Fourteen total. Not bad.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
This was basically, "White Male Privilege: The Movie." Despite a nagging sense that we should probably stop making movies about these terrible men, I wanted this movie to be good and it was interesting, if not necessarily great. I appreciated that it took an alternative route to telling the story, by focusing on Lily Collins' character. It's also still hysterical to me that James Hetfield of Metallica has a five-second role.
BlacKkKlansman
Very good. Definitely one you should see for yourself.
Hired Gun
An interesting look at the guys no one ever thinks about. It's strange to realize how often songs you love – songs that millions of people know – are made by people whose name you don't know. It also had never really occurred to me that Jason Newstead was a "hired gun" for Metallica before he was legitimately part of the band.
Wine Country
This movie is exactly what its trailer made it seem like it would be – and that's a good thing. Who amongst us doesn't love this particular group of SNL alumna? I literally LOL'd a couple of times, almost always because of Maya Rudolph. We have done nothing to deserve her. (The "I'm your Appollonia" "I'm your Vanity" exchange had me dying.)
Into the Dark: The Body
I decided to give Hulu's Into the Dark series a shot because 1) I like anthology media and 2) I like horror movies. But this was...so bad? I've promised myself to stop watching things I'm not enjoying, but this movie was the particular brand of toxically bad movie where you keep watching to see if it gets better, or to see if all the badness is a ploy and it's actually been good the whole time (this only happens if the movie is funny). It did not get better. It wasn't secretly good or funny. It was just bad.
Into the Dark: Flesh & Blood
Conversely, this Into the Dark entry was much better! It was a little uneven and a little too long, but overall, it was way better than The Body. It was a little reminiscent of Disturbia and a lot reminiscent of What Lies Beneath (but not as good as either of those). One highlight: Dermot Mulroney does a lot with a little, even if he sometimes comes across hammy.
The First Purge
I like the Purge series. The films aren't perfect and sometimes they're a little too on-the-nose (there's a sexual assault scene in this one – yikes – that features a politically-tinged line that made me straight-up cringe). But overall, I think they're smart and original, and I've had fun seeing how they refresh the story a little with each entry. I liked this one no more or less than I liked the previous three.
Final Destination 2 and 3
In February, I watched the first Final Destination film on a whim and ended up really liking it. It made me want to watch the rest, even though they seemed to be very similar on paper. Having now watched the second and third, I can confirm: this series follows a formula, almost to the minute – but it's not a bad thing. These movies are so fun! That might seem like a weird thing to say about a film series about Death Itself stalking teens until they die gruesome, over-the-top deaths. But the deaths are what make it fun. The films follow a formula, yes, but the fact that each death is so wild and graphic makes it so that they're almost impossible to predict. A note: FD3 is definitely stronger than FD2. I especially loved the use of "Love Rollercoaster" in the tanning bed scene.
The Jane Austen Book Club
I really liked this one! In particular, I loved that every character was a Hot Mess (like, literally the opening montage of the film is people spilling coffee on themselves, getting their cards eaten by ATMs, etc – everyday human disasters). I liked that I could enjoy it even though I haven't read any Jane Austen. And I liked Hugh Dancy's character so much – a sci-fi nerd with three older sisters whose just super jazzed to get to be part of this Austen book club? Be still my heart. Bonus: As I tweeted, I happened to watch this the day after the GOT finale aired and it was refreshing to be reminded that all media can be interpreted in dozens of ways.
Mr. Mom
Funny and surprisingly progressive for 1983! In terms of gender roles (obviously), workplace harassment and the importance of work-life balance and equitable responsibility in a marriage. I also just always love Michael Keaton's chaotic good energy, and I enjoyed Jack and Caroline's "if Sam and Diane got married" banter.
The Perfection
I'll say this for this movie: I had no idea what was going to happen the entire time and therefore stayed interested. But God, at what cost? It's a mess. It's one of those truly messed up movies that sticks with you? For days after? (I could list several others like this, but I'll spare you.) It's weird and gross – in more ways than one – and I had to watch a John Mulaney stand-up when it was over to make myself feel better.
Halloween (2018)
“He waited for this night. He waited for me. I waited for him.” This film is in many ways a love letter to the series and especially the original (the greatest slasher movie of all time). But it's also fresh and the Final Girl Energy was off the charts. Plus, Halloween movies are scary in a way very few others are – they feed on negative space and anxiety. I'll be scared of Michael Myers forever, and I'm in good company.
Booksmart*
This movie was just as good as everyone is saying. Just go see it. It's so much fun. (@ Hollywood, please put Billie Lourd in everything.)
This month, I finished reading The Shining after reading it little by little for three months (I didn't want to read it at night, okay?). It was wonderful, so much better than I anticipated based on my long-standing dissatisfaction with Stanley Kubrick's "adaptation" (woof). I also rewatched Kubrick's film shortly after finishing the book and, not only is it a terrible adaptation, it just...isn't good. Sorry, film bros.
I also finished Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere this month. Ng is a great writer, but I wasn't super into this one. Definitely not as engaging as her other novel, the gut-wrenching Everything I Never Told You.
Other good things I read:
- Y'all know I love Rob Sheffield and I really love when he writes about Taylor Swift. This piece on how "ME!" follows Taylor Swift Lead Single canon is perfect.
- Also in the category of "Rolling Stone articles about pop queens," this piece on Carly Rae Jepsen and her "infatuation with infatuation" is wonderful. Long live Queen CRJ.
Here are the songs I've been listening to this spring! Well, those plus The Dirty Nil's 'Master Volume' like, almost every day, still. (I saw them live again this month and they really are one of the best bands out there right now – plus their lead singer/guitarist is a damn dreamboat, so bonus.)
Time for summer shenanigans, y'all! Stay hydrated.
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