Irrelevant But Awesome

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First and foremost this month, we need to address that December is usually full of movies that are trying to win an Oscar, which means that while there technical release date falls somewhere in December, it’s usually a limited release date with the wide release happening sometime early in the next year. So while we will be categorizing this by release date, it’s very possible that some of the following movies will not be available in your local theater until early in 2017. That being said, let’s jump into the lineup for December. December 2nd: Jackie: Natalie Portman Plays First Lady Jackie Kennedy in the days following the Assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. It’s not really a biopic as it only focuses on that one brief moment in her life, but it looks to be a powerful film that addresses a lot of things most people didn’t even consider about those days. In addition to grieving for her husband, Jackie Kennedy had to console her children, prepare to leave her home (sinc

What Makes a Good President A Good President: - isn’t afraid to intellectually slap the taste out of the mouths of people that let the crazies continue to speak for the majority of an organization. - never allows anyone to tell you what to eat or else their plane will blow up on the way to Jordan. - hires a Charlie Young. - seriously considers getting a dog. - is an economics professor with a big ol’ stick up his butt. - foreshadows later plotlines. - stays there as long as the radio works. - is a parental wingman for his/her chief of staff - nominates Mendoza to the bench. - yells inaccurate facts at children visiting the White House. - builds a dungeon to keep his younger daughter in before she grows up. - hides a life-altering diagnosis from his best friend for seven years. - chooses his sex education vocabulary carefully. - can construct a good joke no matter the occasion: “A priest, a rabbi and a puritan walk into the oval office…” - has a s

Chris: What a year its been, am I right? It's been amazing to relive the Bartlet administration and witness the excitement of the Santos campaign once again. The last episode I talked about how resolution is more important than surprise to the ending of a show like West Wing but they still managed to hold onto one surprise and that being the pardon for Toby. However, it doesn't feel like a total surprise especially when Bartlet never seemed to be one to hold a grudge especially when Toby did what he did in the service and well-being of others. Add all of that and the personal relationship President Bartlet has with all of his top staff members and you get this notion where we all knew he was going to sign the pardon. Bartlet has a lot of great one-on-one moments with different members of the show but none felt more gratifying to watch than the one he has in the car with the First Lady as they leave when she says "you made it, you're still here." Typically the

Chris: Danny has been a constant over his feelings for CJ since the very beginning and his level of patience should be rewarded. And believe me, I wasn't the biggest fan of Danny the first time I went through the series but right here at the end, Timothy Busfield knocks this episode out of the park and won me over as they only guy out there good enough for our beloved CJ Cregg. This is the episode that really pieces together to set up the flash forward opening to the season and we can fill in the rest of what our favorite characters do once the show is over. What I enjoy about West Wing is that they went ahead and took care of the surprise element of the season with the election and what next for everyone so that the finale can be truly a resolution to the whole story. West Wing isn't exactly a show for cliffhangers. Sure we got one at the end of a few seasons here and there but for the show as a whole, the audience appreciates resolution. Joel:  In many ways this is t

Chris: This put a happy little bow on Vinick's West Wing character arc and is a testament to how well he is respected by Santos and I'm fully on-board with Santos obsessively pursuing him for Secretary of State, especially since they see eye-to-eye on foreign policy. I enjoyed this episode because it's an ending that Vinick deserved that I wouldn't expect for us to get. There's been so many characters that were once vital to the show but simply cease to show up once their purpose has passed and by the time you realize they're gone, they've been gone for at least 3 or 4 episodes. So the fact that we get a brief look into Vinick's life now that the campaign is over and how much of a contrast it is from campaign life is interesting and I'm glad the show afforded us that luxury rather than just never seeing Vinick again. Joel:  I wonder, way back when the creative staff of The West Wing was first talking about the election storyline for the fina

Chris: The show's come a long way since the "you can't walk away, you're too good at this" moment in reference to Santos' ability to master political chess and that's why nobody really sees the call to the Chinese government as a strategic move, at least not one that's in conjunction with the Bartlet administration. In actuality, it still isn't but it's more like covert play between Bartlet himself and Santos knowing that Bartlet doesn't have enough time to see the situation through. I had forgotten about this aspect of this episode but I do remember feeling odd about Bartlet not having an exit strategy because that seems so unlike the president but in truth, he and Santos is playing everybody. And we've seen Josh break down mentally going into the stretch of the campaign, the height being election night while also having to immediately deal with the death of his mentor in Leo. I know a week is all the Santos administration can a

Joel:  I mentioned in yesterday’s recap that there was really no way around having Leo’s death come when it did. It couldn’t happen too early because it would impact the election storyline. But it had to happen before Santos was declared victorious because we couldn’t have the image of the new President elect and VP elect raising their arms victoriously. That left the very small window of on the actual election day for Leo to die. And while that was the right choice for them to make I feel, it does come with the negative side effect of only getting a moment or two to mourn the loss of this character before we’re right back into the fast paced, nonstop world of the election. But now, one epsiode removed from the election we really get some time to sit back and reflect on the loss of Leo. Yes, there is a little bit of political talk here and there as Santos starts to figure out what his first few days in office are going to look like, but for the most part, this episode is about L