For example: I'm headed to Austin on Tuesday for a week, which will include seeing a lot of things, including but not limited to my friend's band, at least one free movie, Metallica and freaking Paul McCartney.
Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled programming. This month's media covered almost every genre, which I'm kind-of proud of, tbh.
Let Me In
I loved this! I haven't seen the Swedish original (Let The Right One In), but I thought this was a very different take on a vampire movie. Without giving too much away, the vampirism follows a lot of traditional lore, but the coming-of-age storyline it's nestled in drastically changes the overall feel. It kept surprising me the whole way through.
Byzantium
I watched this right after I finished Let Me In and, while I didn't love it quite as much, I still liked it a lot. It leans much more into the vampire tradition of "I've 'lived' a very long time," but tells it in a fairly refreshing way. I loved that the main characters were women and that female agency was a huge theme throughout. And it does something with the vampire creation trope that I've never seen before. Worth watching.
The Cloverfield Paradox
Was it as good as Cloverfield? No. Was it as good as 10 Cloverfield Lane? Absolutely not. But, I mean...it was fine. It was a basic, predictable sci-fi movie.
Kill Bill, Vol. 1 and 2
I don't like Quentin Tarantino, so I put off watching these films for a long time, even though they star a strong woman and a lot of people I respect like them. But over Labor Day weekend, I finally gave in. The first part was more or less exactly what I expected -- weird, bloody, a little campy -- but also a little bit better than I thought it would be. I was particularly impressed with the minimal profanity (for Tarantino, anyway -- both parts blessed lack that one slur he's so fond of), O-Ren Ishii and the sound editing, which was fantastic. I was less into the second part for a few reasons that are all spoilers. But I did love the Elle Driver scenes.
Sierra Burgess is a Loser
Let's get some things out of the way: Noah Centineo is very cute. And Shannon Purser is a good actress. And I really wanted to like this movie, especially when I saw that Alan Ruck was in it. But I didn't. It means well, I think? But it doesn't sell a lot of its own messages. It wants to be progressive, but it ends up creepy and often reinforcing what it's trying to critique. There were also at least three jokes that rubbed me the wrong way.
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women
This was a very interesting movie. A love story, ultimately, but an "untraditional" one. I found it got me thinking a lot about psychology and love: why we do what we do, why we want what we want and how much we're willing to sacrifice to be fulfilled. Plus, the performances were great -- Rebecca Hall's, especially.
Maria Bamford: Old Baby
I didn't love it. Maria is talented and her comedy works well at times (probably always for some), but I just couldn't get into this. I did, however, love, "I need to find a way to show people how much I love them, despite all my words and actions."
Pitch Perfect 3
I love the first Pitch Perfect film (except the puking). I like Pitch Perfect 2. This one was...fine. There were a lot of things happening that just seemed thrown into the story, and there were two relationships choices I have a Lot of negative feelings about, but overall, it was still a decent way to spend an hour and a half.
Annihilation
My first reaction to this film was, "Huh. Ok. I don't know how I feel." Then I watched it for a second time in 48 hours. I love two-thirds of this film and, upon second viewing, appreciate the ending, even if I may not necessarily "get it." As a whole, it is interesting and beautiful and tense and the actors (especially Gina Rodriguez and Tessa Thompson) give great performances. I could see myself watching it many more times.
All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records
My main takeaway from this documentary? Greed and complacency will get you every time. Overall, this doc does a good job of explaining how Tower Records became such a powerhouse retailer and stayed that way for decades (read: luck and demand). But it kind-of glosses over the "fall" aspect. We all know the story that Digital Killed the CD Star, but in the case of Tower, the people behind the curtain were just as responsible for its demise. In business, you can never just assume you'll make money forever -- and that's exactly what Russ Soloman and Co. did. (Also, I found it interesting that this film came out in 2015, but we've been seeing a vinyl revival for several years now.)
The Shape of Water
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women
This was a very interesting movie. A love story, ultimately, but an "untraditional" one. I found it got me thinking a lot about psychology and love: why we do what we do, why we want what we want and how much we're willing to sacrifice to be fulfilled. Plus, the performances were great -- Rebecca Hall's, especially.
Maria Bamford: Old Baby
I didn't love it. Maria is talented and her comedy works well at times (probably always for some), but I just couldn't get into this. I did, however, love, "I need to find a way to show people how much I love them, despite all my words and actions."
Pitch Perfect 3
I love the first Pitch Perfect film (except the puking). I like Pitch Perfect 2. This one was...fine. There were a lot of things happening that just seemed thrown into the story, and there were two relationships choices I have a Lot of negative feelings about, but overall, it was still a decent way to spend an hour and a half.
Annihilation
My first reaction to this film was, "Huh. Ok. I don't know how I feel." Then I watched it for a second time in 48 hours. I love two-thirds of this film and, upon second viewing, appreciate the ending, even if I may not necessarily "get it." As a whole, it is interesting and beautiful and tense and the actors (especially Gina Rodriguez and Tessa Thompson) give great performances. I could see myself watching it many more times.
All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records
My main takeaway from this documentary? Greed and complacency will get you every time. Overall, this doc does a good job of explaining how Tower Records became such a powerhouse retailer and stayed that way for decades (read: luck and demand). But it kind-of glosses over the "fall" aspect. We all know the story that Digital Killed the CD Star, but in the case of Tower, the people behind the curtain were just as responsible for its demise. In business, you can never just assume you'll make money forever -- and that's exactly what Russ Soloman and Co. did. (Also, I found it interesting that this film came out in 2015, but we've been seeing a vinyl revival for several years now.)
The Shape of Water
I appreciate that this film is very much a tribute to Old Hollywood and genre films, and I was really impressed with the opening sequences, score and sound editing. And overall, I thought it was...fine. Weird, sweet, fine.
Phantom Thread
At one point in this film, I (weirdly?) decided it's like chocolate-covered caramel: slow, smooth and satisfying. The aesthetics are nice, but it's a performance-driven film all the way and they are great performances. Who knew asparagus could be so exasperating? Pouring water into a glass so tense? The whole thing crackles with menace.
This month, my music discoveries were just as varied as my movie choices. And so were the books I read! First up, I finished The End of Everything by Megan Abbott, which was just as weird and intense as I expected. Then I plowed through Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, which was so good I've thought about it basically every day since. Also in good reads: these fantastic profiles on Maya Rudolph, John C. Reilly and Noah Centineo (he really is Like That™ all the time) and this piece on the soft politics of blockbuster films.
Happy fall, y'all!
Phantom Thread
At one point in this film, I (weirdly?) decided it's like chocolate-covered caramel: slow, smooth and satisfying. The aesthetics are nice, but it's a performance-driven film all the way and they are great performances. Who knew asparagus could be so exasperating? Pouring water into a glass so tense? The whole thing crackles with menace.
This month, my music discoveries were just as varied as my movie choices. And so were the books I read! First up, I finished The End of Everything by Megan Abbott, which was just as weird and intense as I expected. Then I plowed through Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, which was so good I've thought about it basically every day since. Also in good reads: these fantastic profiles on Maya Rudolph, John C. Reilly and Noah Centineo (he really is Like That™ all the time) and this piece on the soft politics of blockbuster films.
Happy fall, y'all!
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