Mandy knows best

Podcast This is a ghost story... but more! I started listening to this a while ago but I got confused because after the first few episodes the order they were in flipped and I accidentally listened to part of season 2 instead of season 1. But almost a year later I started listening again and made sure to listen to 1 season at a time. And it was killer! I honestly don't know if this is real or just mocking ghost hunters but I don't care. I did some research and the company that they talk about has a real website but it's probably fake.  But like I said it starts as a ghost story, the host Alex a journalist who hears a story about a story that was researched and debunked by a company who offers a check to anyone who has a ghost story that he can't debunk. Alex then changes to researching Richard Strand of the above mentioned company The Strand Institute. And it turns out that he is involved in some weird things. Strand has these tapes that he collects from cases that

TV show I know this show isn't over but I just binged everything that's out and so I'm going to write about it because I was crazy obsessed about it. Sutton Foster (Liza) is now my queen! She plays this part perfectly! She is so awkward in a way where she knows she's lying to everyone (which she is...) So when she's trying to act younger she's awkward and when she's "acting her age" she's awkward about that! On top of Sutton Foster being brilliant, Hilary Duff, Nico Tortorella, and Debi Mazar play her crew and they are all fantastic! She goes from being alienated and lonely to having a family! It does seem a little weird when her daughter comes around but she makes it work. Also the writer and creator are Darren Star who also created Beverly Hills, 90210; Melrose Place; and Sex and the City! So he's basically TV royalty. I'll probably add to this later because it's not over but I wanted to get this information out so that peo

Movie A few years ago we learned that Star Wars was starting a new trilogy. Of course it was a big deal because Star Wars is the ultimate classic. So to prepare, my friends and I all got together and watched episodes 1-6. I slept through literally all of them... And I haven't watched any of them outside of the theater since. Don't get me wrong, I go to see all of them opening week because I do like them. My favorite is Rogue One though. This one is way better than I expected. Rey was perfect, Kylo Ren was perfect, Leia was weird because Carrie Fisher died before filming... Chewie also died but was less noticeable naturally. There were a few super crazy parts that I covered my face for. Daisy and Adam were so intense the whole time which made for epic parts. However, there were so many great nostalgic moments that I went "awww" for. There were even a few funny parts. I'm trying so hard not to spoil it but it was by far the best in this trilogy even though it

Movie Another cheesy TV movie... And this one has Alexandra Breckenridge who is a fantastic actor in my opinion. I mean, I know her from Walking Dead, She's the Man, and This is Us and she plays very different characters in all of them. Remember when I wrote about the Rob Lowe movie and said the typical Holiday movie story line is high-power executive needs an escape and runs to an old town where she meets a small town guy who she then finds the Christmas spirit with. This is that story... Claire runs away from a business failure into the arms a tiny Christmas town where she finds everything she's ever wanted including a new dream. Part of me feels like that is a spoiler but then I remember that the movie is super predictable and obvious and wonderful because I want to move to a small town to find my bliss. Don't get me wrong I'm happily married so I don't need the man part but I wish I could live happily in somewhere like Stars Hollow or Bluebell (the epitome o

Movie Yep I'm writing about a Lifetime Holiday show... I'm kind of embarrassed but truthfully, there are probably going to be a lot more this year. I have a lot more down time than I used to... And since I have said down time I am going to spend it watching all the festive movies that I can find. Anyway I chose this one for Haley James Scott AKA Bethany Joye Lenz. Which is why I watch most of the Lifetime and Hallmark movies that I do. Most of these actors are from really popular shows that they then become known for and it's hard for them to get passed it. I didn't know the dude in this one but Andrew Walker was fantastic! He was a weird kind of cocky where he's cute and all but kind of goofy but seems to just be himself. There was only one part where he was talking about "boarding" and I was like ok that's why he's considered a jerk at the beginning of the show. But even that portrayal is just his character. I am sure he's been in other o

Movie Rob Lowe and Kristen Davis come together in a very cute but kind of confusing story. I admit though, that my knowledge of Rob Lowe made it confusing to me. It was obvious that they were going to fall in love and live happily ever after but I like Rob so much in real life that I no longer like watching him fall in love with anyone except his cute wife. Also fun fact: Kate's son Luke is in real life John Owen Lowe! So not only is Rob Lowe telling someone else that he loves her his son is also calling her mom! Confusing! But there were elephants! And cool beautiful scenery! It was a really cool movie, I just had my hang ups... It was the perfect little Christmas love story. Generic but cute and fun. I guess I should tell you a little about the movie. My co-worker was making fun of me for watching it saying "let me guess, business woman goes back home and meets up with her high school love interest" and I said no the other one, "woman goes through a divorc

Movie Anna Kendrick kills in this holiday movie. She plays Santa's daughter and Bill Hader plays her older brother. At some point their dad dies and Nick (Bill) has to take over. Noelle was told as a child that Nick would eventually be Santa and Noelle's job was to bring Christmas spirit and happiness to everyone especially her brother. But when Nick panics a week before Christmas Noelle has to fix everything! I loved this movie and I'm a sucker for Anna K. She is perfect in this movie, she's so believable and lovable! Everyone else was alright, Billy Eichner is in it and he's not my favorite type of actor... There is a guy that Noelle met while in Phoenix trying to help her brother. This guy helps her and she in turn helps him but spoiler, he's not a love interest (which my friend Alyson was very upset about.) I didn't hate this because this story is telling us about independence and how loving yourself is often all you need to succeed. I think this m

Live action I always knew that I would watch this movie but I wasn't really looking forward to it... I like the classics and I knew I would like the one I was used to. I was watching it so angrily that I wasn't even scared in the gorge! I was like I have no connection to this Mufasa I don't even care! But don't worry, I still cried. The voice actors all did great though. They were believable. I don't like Seth Rogan or Billy Eichner... I find them both incredibly annoying. But I love Keegan Michael Key and Donald Glover and you know Beyoncé is kind of a big deal... Also James Earl Jones reprises his Mufasa role! Since this is such an old story I feel like everyone knows it and I don't know what to say about it. I would choose the cartoon over this one every day!