My November in Media

For someone who now has a Real Job, I was still able to see quite a few movies this month! And I'm inching closer to my goal of seeing 130 movies for the first time this year.

I'm still 19 away, but I've also still got a month. We'll see how it goes.

Here's what I saw in November:

Julie & Julia
I'd been wanting to watch this one for a while because I have a low-key goal to consume everything Nora Ephron ever wrote and also because I love Amy Adams. It was just as nice as I thought it would be. I expected it to be a nice story about two interesting women -- and it was -- but it was also a nice story about two good marriages. Nora, forever.

Postcards From the Edge
Apparently, I was on a bit of a Meryl kick this month? Anyway, I loved this. I think I would have loved it no matter what -- a story about a difficult mother and a difficult daughter is very me-targeted -- but knowing that it was inspired specifically by Carrie Fisher's relationship with her mom, Debbie Reynolds, made it even better. (Also, reminder: Bright Lights Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds is a great documentary.)

Sleeping with Other People
I didn't really know what I was getting into with this one. From the premise, it seemed like I might hate it. But I didn't! In fact, I liked it much more than I thought I was going to. It was wild and original from start to finish and made me think about shows like Love and You're the Worst and even a little Bojack Horseman (though that might have just been Alison Brie) because it's about objectively messed-up people you still root for. Plus, Jason Sudeikis is a babe.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald*
I was legitimately anxious about seeing this movie, as anyone who has talked to me in the last year could have probably guessed. I got through it with the help of alcohol to "blur my vision so Grindlewald looks less like Johnny Depp" (a real thing I said to Maggie and Melany). But you know what? It was actually fine. I even liked most of it. There were problems (oof, that ending), but overall, it was okay. It was fine. I'm fine. (Also, Jude Law? Is fine.)

A Christmas Prince, El Camino Christmas, Christmas Inheritance, The Holiday Calendar, The Princess Switch and The Christmas Chronicles
Lumping these six in together because that's exactly how I watched them. I tasked myself with watching all six of Netflix's original (live-action) Christmas movies in 24 hours for a work assignment. It was a bit of a slog, but also a fun challenge! You can follow that link to read my recaps, but here are the most important takeaway: Christmas Inheritance and The Princess Switch are both gems.

Sorry to Bother You
Well...this was wild. I had really wanted to see this film since I saw the first trailer, and for all but the last 30 minutes, it is the film the trailers promised. And then it isn't. It's something way, way weirder. I encourage you to watch it for yourself.

Die Hard
I watched this movie with a friend who wanted to settle the debate of whether it's a Christmas movie. The verdict: it is. It's also a good action movie. I've never really been able to see Bruce Willis as an Action Guy, even though that's very much what his career has made him, but I understood it in this one. A fun watch.

Dogma
My parents love this movie, and I had been trying to see it for literal years. But it's never been available online! Anywhere! (I assume the Catholic Church is responsible.) I finally got my chance this month, and I loved it. It was hilarious. Highly recommend.

The Hollars
I really liked this. It was good in that soft indie movie way of telling stories about just being messy, dumb human people. Plus, y'all know I'm an Anna Kendrick enthusiast, but she really is a very good actor.

The Big Lebowski
Finally watched this four years after an RTF professor assigned it. It was ridiculous, obviously, and I'm consistently impressed by how many things the Coen brothers are able to cram into any given movie and still have it be good.

Atonement
This was very good. I feel like sometimes, when period pieces are visually beautiful, the narrative suffers. But not this one. It is stunning, in both respects. Deeply sad and thrilling and tense in more ways than one.

I didn't watch very much TV this month, but I'm still hoping to catch up on The Haunting of Hill House and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina at some point.

I finished An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green (good, but different than I expected), Nobody Cares by Anne T. Donahue (#relatable) and Love Walked In by Marisa De Los Santos for #ICYMI Book Club (lovely). Next up for book club is Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, which is hopefully interesting because it is very long. I've also checked out The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer and Tonight the Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales, but who knows if I'll get to them. And I also wanted to reread Landline by Rainbow Rowell this holiday season, but SO MANY BOOKS, TOO LITTLE TIME.

As for music, I discovered a couple of songs this month and also started listening to the stellar Christmas mix I made last year.

Bonus gems you should check out: this piece on the alluring power of Reese Witherspoon's brand of Southern femininity; this surprisingly touching profile on Bella Thorne; this depressing, but enlightening piece on "Internet Broken Brain"; and this profile on "acclaimed actor, gazelle on two legs" Nicole Kidman.

Time to get holly jolly, y'all!