Only clocked eight films in February, but they were all completely different!
Isn't It Romantic?*
Full disclosure: I saw Isn't It Romantic? immediately after a karaoke party where I had three drink tickets. So, my opinion may be...skewed. That being said, this film is a masterpiece. It's a satire of rom-coms that clearly still loves rom-coms, which is a stance I can fully relate to. The whole cast is great and there are two (2) musical numbers. It's so much fun.
Amanda Seales: I Be Knowin'
I haven't watched Insecure, so I went into this special not knowing anything about Amanda Seales. But it was great! There is one bad joke (you'll know it when you hear it), but the rest is delightful and Seales's vocal inflections and physical comedy take it over-the-top. I was laughing out loud the whole time.
Personal Shopper
Weird, but interesting. It left me with a detached, indifferent feeling -- but I think that was intentional, based on the film's overall tone. One nice thing: Kristen Stewart Shawn Hunters her hair a lot.
Velvet Buzzsaw
Everyone kept saying this film was aesthetically pleasing, but empty. And that's true, to an extent. Overall, I found it more engaging than I expected to -- but it suffers from bad effects and clunky acting, even from the handful of good actors that are in it. As far as "movies with themes of obsession and/or insanity starring Jake Gyllenhaal" go (there are...a lot), I'd put it above Nocturnal Animals (a truly empty film), below basically all the rest and nowhere near Nightcrawler, the last collab between Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo and director Dan Gilroy. One pro: I love an animated credit sequence.
The Fast and The Furious
Listen. I could've probably gone my entire life without seeing a single Fast and Furious movie and been fine. I'd made it this long. But, I decided to give one (1) a chance. It was...very fast. Very furious. And incredibly dumb. But, it ended up being pretty fun to heckle.
Deadpool 2 (Super Duper Cut)
There's no way this movie could have been as good as the first one — and it isn't. But it's still pretty enjoyable. Would've been better with way less Russell (like, maybe no Russell? I realize he's like...the main plot, but meh) and more Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Coolest name ever.
Final Destination
I watched this on a whim because I've been making "Final Destination death" jokes for over a decade anyway. And I actually liked it! It's very unique and pretty entertaining, and it made me want to watch the rest, even though it seems like they all have the exact same plot.
Copycat
This was a decent '90s thriller. It mostly felt like if Criminal Minds had been shot at the same time as The X Files (there was even a tall, dark-headed male FBI agent and a short, redheaded female FBI agent), with obvious influence from The Silence of the Lambs. It had a few plot threads that seemed totally pointless and the 1995 tech did not age well. But overall, it was fine.
I also watched all of Netflix's Russian Doll, and you absolutely should too. It has Natasha Lyonne in it, so it's automatically good, but it's also very well-written, visually interesting and surprisingly touching. I liked it so much. Also, read this Natasha Lyonne profile while you're at it.
On the other hand, I also watched all of Hulu's PEN15, which I'm conflicted about. It's weird and incredibly cringy, but pretty true to life. If you went to a public middle school in the '00s, it will ring familiar and also make you want to Eternal Sunshine everything you did in that time from the brains of everyone who knew you.
I read the bulk of Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell, but still haven't finished it. I really enjoyed two of the stories (the titular tale and "Reeling for the Empire," which is fantastic), but the others haven't dazzled me.
Great web things I read this month: a piece on the messy humanness of Ariana Grande's recent work; an article on how Rihanna always serves nothing but Looks; a profile of Lizzo, who I'm obsessed with, which has an incredible headline; an investigative piece about former MySpace Queen Audrey Kitching who is, apparently, still an Internet phony, though a very different kind; and this amazing article about the shape-shifting power of Lady Gaga that I somehow missed in October. Also, of course I loved the Rolling Stone Stevie Nicks interview conducted by Rob Sheffield. Everything she says is the greatest thing anyone has ever said.
Unintentionally, most of the songs I discovered in February were love-related. The sticky sweet Valentine's Day propaganda got me! (On that note, I also put a dumb amount of work into making my Instagram grid pink-tinted this month.) But there were only six new-to-me songs, so I just combined my January and February playlists into one.
Bye, February! You were very stressful, but you fortified me for the craziness of SXSW. Let the chaos commence!
Personal Shopper
Weird, but interesting. It left me with a detached, indifferent feeling -- but I think that was intentional, based on the film's overall tone. One nice thing: Kristen Stewart Shawn Hunters her hair a lot.
Velvet Buzzsaw
Everyone kept saying this film was aesthetically pleasing, but empty. And that's true, to an extent. Overall, I found it more engaging than I expected to -- but it suffers from bad effects and clunky acting, even from the handful of good actors that are in it. As far as "movies with themes of obsession and/or insanity starring Jake Gyllenhaal" go (there are...a lot), I'd put it above Nocturnal Animals (a truly empty film), below basically all the rest and nowhere near Nightcrawler, the last collab between Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo and director Dan Gilroy. One pro: I love an animated credit sequence.
The Fast and The Furious
Listen. I could've probably gone my entire life without seeing a single Fast and Furious movie and been fine. I'd made it this long. But, I decided to give one (1) a chance. It was...very fast. Very furious. And incredibly dumb. But, it ended up being pretty fun to heckle.
Deadpool 2 (Super Duper Cut)
There's no way this movie could have been as good as the first one — and it isn't. But it's still pretty enjoyable. Would've been better with way less Russell (like, maybe no Russell? I realize he's like...the main plot, but meh) and more Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Coolest name ever.
Final Destination
I watched this on a whim because I've been making "Final Destination death" jokes for over a decade anyway. And I actually liked it! It's very unique and pretty entertaining, and it made me want to watch the rest, even though it seems like they all have the exact same plot.
Copycat
This was a decent '90s thriller. It mostly felt like if Criminal Minds had been shot at the same time as The X Files (there was even a tall, dark-headed male FBI agent and a short, redheaded female FBI agent), with obvious influence from The Silence of the Lambs. It had a few plot threads that seemed totally pointless and the 1995 tech did not age well. But overall, it was fine.
I also watched all of Netflix's Russian Doll, and you absolutely should too. It has Natasha Lyonne in it, so it's automatically good, but it's also very well-written, visually interesting and surprisingly touching. I liked it so much. Also, read this Natasha Lyonne profile while you're at it.
On the other hand, I also watched all of Hulu's PEN15, which I'm conflicted about. It's weird and incredibly cringy, but pretty true to life. If you went to a public middle school in the '00s, it will ring familiar and also make you want to Eternal Sunshine everything you did in that time from the brains of everyone who knew you.
I read the bulk of Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell, but still haven't finished it. I really enjoyed two of the stories (the titular tale and "Reeling for the Empire," which is fantastic), but the others haven't dazzled me.
Great web things I read this month: a piece on the messy humanness of Ariana Grande's recent work; an article on how Rihanna always serves nothing but Looks; a profile of Lizzo, who I'm obsessed with, which has an incredible headline; an investigative piece about former MySpace Queen Audrey Kitching who is, apparently, still an Internet phony, though a very different kind; and this amazing article about the shape-shifting power of Lady Gaga that I somehow missed in October. Also, of course I loved the Rolling Stone Stevie Nicks interview conducted by Rob Sheffield. Everything she says is the greatest thing anyone has ever said.
Unintentionally, most of the songs I discovered in February were love-related. The sticky sweet Valentine's Day propaganda got me! (On that note, I also put a dumb amount of work into making my Instagram grid pink-tinted this month.) But there were only six new-to-me songs, so I just combined my January and February playlists into one.
Bye, February! You were very stressful, but you fortified me for the craziness of SXSW. Let the chaos commence!
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