I'm a slayer, ask me how.

I'm not sure why I thought a fun thing to watch on my Saturday morning would be a movie about the Congressional investigation in the CIA's "enhanced interrogation techniques" but I'm going to blame Adam Driver, who I just really like and trust when it comes to choosing interesting roles.

The Report is an Amazon Studios film that chronicles the investigation, lead by Daniel Jones (Driver), into the CIA's torture of prisoners of war after the 9/11 attacks.

For a film that was 75% Adam Driver looking concerned/upset/frustrated, it was engrossing, probably because I only have a vague memory of these discussions happening around me when they actually happened. And I never did a deep dive into what was really going on. And I think I tend to think of the entire world of American politics flipping over every 4 years but the reality is, while the President and Congress might change, a lot of the people that run the big organizations stay in it because they are not appointed or elected, they just have their jobs.

And I always knew that different government departments didn't get along - my Dad worked for DOD for a long time - but I guess I didn't realize to what extent the animosity goes.

I doubt many people read Jones' 700 page report, but the fact that he could fill 700 pages says a lot. Everyone in this movie was fantastic and from what I can tell, it is relatively faithful to the facts. In the end, all we can do is own up to these mistakes but it is scary how easy they are to make and how LONG it can take for the truth to come out.

If you like political movies based on real events, where the tension and drama comes from putting the pieces together, I really recommend this one. Driver is fantastic, but so is Annette Bening as Senator Feinstein. Plus we see Jon Hamm, Jennifer Morrison, Michael C. Hall and other faces you'll recognize even if you don't know the actors names.

And if you have Prime, you can watch it streaming right now.

Just watched Bad Times at the El Royale and I don't really know what I just watched but I couldn't stop watching it so i think that means I liked it? There were a lot of layers there, things to "unpack" as people like to say. Commentary on people, beliefs, goals, our secret selves...

Or maybe not, maybe it was 141 minutes and the best thing was Hemsworth dancing without a shirt on, I really don't even know.

Anyone else?? Thoughts? What was this movie??

Finally watched this. I read the book when it first came out and it was just such a fantastic book. I was worried that translating it to film wouldn't work but the movie manages to be a faithful adaptation in most respects - a few scenes are removed or take place "off camera" due to length - but the important bits are there.

What really struck me was my reaction to *seeing* this story rather than just reading it. The book is told from Starr's point of view, first person, and she spends a lot of time feeling confused, angry, and lost and so, as a reader, I also felt that way. But watching the movie and seeing her face (the amazing Amandla Stenburg)as she worked through each emotion, I was hit hardest with the true sadness of the whole situation. When you saw her fighting the tears, visibly shaking, and then just crying. Or watching the determination in her face grow as she makes a decision.

And I think watching the movie made me think about some of my own unconscious biases. In my head, the cop looked one way when everything happened, but on film, they cast a young guy and he acted a little nervous/jump about the whole thing. Even little things, like all the tattoos Starr's father has, I probably didn't imagine those every time he appeared while reading, but you can't miss them in the movie. And, of course, the reality of the protest scenes...I think when I was reading the book, a part of me wanted to see things as right/wrong but that's not reality and I think the movie did a good job of not picking sides but just showing the situation, what it triggers within a community, and how that can erupt into violence even when people want a peaceful protest.

A very good companion to the book and I would urge everyone to read the book and watch the movie. And then have some conversations.