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It still frustrates me that John Adams doesn’t have a statue on the National Mall. I’d love to see one made for him (Preferably, with Abagail next to him ) Jefferson is a toughy. He was no doubt brilliant, but on a personal level, he’s definitely more problematic. I mean, on the one hand he did resolve to free his slaves, but in the end, due to excessive debt from his extravagant lifestyle, he never actually followed through. Weird (disturbing) fact, Jefferson truly did love his wife Martha and carried a locket of her hair with him until his death. He never remarried, although, obviously, there was Sally Hemmings (which I refuse to call a “relationship”). Sally Hemmings was actually the half-sister of Martha (through rape) and his attraction to her was apparently due to her strong resemblance to his deceased wife.

Every day is a gift. If that gift is a flaming bag of dog poop on the front porch.

Nikola Tesla was a great scientist but nobody talks about how he looked down on his peers Christopher Prius and Ickobod Smartcar.

Here's a sample of the cut John Adams Rap from Hamilton.

Honestly, I really enjoyed the hell out of this. I've known about the musical for forever but had never seen it, neither on stage or in film. I guess... I've been sort of pushing against the mythos of the Founding Fathers for a long time, and while the film does play in that sandbox (especially with Jefferson), I found 1776 generally irresistible. I love that it pointed out the hypocrisy of both the South AND the North in their mutual complicity for slavery, even as the Northern representatives decried the practice for its inhumanity. And, like @Cameron H., I really do admire John Adams, and I enjoy seeing these events from his perspective. He spoke more eloquently and forcefully against slavery (having never owned one) than any other of these rich white dudes, and just... as someone with a cold, desiccated heart, I can't help but be warmed by his genuine love and respect for his wife. The lifelong love affair and friendship between those two is so remarkable, especially for the time, that I can't help but look at the two of them with great fondness. Two brilliant minds buoyed by their connection to one another.

I'm curious how all this plays to the non-Americans who might have watched this. I can't say I had some jingoistic tear in my eye as I watched history come alive, but there is some kind of "oh, this is kind of neat" feeling I wouldn't have from a movie about literally any other country declaring independence.

There's a big thread in the FB group about people suggesting nominations for the 7th movie I compiled them all in one big list if anyone wants to use it to watch things https://letterboxd.com/almostaghost/list/unspooled-school-movie-suggestions/

As someone who's seen movies made by / produced by / financed by / backed by the WWE, this was beyond the pale. It's difficult to even start on the performances of the cast (and I'm sorry Edge / Adam Copeland, but this includes you) because the rest of the film that surrounds him is so surprisingly poor. And to that point, maybe a lot of the blame is to the director and writing. Ugh, there's just so much going wrong here. Right, so: bad effects: the guns shots are given light and spark by CGI. Blood is done by CGI bad thought-out effects sequences (a gun being held / moved / shot by a a low-cost drone). bad effects cause continuity errors; in one scene a man is stabbed and blood is shown, then after a shot change, the blood is gone. A few characters are only shown in just one area. Adam Copeland's character spends a lot of his time in the cockpit, which I find strange for the top billed actor of the movie. The score doesn't match the gravity of what's happening: in one scene a man dies by playing Russian Roulette with himself, and while it's a hokey performance by a Lawrence brother (I think that's who it was), I still don't understand why you'd play such a light, or, comedic score to a man who dies. Did anyone else notice that Kelsey Grammar needed a haircut? It happens to many men who don't wear long hair. So, the lower back of the head develops ruffled hair that is usually shaved off after a hair cut. And here, it's quite prominent. I just find it odd to have this be a thing. When Patrick Lamont is pretending to be McGillcutty, the movie plays a funny trope done before, but that I still like. A man who is either new to, or doesn't want to, gamble seems to be on a non stop winning streak. And it doesn't go anywhere. Usually movies use this to wrap up a story, or give a character a win after they lose everything (Like Vegas Vacation with Chevy Chase, where Ethan Embry, Rusty, wins a bunch of cars, and they use them to leave at the end). And the comedy of it never lands, of course. They're trying to make too many jokes. I think this is a movie that would happen if I thought I could write and produce a movie, and had the means to. I would think of all these ideas and just patch them together and go with it. Just, wow. Anyway, that's all I got for now; I can't wait until they sink their teeth into this.

How did you get through an entire Tom Hanks interview with no mention of "sucking and fucking"???

She somehow manages to tell long winding stories a few times, despite not watching the movie. I think she's funny but it was like someone trying BS their way through a book report in front of the class. And I think she mentioned being a lesbian so much to distract from not knowing anything about the movie. The Youtube video replays the movie, so she could have just stayed and watched the first half (now well rested). Or apparently just come to the show early to watch which would have been a great bit and added to the show for her to talk about experiencing the movie with a crowd. Loved her interview on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me a few years ago. She does well with a panel to play off of if the format allows her to tell stories rather than fast paced wit.