This year’s1 list is shorter than the previous three, thanks to my two month break from the cinemas in June and July.23

Like the previous iterations (see: 2016 2015 2014), this is in reverse-chronological order.4

The tl;dr version?

“Molly’s Game” makes the top of my list5 with “Your Name.”6 and “Thor: Ragnarok” not far behind. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” might make my top 50.78

THE FULL LIST

Molly’s Game9
Star Wars: The Last Jedi10
Lady Bird11
Justice League12
Murder on the Orient Express
Suburbicon13
Blade Runner 2049
Thor: Ragnarok14
Logan Lucky15
Kingsman: The Golden Circle16
The Hitman’s Bodyguard17
Baby Driver18
Wonder Woman19
The Dark Tower20
Dunkirk21
The Mummy22
Free Fire23
Alien: Covenant24
The Fate of the Furious25
Your Name.26
Ghost in the Shell (2017)
Life27
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 228
Logan29
Lego Batman
The Great Wall30
John Wick: Chapter 231
Moonlight
Kong: Skull Island32
A Cure for Wellness
Gold33
XXX: Return of Xander Cage34
Patriots Day35
Jackie36

1. There are still a few days to go at the time of publishing, but this is going to be it. [↩]
2. blame: Iceland. and Ireland. and… the PNW. If you’re into blaming Canada for everything, do so… [↩]
3. along with my focusing on… other projects. [↩]
4. IMO, 2017 > 2016. [↩]
5. If sorted by reverse-chronology or by awesomeness [↩]
6. Don’t trip out over my punctuation: The. period. is. part. of. the. movie. title. [↩]
7. If you think that’s savage, buy me a drink and I’ll tell you what I really think… [↩]
8. However this is especially savage when you consider that I barely saw 30 movies this year. I know, I’m slipping… [↩]
9. This was very good, in a “so ridiculous that it’s almost inspiring” kind of way. No, I swear, I don’t plan on doing anything illegal o_0 [↩]
10. If you’re heading to the movies and have a choice between this and “Molly’s Game”, please: watch “Molly’s Game”. [↩]
11. This was good. [↩]
12. I give props to DC for casting Khal Drogo as Aquaman – just not a cool, tough sounding superhero otherwise. [↩]
13. Matt Damon’s finest moment, this is not. [↩]
14. I kept seeing the phrase “Best Marvel movie ever” thrown around before I saw it. I scoffed. Turns out it wasn’t that wrong… [↩]
15. Ocean’s Eleven with rednecks, and a NASCAR race in place of a casino [↩]
16. Not quite as charming as the original. Either really bad or fairly entertaining – still not sure which… [↩]
17. You need some decent Sam L. every now and then… [↩]
18. Had to watch this on BluRay after my summer travels… [↩]
19. Another one I had to watch on BluRay. Very unlike DC – meaning very good – though I thought it slipped in the final act. [↩]
20. I’ve read absolutely ZERO of the books, but I thought it was pretty decent… until it apparently runs out of reel in the last 20 minutes or so. [↩]
21. Like any Chris Nolan movie, I hope you saw this in genuine IMAX. I wonder what he’s working on next… [↩]
22. Ugh. Tom Cruise’s finest moment, this is NOT. If you’re debating watching the home release: Do not. [↩]
23. I had to Google this, as I totally forgot what it was about. Long story short: Brie Larson. [↩]
24. Still mad that I had to sit next to a six-year old for this at the freaking ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE… [↩]
25. a.k.a., Fast and Furious 8 [↩]
26. Goodness this was good! [↩]
27. That ending though… almost begs for a sequel, just for the post-apocalyptic entertainment value. [↩]
28. I didn’t like it as much as the first, though I know others disagree [↩]
29. Not to be confused with “Logan Lucky”. This one has nothing to do with rednecks heisting a NASCAR race… [↩]
30. Matt Damon’s finest moment, this is definitively NOT. [↩]
31. Not nearly as good as the first – which was greatness. But a pencil, you do see… [↩]
32. They’re trying to tie this in with Godzilla to do some super-villian mashup, Avengers-style? … … … really?! [↩]
33. You need some decent Matthew McConaughey every now and then… [↩]
34. My propensity for cheesy Vin Diesel and all… [↩]
35. Markie Mark in his typical heroic tear-jerker – this one about the Boston marathon bombing [↩]
36. Mathilda has come a long way~ [↩]

I appreciate a good story. Be it in the form of TV/film, a good book, a long video game,1 or an equally long Netflix binge, I live for a good story.

We all have ideas about how the stories in our lives ought to end, and about the timing with which they ought to end. This week has been a personal reminder that life does not always respect one’s personal opinions about the how’s and when’s with which these stories ought to end.

I’m a fan of intelligent writing, witty characters, and carefully measured subtleties. It’s why I’m a huge follower of Chris Nolan (and simultaneously despise Zac Snyder).

One day I’ll walk into a coffee shop and I’ll spot Neil Caffrey and Mozzie sharing a table and sipping lattes with Alicia Florrick and Carrie Agos. Or so goes the dream.2

White Collar is my favorite TV show of forever. The Good Wife — which I have followed since the start,3 and which ends this weekend — is a very close second.

This week has also reminded me that — at times — having a personal life4 and being a teacher are akin to oil and water. There are maybe a day or two in each campaign5 where you just don’t want to put on your professional daytime facade… and while doing so is sometimes nigh impossible, refusing to do so simply isn’t an option. And having to continually brush everything aside and not being able to properly deal with things until Summertime is… less than ideal, to say the least.

Yet another story comes to a close this Thursday, when our students take the Statistics AP Exam.6

When it comes to guiding our cherubs towards the finish line, the anxiety-riddled portion of my soul fears that this is one of those things where you can do everything right and execute flawlessly from week one all the way to week 35… only to have things fall apart just short of the ribbon. No, the numbers from the previous five campaigns don’t really back up these irrational fears… but perhaps that is what makes them irrational.

Five days~

1. Uncharted 4 comes out this week… but it’ll have to wait ’til after Thursday’s AP exam… [↩]
2. The closest we got was when the character who plays Alicia’s son was a student in a White Collar episode that went to Peter and Neil for help… that was a fun episode. Season 3, episode 12: “Upper West-Side Story”. [↩]
3. I was never big on Will G. I do miss Kalinda. I wish Finn would have stuck around longer. Lamont Bishop was a bit overplayed but he’s better off as Luke Cage. I think Jason’s a cool cat. Lucca was underutilized – her rant on polar bears and baby seals was all-time greatness. This show and — to a lesser degree — Suits almost made me wish I’d gone into law… [↩]
4. or rather, trying to have one [↩]
5. Only one or two, of course… not any more than that… -_-. [↩]
6. number six, on my watch. [↩]

It’s become an annual tradition.

When I can’t tell if I am turning into a pregnant zombie bovine… or if the AP Exam is on the horizon.1

Two years ago today was the fateful visit to Lake Creek that… well… changed things.

This morning, during our probability review, a student said,

This year has FLOWN by.

I couldn’t agree more.

1. Because really, it’s the same thing. [↩]

My morning class noticed my kicks1 and one of the kids joked,2

Mister Youn’s retiring? 34

Tomorrow our students take major exam number nine.5 This one focuses on inference with means, and shouldn’t be nearly as tough as our last major exam a month ago. Invariably though, students by-and-large perform worse on this exam. The two main culprits, by my estimation:

1. Lack of urgency — the last exam was just before the end of the devilish fourth six weeks,6 thus it demanded their honest best. This time around, the end of the marking period is another month away. A LOOOOONNNNNNGGGG month before any second semester high school senior dares to flip their brain on…
2. Spring break starts later this week. 7

1. Kobe VI’s… maybe the third time I’ve worn them out. [↩]
2. I think he was joking… [↩]
3. Kobe is retiring after next month… in case you don’t get the reference… [↩]
4. And as for the title – I will always associate Kobe with the number 8. Twenty-four forever belongs to Keifer… [↩]
5. of ten [↩]
6. good gosh how many blog posts can I write that reference the fourth six weeks? [↩]
7. For some it started a moon ago, based on the way they’re acting… [↩]

Mmmmmm hmmmmm.

(One week until Spring Break…)

There’s an extra class day1 leading up to Spring Break that I build into our class calendar, just in case.2

So since we had some space to breathe this go-round, I gave my classes a break earlier this week and did not assign homework.3

Two of my students — in different classes — asked, “What’s the catch?”

Some of them flat out didn’t believe me.

Well today, a few of them came back and said,

“Yeah, that felt really weird.”4

Three more lessons to go — all after Spring Break.

1. or two? [↩]
2. Née, 2014, anyone? [↩]
3. Technically I just moved it to the next day and made it “in-class work”, but most of my students simply heard “no homework”. [↩]
4. One kid who has never done any homework retorted with, “That felt normal.” -_- [↩]