Going Woke - An Update

At the time of writing, we have a new live action version of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" that has recently premiered on Netflix.  Unlike the film adaptation from 2010, "The Last Airbender," this version has a much more diverse cast.  We can argue about the relative quality of the productions, but I already count this as a major win and a welcome sign of the times.  Part of the reason I started this blog back in 2010 was because I needed somewhere to vent about how Hollywood was handling "The Last Airbender" and other projects where Asian characters kept being cast with white actors.

And now it's 2024, and the old practice of whitewashing POC characters is firmly outdated and unacceptable.  Despite some setbacks, we are consistently seeing more representation of minority groups onscreen.  Moreover, it's common practice to cast POC actors in roles that previously went to white actors, which has sometimes caused a lot of controversy.  I've already written posts about this topic, like Who Gets To Exist in Fantasy Media?, so I won't rehash it all here.  But to sum up, I don't think that the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction, and I strongly believe that Hollywood still needs to be mindful of inclusion and representation.  

The past few years have been very encouraging as we've watched the talent pool diversity.  These last few months have been all about Native American representation, with "Killers of the Flower Moon," "True Detective: Night Country," "Echo," and the last season of "Reservation Dogs" all making waves.  A year ago, the big push was for Asian-American talent to be recognized, with "Everything, Everywhere, All at Once" and "Beef" getting lots of attention.  However, even when the attention dies down, the awareness remains.  The actors and filmmakers get more work and more opportunities.  Other projects about Asian-Americans and Native Americans and African Americans and Latinos and other minority communities get made.  Could "Joy Ride," a raunchy comedy with four Asian-American female leads, have made it to the big screen five years ago?  How about a "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" adaptation with an interracial couple, neither of them Caucasian?    

It's being proven over and over again that there is room for everybody.  And it's so much better when there is room for everybody.  You simply can't make the excuse anymore that a POC lead or a POC story won't sell, because after "Bridgerton" and "Black Panther" and "Crazy Rich Asians," and "Abbott Elementary," and "Ghosts," it's clear that they do.  You can't argue that the talent isn't there to cast POC roles correctly, because now we can point to excellent Middle Eastern leading men and South Asian leading ladies, and there are more breaking out every day.  I love that up and coming stars like Ayo Edibiri and Charles Melton aren't automatically being talked about in terms of their race or their skin color like they might have ten years ago.  I love that there's less ghettoization of media - there are plenty of shows made with specific audiences in mind, but I'm not going to be asked why I'm watching that "black" show or movie, the way I remember being asked when I was a kid.  And since "Squid Game" conquered Netflix,  American viewers finally seem more willing to explore foreign television.   

At the same time, there have been massive strides in LGBT representation over the last fifteen years.  For a point of reference, "Modern Family" started in 2009, a year before "The Last Airbender" movie.  Transgender representation in particular has made such significant leaps that cisgender actors playing transgender roles isn't really okay anymore.  It feels like we're still taking baby steps with nonbinary representation, but it's been exciting seeing that community start to make some progress too.  None of this is happening in a vacuum and all of this matters.    

Of course, the culture war rages on.  There are people who want to pretend it's still 2010, and being white, male, straight and cisgender is the default.  And there's still plenty of media to cater to their tastes.  Half of this year's Best Picture nominees hardly have any POC presence at all.  When you get past all those nicely packaged narratives about how representation matters, and look at the numbers, there's always plenty of room for improvement.

I celebrate our victories, but I believe in constant vigilance.

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My Top Ten Films of 1940

This post is part of my ongoing project to create Top Ten movie lists for the years before I began this blog, working my way as far back as I can.  Below, find my Top Ten films for 1940, unranked.

Rebecca - This is one of my favorite Hitchcock films, because it's also a love story and a Gothic romance.  Before we even get to Manderley and Mrs. Danvers and the presence of the dead first Mrs. De Winter, there's a whole suspenseful, delightful act where Joan Fontaine escapes her dreary life, to run away with Laurence Olivier.  Plenty of psychological horror films have tread in the footsteps of "Rebecca," but few have created such atmosphere, such performances, and such mystery.

 

Pinocchio - A disaster for Disney at the time of release, but one that's become a classic and a cornerstone for all animation.  The ambitious technical leaps, the intensely dramatic story, and the painstakingly laboriously little details of the artistry all paid off.  "Pinocchio" is one of the best films ever made, a fable for learning to be the best version of yourself and confronting a dangerous and unpredictable world.  I loved it as a child and I love it just as much as an adult.   

The Grapes of Wrath - My favorite John Ford film.  I've always loved the Steinbeck book, and while the film version is an imperfect adaptation, it has its heart in the right place.  It's an earnest attempt to capture the struggle of migrant farmers escaping the Dust Bowl, offering an unblinking depiction of the poverty and hardship they faced.  The clip of Henry Fonda is a favorite for movie montages, but Jane Darwell's iron-willed Ma Joad is easily the film's most memorable character.  

The Great Dictator - The last indisputable Chaplin masterpiece, and arguably the last time that Charlie Chaplin would appear as The Tramp, though here he's called the Barber.  It's a WWII satire that takes direct aim at Hitler, includes some wonderfully funny scenes of physical comedy and priceless sight gags, and isn't afraid to stand against tyranny.  The final speech is Chaplin's emotional appeal to the world to embrace humanity and value peace.  It's as resonant today as it ever was.

Fantasia - Easily the most fascinating experiment in animation that Disney was ever responsible for.  This was a "concert feature," intending to be a combination of classical music concert and animated spectacular.  The "Nutcracker Suite" is my favorite segment, but the film offers so many wonders, from the abstract visuals accompanying to "Toccata and Fugue" to the hilarity of "Dance of the Hours," to Mickey Mouse's greatest screen appearance in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice."

His Girl Friday - One of the greatest comedies of all time, or at least the one with the most rapid fire dialogue.  Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant play a reporter and editor who also happen to be a divorced couple on their way to patching things up.  There are a ton of film innovations here, including the use of ad libs, fourth wall breaking, overlapping dialogue, and several innovations in editing, all helping to make this one of the most breathlessly lively and energetic films of its era.  

My Favorite Wife - Cary Grant and Irene Dunne follow up "The Awful Truth" with a tale of a supposedly dead wife who comes back into her husband's life at a very inconvenient time.  Grant is at his silliest and most loveable, despite being an awful coward, while Dunne lights up the screen and plays dirty.  The film never quite slips into slapstick, but has a lot of good screwball  laughs, while all the heartwarming bits play.  Special kudos go to Granville Bates as the pompous, flabbergasted judge.     

Pride and Prejudice - The one with Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson.  I like this version because it's got a great sense of humor, full of wonderful supporting character actors like Edmund Gwenn and Mary Boland as the Bennett parents, and the glorious Edna Mae Oliver as the imposing Lady Cathering de Bourgh.  Purists may quibble with the story changes (mostly demanded by the Production Code), but it nails the satire of British society and the romance isn't too shabby either.

The Shop Around the Corner - One of the best Ernst Lubitsch films pairs Margaret Sullavan and Jimmy Stewart as a pair of rival shop clerks who have unknowingly fallen in love with each other through secret letters.  This was remade several times, perhaps most memorably in "You've Got Mail," and popularized the anonymous lovers trope in countless other films.  Sullavan had a brief career and a tragic life, and was also a highlight of "The Mortal Storm" with Stewart in the same year.

The Thief of Baghdad - This is the lone non-American film on this list for this year, a big budget Alexander Korda adventure spectacular that I consider the best of these "Arabian Night" style fantasy pastiches.  Sabu stars as the titular thief, who may not be properly Middle Eastern, but was as good as we were going to get in 1940.  Some of the images, particularly the fantasy landscapes and the special effects sequences of the genies, remain impressive to this day.

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"Femme" is Fierce

The erotic thriller genre isn't one I'm too fond of, because the gender politics have often been very skewed and there are bad cliches all over the place.  "Femme," however, which is an LGBT erotic thriller, manages to take some of these cliches and do something different with them.  The contrivances are no more believable than you'd see in something like last year's "Fair Play" or "Sanctuary," but because of the dynamics in play, and the danger still inherent in being out and proud in many places, "Femme" feels much closer to life, with more serious stakes, than any other romantic thriller I've seen in a long time.

Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) is a gay black Londoner who performs in drag under the name Aphrodite.  One night he's brutally attacked by a group of thugs, and becomes withdrawn.  He stops performing or appearing in drag.  Still in recovery, Jules visits a bathhouse and unexpectedly sees his primary attacker.  This is Preston (George Mackay), who is so deep in the closet that he's created a hyper-masculine facade for himself, hangs out with drug dealers, and tends to fly into violent rages when he feels threatened.  Preston doesn't recognize Jules, but is attracted to him and shows interest. Jules decides to take the opportunity to have his revenge, seducing Preston with the intent to film one of their encounters and expose him.     

Written and directed by newcomers Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping, "Femme" exists in a nocturnal world of nightclubs, convenience stores, bedrooms, and darkened streets.  It feels very much like a no-frills indie production, which suits the subject matter.  The sexuality is very raw, with multiple sex scenes being central to the plot, and some deliberately shot to emulate pornography.  Likewise, the violence is very tactile, especially the initial attack sequence that leaves Jules shattered.  There's always a looming, palpable sense of danger as Jules and Preston's relationship progresses.  The situation is volatile, and everyone is lying.  Both of our leads are performing what they think the other wants, but as they genuinely start to connect, the lines get blurry.  Through the relationship, they find they can explore different sides of themselves as the power dynamics shift and change.  

The performances are what make this unlikely story work.  Stewart-Jarrett and Mackay are constantly juggling all these different versions of Preston and Jules as they struggle to adapt to each new situation and phase of their relationship.  They code-switch repeatedly, depending on the environment, who they're with, the context of the interactions, and their relative level of comfort.  Jules as over-the-top Aphrodite is very different from the accommodating Jules who is trying to keep Preston's interest, and the bolder, more dominant Jules who reads as straight enough to hang with Preston's crew.  Which of these versions of Jules is Preston responding to, and are any of them really Jules at all?  

Speaking of Preston, covered in tattoos and forever posturing, he comes across as more and more vulnerable as the film goes on.  Mackay is genuinely threatening in the early scenes, spewing toxic masculinity every time he opens his mouth.  But put him in a different context, and suddenly the behavior is self-hatred.  Watch him in his chosen environment, with his friends, and suddenly the behavior is self-preservation.  Preston's paranoia about being outed makes perfect sense, and so does his violence - he's embodying all the homophobia he's afraid will be turned on him.  The performance is genuinely moving, as it becomes clear that Preston may not actually want to live like this.         

We don't see this side of the LGBT experience very often in mainstream cinema, which often goes with the broadest stereotypes and assumes all gay men act a certain way and exist in a certain familiar cultural milieu.  "Femme" is far more nuanced, acknowledging the complicated implications of femme and masc behaviors, unhealthy relationships and coping mechanisms, and that doxxing and revenge porn can get someone killed. The premise is salacious on its surface, but fascinating when you look at all the different issues of identity and psychology being explored.  

This feels like uncharted territory, if only because this is the first time I've seen many of these themes addressed through such an intimate lens.  "Femme" really should be getting more attention, but it was a great movie year, and it's fallen through the cracks a bit.  It's a shame, because I can't wait to see more from everyone involved.

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The 2023 Movies I Didn't See

I write this post every year to acknowledge some of the movies that I've made a conscious decision not to watch despite my having access to them.  In some cases there's a reason, and in some cases I just can't work up the enthusiasm.  I'm a completionist, and my hope is that by hashing out my thought process here, I can put any lingering doubts to rest.   I reserve the right to revisit and reverse my viewing choices in the future. However, I still haven't watched anything from last year's list. 

"Five Nights at Freddy's" - This was a big enough hit at the box office that I was tempted to check out the movie just to have a point of reference.  However, every review I encountered was bad, and in some cases not just bad but bottom-of-the-barrel awful.  Horror's already a rough genre for me, and I've skipped a bunch of other recent horror titles like "Skinamarink" and "Terrifier 2."  The only thing that gives me doubts is that the few good reviews suggest that this is very much a kids' film, so I could probably handle any scares.  However, that's not a good enough argument for me to watch the movie.

"Chevalier" - I was looking forward to this biopic of Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint Georges, because there was a poster for it in the local multiplex for a few months.  However, I seem to have completely missed the release, and there was zero critical chatter for it from any of the media outlets I follow.  Reviews seem to be decent, and the cast looks good, but there's just zero buzz, which I don't take as a promising sign.  It was a very good year for movies and there's been too much on my plate, so unless I come across this on a long airplane flight in the future, I'm content to let it slip through the cracks.

"Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken" and "Under the Boardwalk" - I generally make a point to seek out under-the-radar animated films when I can, but this year I hit my limit.  I just couldn't bring myself to watch the latest Dreamworks film, "Ruby Gillman," starring another self-conscious young heroine who learns she's special, and has to contend with snobs and social media bullying.  The character designs just looked awful.  Likewise, if you thought "Elemental" looked generic, how about the same story but told with hermit crabs?   "Under the Boardwalk" might be a good movie, looking at the talent involved, but it barely got a theatrical release and was dumped on VOD with no fanfare last fall.  I think I can let this one go, along with the latest "Monkey King" (how many Monkey King movies do we need?!) and "The Magician's Elephant."

"Shortcomings" - As an Asian-American who has been cheerleading the rise of more Asian-American led films for a long time now, I meant to see Randall Park's directorial debut, "Shortcomings."  I really did.  I like Justin Min and Sherry Cola.  The film is set right where I used to live in the East Bay.  However, I had a tough time getting through "Beef" and "Joyride" last year, and decided "Shortcomings" could wait.  And that's still where I am with the film.  I'm thrilled that it got made, but I feel absolutely no urgency about actually sitting down and watching this one.    

"Flora and Son" - I'm one of those people who likes John Carney movies, but at the same time finds them really, really annoying.  Music may be our salvation, but listening to the characters in his films prattle on about it makes me roll my eyes.  After watching the trailer for "Flora and Son," all I could think was that I'd already seen this movie before, and I couldn't tell if it was being done well this time or not.  The general lack of critical buzz around the film led me to conclude it was one I could probably miss.  Sorry Eve Hewson. I'll probably see you in something else soon.

"The Marsh King's Daughter" - I want Daisy Ridley to have a successful career, but she keeps showing up in movies like this, which I just don't have any interest in whatsoever.  As for director Neil Burger, I can't remember the last film of his I've liked.  I don't think one exists.  Would I have watched this if it was Morten Tyldum directing and Alicia Vikander starring, as originally planned?  I don't know, but the odds would be much better.    

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"30 Rock" Years Two and Three

I forgot the way that sitcom episodes tend to blur into each other.  Even a show as densely written as "30 Rock" is designed to be easily bingeable and I was at the end of season three before I knew it.  I find it easiest to keep track of passing time through whoever Jack and Liz are dating, and we've just wrapped up the Salma Hayek and Jon Hamm era.  I remember watching a couple of these episodes back during the original run, and it's been nice to fill in some blanks and get some closure on some of the storylines.

The show has hit its stride.  Like all successful sitcoms, "30 Rock" has found its formula and is sticking to it.  The A stories involve Jack or Liz dealing with their personal lives and romantic partners.  The B stories involve hijinks with Jenna, Tracy, or Kenneth.  Josh (Lonny Ross) has mostly been phased out and I don't think Rachel Dratch is coming back.  Jonathan (Maulik Pancholy), Jack's assistant, has ascended to the level of sturdy recurring character, similar to Lutz (J.D. Lutz) or Toofer (Keith Bowden).  I still don't know which of Tracy's bodyguards is Grizz (Grizz Chapman) and which is Dot Com (Kevin Brown), but I promise that I'm working on it.  

All the characters are more firmly established and leaning into broader comedy, so they get dumber and sillier more often.  Kenneth's not just a hick, but one of the "Hill People," the son of a pig farmer, and has a rural aphorism for every occasion.  Tracy seems to vacillate between being dumb as a rock and just pretending to be dumb as a rock.  Jenna is getting more fame hungry and vain.  To be fair, the show keeps trying to push back against us getting too comfortable with the status quo, such as the time Jenna was fat for a chunk of season two, or Tracy's skeevy pornographic video game actually paying off and making him millions.  There's also an admirable amount of continuity, with running jokes and callbacks trying to keep some baseline reality consistent throughout.

I like that Liz is allowed to be more of a mess as time goes on.  The show is often at its best when she's at her worst - plotting to adopt a baby through unethical means or revealing that she was a bully in high school.  Meanwhile, Jack has gotten cuddlier, still a staunch creature of business and capitalism, but we can root for him to make up with his estranged father (Alan Alda) or find love with a Democratic congresswoman (Edie Falco).  They're the best characters by default, because they're the most well rounded and the least caricatured.  I know Liz will finally find love in the later seasons of the show and I'm looking forward to it.  

Anticipating an eventual Top Ten list of episodes, I've been keeping an eye out for highlights, and it's been tough.  The episodes really do all seem to blur together after a while, though I've been careful not to watch more than three episodes at a time.  The workplace comedy structure is loose enough that it can accommodate the occasional wild tangent, like the kidney telethon in the finale of season three, or just letting Tim Conway wander the network's halls and say outrageous things for an episode.  However, these format-breaking episodes are rarer than I was hoping for.   

I'm going to keep watching, because "30 Rock" is a fun show, but I'm not connecting to it in the way that I did with "Parks and Rec" or "Community" or some of my other favorites from this era of television.  I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop - maybe for "TGS" to be canceled or for Liz to be fired so we can really see how everyone ticks - and I suspect that "30 Rock" just isn't that kind of sitcom.  There's character progression, but it's slow and meandering.  The characters are fun to watch, but none are people I'd actually want to hang out with.  Well, maybe Jack for purely aesthetic reasons.      

I'm seriously considering starting another, more recent sitcom to watch alongside this, so I have something to compare and contrast to.  Stay tuned.

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The New "Shogun"

The 1980 "Shogun" miniseries was one of the major prestige television events of its era.  I've never seen it, though the fact that the miniseries never bothered to subtitle the spoken Japanese doesn't strike me as a promising indicator of its quality.  The 2024 "Shogun" from FX arrives in a totally different television landscape, where prestige miniseries are very common, and audiences are more familiar with Japanese culture.  Even with my limited knowledge of the original, it's evident that the new "Shogun" is a far more nuanced, ambitious work that more than lives up to its predecessor.

Adapting a James Clavell novel based loosely on the life of William Adams, "Shogun" follows the adventures of a 17th century English sailor, John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), who is shipwrecked in Japan.  He eventually becomes a vassal of the daimyo Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), who is trying to maneuver his way into the role of shogun, a dominant warlord who can unite a divided Japan.  Other major characters include Blackthorne's translator Lady Mariko (Anna Sawai) and her husband Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe), Toranaga's scheming underling Yabushige (Tadanobu Asano), a political rival Ishido (Takehiro Hida), and finally Lady Fumi (Moeka Hoshi), the widow of a recently deceased samurai.

Reportedly the most expensive FX series ever made, "Shogun" takes pains to establish the authenticity of its vision of 17th century Japan.  The show was created by Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, and shot mostly in Vancouver.  However, the script was written to appeal to both American and Japanese viewers, with many little cultural nuances in the Japanese dialogue that Western viewers will likely miss.  The language barrier is handled extremely well, with the common tongue being identified as Portuguese - but actually spoken as English because this is an American backed production.  You get a sense of the cultural divide from both perspectives in a way that I've rarely seen in Western media.  The participation of several Japanese writers and producers, including Sanada, clearly helped immensely.      

And make no mistake that Sanada is the lead of the series.  John Blackthorne's "Stranger in a Strange Land" struggles serve as a good entryway into this universe, but the political maneuverings of Toranaga (a thinly disguised Ieyasu Tokugawa) and the other daimyo is the main event.  This is a series where viewers would benefit from having some familiarity with Japanese history and classical literature.  There are multiple Japanese POV characters, including Mariko and Yabushige, who each give us different perspectives on the strict honor-bound culture.  Seppuku is a common occurrence, thoroughly discussed and put into context with multiple examples, to ensure the cultural underpinnings are crystal clear.  Blackthorne's story does hit a few of the usual white savior tropes, but he isn't in this story to save the Japanese, but rather to be civilized and redeemed by their example.   

The world of "Shogun" is immaculately realized, rivaling the fantasy kingdoms of "Game of Thrones" and any other blockbuster epic you could name.  The art direction is gorgeous, and offers plenty of  spectacle, recreating period sailing ships, castles, armies, and cities.  There's an episode entirely built around Blackthorne teaching Toranaga's men cannon warfare, and another featuring a visit to the "willow world" of a famous courtesan.  The show's violence is brutal and graphic, but not exploitative.  It's used for worldbuilding and character building rather than easy shocks.  I love the sound design, including a finale that makes wonderful use of long silences.  

In the end, the performances were what I was the most impressed with.  Hiroyuki Sanada and Tadanobu Asano are absolutely magnificent when given the opportunity to work with great material.  I was impressed with Anna Sawai in "Monarch" earlier this year, but I'm thrilled to see her become a full fledged leading lady as the indomitable Mariko.  Her negotiation scenes are as tense and exciting as any of the action sequences.  As for Cosmo Jarvis, I certainly won't keep confusing him with Tom Hardy after this.    

"Shogun" is a rare experience in a crowded season of splashy television projects, a miniseries that truly feels like an event.  It may not have the big marquee stars, but the level of quality is truly exceptional, and can only hope it sets the standard for every Western foray into jidaigeki to come.    

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My Top Ten Episodes of "Gravity Falls"

The episodes below are unranked and ordered by airdate.  Moderate spoilers ahead.

"Double Dipper" - The one with the Dipper clones.  I like how "Gravity Falls" always plays the kids' personal quandaries completely straight, and uses them to anchor the supernatural hijinks.  Dipper's worries over trying to impress Wendy result in a clone army that eventually needs to be dispatched in some disturbing ways.  Also, Wendy finds her peer group - two friends and one rival.  

"The Time Traveler's Pig" - The first Blendin Blandin adventure, but crucially not his first appearance in the show.  Dipper abusing time travel to keep Wendy and Robbie apart is just wrong enough that it feels like there are real stakes here, even before we learn Mabel's happiness also hangs in the balance.  The other major character introduced in this episode is, of course, Waddles, everyone's favorite pig.  

"Summerween" - I love that we get a Halloween episode in the middle of summer, because Gravity Falls is the kind of place where they'd celebrate it twice a year.  While there are scares galore, the episode also gets points for getting the actual experience of trick-or-treating right - the discussions of loser candy, Dipper feeling weird about matching costumes, and the bittersweet inevitability of outgrowing the activity.   

"Carpet Diem" - It's a body switching episode!  Mabel and Dipper fight over a newly discovered room in the Mystery Shack, and learn that the rug has body-switching capabilities.  There are so many good gags in this one, especially as the body swapping madness soon expands to everyone else in the Mystery Shack, including Soos and Waddles.  Dipper's distaste for sleepovers is also completely reasonable and hilarious.

"Blendin's Game" - Blendin returns with revenge in mind, but it's not the main event.  This turns out to be my favorite Soos episode, really the only one that seriously explores him as a character and reveals a big, sad, absence in his life.  Soos works best as comic relief, but the episode really earned its tear-jerking payoff.  Of course Soos values the Pines as his real family because of their actions, and of course he'd use the greatest power in the universe for their benefit in the end.

"Northwest Mansion Mystery" - It's always nice when a kids' show redeems its villains, and "Gravity Falls" devoted several episodes to showing the better sides of Dipper and Mabel's first season rivals.  Here, we've got privileged Pacifica Northwest breaking the cycle of generations of horrible deeds committed by her family, with a little help and encouragement from the Pines.  Mabel and Candy learning not to underestimate Grenda is also  pretty sweet.

"Not What He Seems" - We finally find out what Stan has been up to since the end of the first season, and more importantly so do the kids.  The gravity fluctuations are exciting to watch, and animated beautifully.  The law enforcement characters have never felt like more of a real threat.  And the finale with the portal on the verge of opening is probably the most intense sequence in the entire show.  Ford eventually thanked Stan, but did he ever thank Mabel?    

"Roadside Attraction" - First, I love the road trip aspect of this episode, and all the different, wacky tourist traps that the Pines visit and prank along the way.  Second, I appreciate that Dipper gets a chance to really grow and learn here, actively working on talking to girls until he gets to be pretty good at it.  Finally, what other show is going to have a giant spider lady luring Stan into her clutches with an over-tanned human disguise? 

"Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future" - Good grief, Bill Cipher is a scary villain, even if he only shows up here at the very end.  The rest of the episode shows a realistic rift developing between the twins, and Mabel getting a harsh wake-up call about her impending future.  The show never seemed so bleak, setting up the big three-part finale that will find the twins confronting the fact that they really could end up just like Stan and Ford. 

"Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back the Falls" - The final battle ensues, and summer comes to an end.  It's a little rushed, even though it's a double episode, but I so appreciate a good ending where everything gets wrapped up, and "Gravity Falls" delivers.  The mecha Mystery Shack with a T-rex for a hand is so nuts and so very "Gravity Falls."  And the bus driver being voiced by Kyle McLachlan is the final cherry on the cake.

Honorable mentions:  "Tourist Trapped," "The Hand That Rocks the Mabel," "Land Before Swine," "Dreamscaperers," "Gideon Rises," "Love God," "The Last Mabelcorn," "Weirdmageddon: Xpcveaoqfoxso"

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