I’m happy that I’ve stayed consistent keeping track of what I’ve watched. Disney+ should really make a watch history feature – it’s long overdue! To avoid gatekeeping my favourite picks until the holiday season, I’m sharing a mid-year roundup of recommendations now.
Between the popularity of Throwback Thursdays and the Timehop app, the appeal of nostalgia in the media is going strong. So when I found out Jenny Slate is starring in a new movie about a dysfunctional family set in 1995, I was sold. I loved watching her in Obvious Child and I was ready for more laughs from the Jewish comedian in Landline.
Personally, I find characters that work in advertising more likeable, but there’s no excuse for Ali (Abby Quin) and Dana’s (Jenny Slate) cheating dad (John Turturro). I don’t care if he’s a superstar at McCann Erickson. He’s a scumbag. Ali reveals his infidelity to Dana after finding her dad’s love letters to his mistress on a floppy disk labelled as Ali’s schoolwork. Their reactions then become the focal point of the movie.
As soon as I saw a transit ad for The Founder, I knew I had to see it and I was right. It was fantastic. The Founder, starring Michael Keaton, focuses on the early days of McDonald’s and explains how Ray Kroc transformed a burger shack in California into an international institution. This portrayal of Ray Kroc’s life deserves to be nominated for awards and win.
Ray met the brothers behind the original McDonald’s while selling mixers. He was impressed by their story and observed that their cooking process was like “choreographing a crazy burger ballet.” After learning about their speedy system for serving fast food, which they called a “symphony of efficiency,” he convinced them to open franchises under his leadership.
