Sherlock's Gay Best Father A'oro

Sherlock, season 3 - (3 episodes) After two years' absence, "deceased" Sherlock Holmes emerges from hiding and asks Watson to help him stop a terrorist plot that is threatening London. The twosome also tangle with a blackmailer and track a killer who's infiltrated Watson's wedding.

(buy) While I enjoyed the third installation of Sherlock, I’m not sure if I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the previous season. I would say it continues with their standard build mixed with humor, so viewers of the first two seasons will be pleased with this, but people unfamiliar with the series should probably start at the beginning.

G.B.F. - When shy Tanner is outed as a school's only openly gay student, popular girls Fawcett, Caprice and 'Shley engage in an epic catfight to acquire him as their "Gay Best Friend." Tanner soon finds himself torn between popularity and old friendships.

(rent) This is a cute high school comedy that really looks at friendships, stereotypes, and the masks people wear. It was amusing, but never really grabbed my attention. It had great one-liners and dialogue, but in some ways it dragged, which is weird since it wasn’t that long of a film. I would definitely say this is worth a watch, as it avoids some stereotypical high school movie tropes while playing with others.

Easy A - Ambitious student Olive decides to boost her popularity by pretending to be the school slut. As the swirling rumor mill increases both her notoriety and her finances, Olive enjoys her newfound status but eventually must decide if it's all worth it.

(rent/buy) I’m sorry I waited so long to watch this movie. But really, the description (and what I’d heard about the movie) left little desire for me to see it. It didn’t seem interesting or particularly deep. However, after seeing a million GIFs of interest float by, I decided to give it a shot.

And I’m glad I did. This film had a lovely mix of humor, classic high school flick, depth, and wit. Some of the characters were flat, but most had at least various elements that made them fallible and realistic. While much of the underlying message will be “no shit” for older audiences, I still think it’s worth hearing--and seeing.

La Corda d’Oro - (26 episodes) Hino goes to a school that specialises in music and has two streams: the normal stream and the music stream, where the music students are regarded as the more elite. She was running late for her class one day when she saw a tiny fairy, who seemed really excited that she could see it. The next day, the entrants in the music competition, who are decided by the school, are announced. Hino's name appears on the list - except she doesn't play an instrument.

(rent) This is just kind of a mellow high school show. It may not be for everyone (especially as it’s subtitled only), but I found it oddly enjoyable. It’s one of those shows you don’t watch for plot or excitement or any of that, but just to let the story unfold. For all the romantic tension, there’s no real resolution. And the underlying theme gets beaten over the head a bit much (especially in the last episode). This is mostly a character study, although even in that it’s mostly just how Hina transformed everyone in the show for the better. But it had pretty boys and classical music (and it pans away to the same few shots for every musical number rather than animating the instrument playing.

In the Name of… - Running toward God but away from his sexuality, Adam became a priest at age 21. Now the head of a rural parish, he's still tormented by desire. When Father Adam attempts to help troubled teen Lukasz, long-suppressed feelings begin to surface.

(meh) I really couldn’t get into this movie. It had potential, even with what I felt was an under-developed plot, but too much was vaguely hinted out, left undeveloped, or just not really looked at. I’m not sure if better understanding of the culture that movie takes place in (Poland, I believe), would clarify things, but generally I was lukewarm about everything. The acting wasn’t bad, probably the highlight of the film, and there were moments I felt for the characters and their struggles, but generally my confusion over what was happening and how people felt was too deep to let me connect at all to anything here.