I am now in the fifth season of Mad Men. I knew if I started to watch it I will be addicted to it. What I love about the serious is the drinking. From the sounds (of bottle caps popping, ice dropping on the glass, and liquor being poured into the cup) to the expressions (the way the characters hold their cup, take a sip, and engulf the spirit), drinking takes center of the series. They drink to celebrate. They drink when they get upset. They drink for almost in any occasion and at any time of the day. As a result, I like to drink when I watch them drink. It’s part of the escaping experience. I like to drink, but I am not an alcoholic. The people around me don’t drink so I drink with the Mad Men. It’ll be sad when I get through the entire series, but for now I am enjoying it.

Our Đán is a dinosaur lover; therefore, I took the boys to screen it on Thanksgiving day at noon. Khôi, Đán’s cousin walked out of the theater mid way through, but both Đán and Đạo stayed in for the entire film despite a few frightening moments. As with most of Pixar’s films, The Good Dinosaur is visually stunning complemented with heartfelt story. I personally enjoyed it. The boys liked it as well.

Ms. Johnson ends her latest NetFlix special, Not Fancy, with her mockery of Vietnamese accent at the nail salon. Her imitation is no longer offensive, it is just pure lazy. If she wanted to make fun of a foreign language, she at least should have learned it first or done some research. Her gibberish came off stupid, if not stereotypical, even though that was not her intention. Ms. Johnson is not the extreme type of comedian because most of her materials were lighthearted and she hardly used profanity. Not Fancy is an enjoyable PG entertainment if you can get past her somewhat irritating pitch.

Demetri Martin’s Live (At the Time) is a Twitter-style comedy. He had gone through an hour of one-liners like: “I want to see a snake eat spaghetti;” “Fall is the only season that has two names, as if it has gone through a sex change;” and “I think Jesus was one of the first scarecrows.” They are short, but  well-crafted. Though not a fan of quick jokes,  I still find this routine enjoyable.

Norton tackles sex, race, gun, and technology with an unfiltered sense of humor. His jokes are brutal but brilliant. For instance, he praised Joan Rivers and offered to eat her pussy. Watch Contextually Inadequate on Netflix for some dark, entertaining comic.

The kids had been bugging me to take them to see Minions. We went last weekend, but it was sold out. I didn’t think the movie was going to be that good; therefore, I was not aware that it would be sold out. Took them out again this afternoon. It turned out I was right. The film was not that entertaining, but the boys seemed to enjoy it and I was able to just relax for an hour and a half. They ate almost the entire big bucket of popcorn.

An emotional documentary about Tig Notaro, a comedian who had Clostridium difficile, lost her mother, and diagnosed with breast cancer. Out of devastation, she turned to comedy and transformed the art of dark humor. The realness in her struggles came though in her performance at the Largo, a Los Angeles comedy club. Tig is fascinating film on lost, conquer, love, and comedy. A must-watch if you have Netflix.

Forty minutes into Chris Tucker’s Netflix special and I gave up. Although I could only get through half of his show, I predicted that I was not going to get any thoughtful material from him. He was just clowning too much. Sorry Chris.

Like filmaker Liz Garbus, I listened and loved the fascinating music of Nina Simone (her raspy voice, piano skills, and fearless song choices) for years, but I have not had a chance to learn about her life. Fortunately, Garbus had done all the hard work to create a striking documentary on Ms. Simone. Garbus’s sources came from Ms. Simone’s own voice speaking about her own life, diaries, and performances. She also conducted interviews with the people who were closest to Ms. Simone including her abusive husband, long-time guitarist Al Schackman, and beautiful daughter Simone Kelly. What Happened, Miss Simone? is a masterpiece that sheds the light on her life, which filled with turbulence such as fame, violence, and racism, and how it shaped her music and personality. It’s a must-watch on NetFlix for fans of Ms. Simone.

The interview with Liz Garbus about the film is also worth a read.

Took the boys to see Inside Out. With a big bucket of popcorn and comfortable couches at Regal Cinema, they made it through the entire movie even though they didn’t get the concept at all. This is definitely another groundbreaking work from the creative minds at Pixar. The storyline and the execution are superb as always. So glad to see they continue to push the envelope.