I rewatched Ice Princess (2005) over the weekend, and I have to say, this movie holds up.

There is something timeless about Ice Princess that I fear doesn't exist in movies made for kids anymore. It has this sincerity to it. It takes its characters seriously. It takes the audience seriously. It doesn't feel like it's winking at the adults in the room every five seconds or desperately trying to convince you that it's cool.

And honestly, after watching Camp Rock 3 a couple of weeks ago, I have reached a conclusion:

The kids are not alright.

When HBO announced Euphoria was finally returning, I was ready and eager to receive this final season. I wasn't prepared for just how surreal it would feel to be watching this show again in the year of our lord, 2026.

It's been years since the Season 2 finale. In that time, the world has changed, the cast has changed, the television landscape has changed—and honestly, so have I. I watched Season 2 every Sunday in 2022 from my smoke-damaged couch in the living room of my first Los Angeles apartment. I watched the Season 3 Premiere from my living room in Madison, Wisconsin. This made the whole experience feel nostalgic and uncanny at the same time.

That's probably the best word I have for this premiere: uncanny.

My journey as a film student and a filmmaker has been heavily, heavily influenced by her [Gerwig] and her contribution to the film industry. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the doors she’s opened for women and girls like myself who are looking to write and direct their own films. Having said all of that, one may find it shocking, perhaps even disturbing that I only recently watched Frances Ha (2013) for the first time.

Whenever something scared me as a kid, I did my best not to think about it. I would avoid any and all things that reminded me of whatever it was that I saw on TV that freaked me out a bit. However, once I really started to become afraid of death and dying, I couldn't get enough of it. I couldn't look away from the TV when stuff about war or 9/11 came on. I didn't like it, but I also couldn't look away.

Tonight I watched White Noise. A film about death.