so so year of movies for me). I suspect many will enjoy A Star is Born more than me, and that’s perfectly fine, it deserves a lot of the praise its getting in my eyes and many more film savy then me may be able to argue my opinion into the dirt. Cooper’s performance is fantastic, if only he directed a movie on par with his portrayal of Jackson, then perhaps I would consider this the all timer like many others already do.

Mama Mia: Here We Go Again Review

A Song to Sing Without a Story to Tell                                      1/5


Musical
     I like Musicals, this movie is a musical, kind of.

Feel Good
     The movie definitely fits the niche of a "feel good" rainy day vibe.

Rotten Tomatoes 79%                                  Cinemascore: A-

Let me preference this review with a disclaimer; I have never seen Mama Mia! before watching this sequel, film or stage production. Despite this I still was looking forward to seeing Mama Mia! Here We Go Again after reading over the positive reception for the film and that I have a natural soft spot for a good musical. However after finally watching the popular musical, I was disappointed I didn't like it as much as I wanted to. Honestly I found a lot more to dislike then to like in the film as a whole. All I wanted from Mama Mia! was a fun even if forgettable experience but instead I found it's a film broken between its two congruent arcs (at least in length) that fails both as a functional musical and as a story.

Mama Mia! Here We Go Again is as much a prequel as it is a squeal to the first film, flipping back and forth between two main story lines, one of which see Sophie (Seyfried) trying to realize her mothers dream after she passed away, and another that follows her mother Donna (Streep/ James) in her trip through Europe 40 years ago. Both plots are edited in parallel, giving equal weight to each throughout the run time of the picture i.e. Godfather Part II or an episode of Arrow (for the sweatys out there). Perhaps with a better script this would be stroke of genius, however in Here We Go Again it's an unbalanced dish. The events of one plot are only scarcely relevant to the events of the other; when it is its only on a scene by scene basis. In fact, I found as the movie went on there were more contradictions, thematically at least, then connections to the parallel plots as one tells the story of somebody finding her own dream while the other focus's on somebody putting her dreams aside to complete another's. It wouldn't' be a problem if the film treated Sophie and Donna like separate characters but that's clearly not whats perceived by every other character in the film. The end result weakens the overall narrative as the film switches between two plot lines I have very little investment in.

Unfortunately this problem extends to the film as a musical as well. If you're familiar with Mama Mia! then you'll know its a musical crafted around the works of Abba rather then other way around, and while I can't speak for how this relates to the original musical, it defiantly is a weakness of this one. Rather the musical number adding to the narrative at large and lending song to the emotions in the story, each number is only relevant to the period of time when its played. For example a favorite number of mine is "Waterloo" which plays towards the end of the first act of Here We Go Again as its affectionately preformed between Donna and her first love interest Harry (Firth/ Skinner). "Waterloo" is a song about destiny, how we cannot deny the one who is destined for us much like Napoleon was destined to lose in the battle of Waterloo. Harry however is the least relevant of Donna's three love interest and fails to factor back into the plot after missing Donna from taking a ferry (or boat with another destined lover, same same). So much for destiny. This is just one example of many ineptitudes of the musical, its too bad too because Abba songs are catchy as hell.

Mama Mia: Here I Go Again was the film I was least invested in this year for the reasons I listed above. The seeds of a compelling story are here but it lacked the competency to tell it. In the end all that's left are few good tunes.

Mission: Impossible- Fallout

Falling Over for Fallout                                                    4/5


Cinematography
     Do you like one takes? How about Beautiful wide shots...good.

Standout
     It's Cruise. He has to get a standout mention here.

Action Packed
     I think this film has maybe 20 minutes of dialog in it. Not a bad thing when everything else is as good as it is.

Best of Year
     So far, Fallout is easily the best action film of the year

Rotten Tomatoes 97%                                  Cinemascore: A

Mission: Impossible- Fallout is a worth follow up to Rouge Nation, one of my favorite spy epics, and a new contender for my favorite film of 2018 (even though it's by the thinnest of margins). Directed once again by Christopher Mcquarrie, the franchises first returning director, Fallout continues the narrative threads left in the 'fallout' of the last films events. After dethroning the mastermind behind the Syndicate, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) continues his crusade against the remnants of the rouge nation who have rallied together under a new banner, the Apostles. While doing so Hunt must track down another affiliate of chaos, who goes by the alias John Lark, in order to stop him or her from working with the Apostles and enacting a tragedy that would spiral the world into a "great suffering". What follows is another espionage epic where Hunt and company must play both sides to prevent the Apostles' nefarious hopes from coming to fruition.

The plot here is nothing original to the genre, nor does it ever attempt to subvert or create new genre trends. Instead, Mission Impossible plays to its strengths as always by delivering the goods, standout set pieces executed by its dedicated star. The stunt work and cinematography on display here is simply unmatched by any other franchise with the exception of 007 himself (Specter not withstanding). Tom Cruise commitment to the role of Hunt pays off yet again, turning familiar scenes such as free fall or a bathroom brawl into top notch nail biting action. The direction deserves as much credit too, every scene perfectly in frame, every chase scene accompanied by a percussion score and camera work as finesse as its action heroes.

Not to say the story lacks what the set pieces provide, not at all. Bringing back Mcquarrie means the return of Soloman Lane (Harris) as a villain in addition to other returning characters such as Benj (Pegg) and Ilsa (Ferguson), although strangely Jeremy Renner is absent for the second action extravaganza this year. The story flip flops between above average and fantastic which encompasses my major negative from the film. Many story threads and themes prevalent through Fallout's first two acts feel forgotten as the film ventures into the third act, and while it's there you'll find the films stand out set piece, something was lost along the way in regards to the more human side of Mcquarrie's story. Plot dynamics like Hunt's resistance to weigh the magnitude of many lives over one get only a mere mention in the last minutes of the movie rather than factor into the last act as a whole.

Overall Mission: Impossible Fallout only disappoints in the end because its first two acts are some of the best plotted action sequences in years. Fallout rewards the active viewer with it's attention to detail in every one of its set pieces, while filling its cracks with serviceable cliches to hold it all together. It's my second favorite of the franchise, just behind Rouge Nation and above Ghost Protocol, and the best action film of the year so far.

(Pay no attention to the fact this is my first post in months)


(Just move along...)

First Impressions: The Post and The Phantom Thread

A day off means I'm two movies closer to completing my Oscars BP checklist. Today was a double feature between two academy nominated dramas including Spielberg's 2017 pet project and a rare showcase of the magnificence that is Daniel Day Lewis.

I'll start with The Post, and I must say my initial impression is disappointment, but only because my expectations were so high. The Post really hits its stride in its second act but limbers off in the third. Both Streep and Hanks were great in there roles, and all the production values were above average (but I expect nothing less from a Spielberg film).

The Phantom Thread is another story entirely. I really enjoyed the first half, Paul Thomas Anderson's greatest success in the film may just be the first act where the relatively small ensemble is introduced intimately, enrapturing the audience in life at Woodcook manor before the film takes its darker turns. The movie doesn't play its safe however, and It's greatest attribute may be how it has stayed with me throughout the day after its viewing.

That;s all for now. I'm happy to be writing again!

First Impression: The Greatest Showman

Just saw The Greatest Showman and I have to say I'm a little disappointed. I was late the party thanks to working in the retail world during the holidays, but I heard great praise from my friends despite the mediocre response and it remained high on my must see list. Unfortunate the movie is a meh for me. The songs are great but some of the choreography can be hit and miss, the cinematography doesn't serve the score and some of the drama just doesn't work. Overall not a bad movie but definitely not a memorable one for me.