The Millers suprise

Happy Fourth of July! Will Arnett's cancelled sitcom is back on CBS, at least for a little while. The Millers was taken off the air so abruptly, and there was no word that the remaining episodes would ever surface, but here they are, getting burned off against fireworks. (My Tivo says there are more episodes next Saturday.) I know lots of people hate this show and think it's stupid, but I enjoyed it while it lasted. I don't think the addition of Kip in season 2 really made any difference, but I liked that they continued the theme of Nathan's bromance with Ray. Apparently they're going to move in together now, so that's something to look forward to in the next set of episodes. My Tivo OnePass says that there are four episodes I haven't seen yet. I hope CBS airs them all, even if there's no real series finale.

I remember when the cancellation was suddenly announced, that the show substituted an episode that they had previously skipped; it was made to air after The Big Bang Theory, and they pandered by making the plot about a science fiction convention. The episode was full of meta references to their ratings and their lead-in show. Sure, it wasn't as great as Arrested Development, but it was still entertaining. I'll have to remember to watch season 2 of Bojack Horseman when it comes out.


I also recently rewatched Mulan on Netflix, and remembered how much I enjoyed it years ago. The only thing I didn't like was the Mushu character, because I didn't think the story needed silly animal sidekicks. I guess he might have amused young children, but I was in college at the time, and had no patience for wisecracking distractions like that dragon (and Genie in Aladdin). Anyway, I heard that Disney is going to do a live-action remake, and I hope this time they dial back on the dragon and cricket.

I also watched Pixar's Inside Out, and it was fine, but not as great as Up or Wall-e. I didn't really get all the hype about it. There was a good message about allowing children to be sad and grow up, but I've seen this before in TV shows like The Simpsons or Arthur; a girl feels depressed, and is pressured to cheer up by well-meaning parents or friends who don't get that sometimes you need to be in a funk. So no, this movie didn't really feel special in that respect, and I think Pixar has lost some of its appeal to me. I find that I'm less interested in movies in general, and none of the trailers for other kids' movies excited me either.

Though I loved the original Jurassic Park, all the ads for Jurassic World turned me off when I realized there was only one woman character, and the reviews were awful. So no, I'm not watching that, even for dinosaur nostalgia.

In fact the only movies I'm still interested in seeing this year are a Lego documentary and two period dramas about historical women. Suffragette isn't coming until October, and I don't know yet when Queen of the Desert will be released. I hope it will be this year.