November in Review

Like so many months this year, November was full of feelings. 

First, there was the election. I spent the entire month of October (and also some of September) in overdrive to prep for the election, which then felt like it lasted approximately 1,000 years. Every day, I've felt like Noah in The Notebook: "It wasn't over. It still isn't over."

Then, I spent a long weekend in Philly to celebrate mine and Tim's one-year anniversary. It was another blissful few days, just enjoying each other's company and being in love. But, of course, every time one of us returns home, there are days of sadness that follow.

Then, I was supposed to visit my family for Thanksgiving, but on the Monday before the Wednesday I was supposed to leave, I finally broke down – literally – and canceled my trip out of a sense of morality. It was an extremely tough decision, even though it was the right thing to do. But I could definitely write a whole other blog post about the passive-aggressive social media bullying that sent me into the anxiety spiral that made me cancel. There are levels to these kinds of things, y'all. There are levels to everything.

And now, here we are at December. The last month of a year unlike any other. For most of us, the tenth month of a level of monotony we could never have imagined. It's easy and enticing to think "it's almost over!" but it's also foolish and dangerous. There are levels to everything.

Anyway. November was a month full of feelings. But when it comes to watching movies, it was a pretty average month. A dozen new-to-me films and several rewatches. 

Let's get to it:

Holidate

On Nov. 2, I declared November "Rom-Com Season." The day before, I had watched Holidate, a romcomoisseur-approved Netflix movie. It's cute and funny, extremely low-stakes and exactly what my exhausted little heart needed in the brief window between election prep and Election Day coverage. Also, Kristen Chenoweth is a national treasure.

Magnolia

LOL. Months ago, I tried to watch Magnolia because I'm very close to having seen all of Paul Thomas Anderson's movies – but I only made it about 30 minutes. I should've left it at that, but sometimes I make bad decisions. I've found PTA's films to be pretty hit-and-miss and this one was definitely a miss for me. It features some of my favorite actors, but it is truly Overacting: The Movie and the one interesting thing that happens toward the end was the one thing I knew about it before watching.

Rewatch: 13 Going on 30, in keeping with my Rom-Com Season theme. Still delightful. After this, I needed more Jennifer Garner (don't we all?), so I rewatched Catch and Release, which is underrated and which I liked even more this time. Also, Timothy Olyphant is a babe.

Drive

This was fine, not bad, a typical "we bad guys need you to do a shady job for us" movie. But the best part was before it started when Tim told me he thought I would be "pleasantly surprised" about who was in it. He was talking about Oscar Issac. Also, a thing to know about me: my brain cannot differentiate between Carey Mulligan and Michelle Williams.

Good Time

Uncut Gems was a good movie that made me feel like I was going to die, so that's what I expected from Good Time too. And it was good, but not as stressful. Robert Pattinson is very good in it.

Memories of Murder

Bong Joon Ho is better than all of us. 

Kiki's Delivery Service

I really thought this would be the Studio Ghibli movie that was sure to be my favorite, and I think that might've been true if I saw it when I was a little kid. But I found it just ok and thought Kiki was very annoying,

Rewatch: Twilight. For reasons unknown, Tim decided he should see Twilight for the first time on our one-year anniversary. We played #TwiHardLiquor, obviously.

My Bloody Valentine (1981)

After we finished watching Twilight on our anniversary, Tim and I watched the original My Bloody Valentine. We're romantic people. (It wasn't bad!)

Charlie's Angels (2019)

I watched this on a plane and it was a perfect plane watch because I didn’t use my brain at all and everyone in it is hot. 

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey

I freaking loved Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, y'all. It is absolutely delightful, full of Christmas magic, cool costumes and great original songs. Watch it immediately.

Rewatch: Lady Bird. This is a special movie. 

Rewatch: Crazy Rich Asians. Still super fun!

Run

I simply cannot resist an obsession movie, and this one was entertaining. Sarah Paulson is good, but Kiera Allen is even better. And the Misery references were a nice touch.

Rewatch: Gone Girl. Tim hadn't seen this movie and didn't know much about it, which made for an interesting rewatch experience and led to a spirited discussion about Amy and Nick Dunne when it was over.

Folklore: The Long Pond Sessions

Listen: I obviously love Taylor Swift, so I obviously loved this. It was soft and comforting and almost made me cry once or twice. There are endless good moments, but it was the pure musical theater of the angry songs for me. Also, obviously, there is no man in “Betty,” don't believe a word she says.

Happiest Season

This movie is being torn to shreds by the Discourse™(I could also write a whole blog post on discourse, nuance and processing media in conjunction with individual experiences but NOPE) – but I enjoyed it! It was, for the most part, exactly what I wanted and expected it to be. Because it's a Christmas movie and Christmas movies always have a ribbon of melancholy/dramedy/identity crisis running through them. Also, duh, all the best scenes are the ones between Kristen Stewart and Aubrey Plaza. 

Rewatch: The Family Stone. Happiest Season reminded me a lot of The Family Stone, so I rewatched it the same day. I recommend this practice. I also watched both on Thanksgiving, when I was trying to smother my loneliness with Christmas cheer, so that same day, I also rewatched: a double feature of Ready or Not and Knives Out, Home Alone and You've Got Mail.  

Rewatch: The day after Thanksgiving, I rewatched The Holiday, which I adore, and While You Were Sleeping, which I still didn't really like.

Rom-Com Season also extended to TV because the adaptation of Dash and Lily's Book of Dares (simply called Dash & Lily) was finally released. It was sugary sweet and cozy. Elsewhere in TV, I watched a few episodes of Castlevania with Tim (it's pretty cool, I'll admit it) and we started watching both Community and Dark together. 

I also found weird comfort during the election cycle by rewatching old episodes of Criminal Minds. And I watched all of The Queen's Gambit, which was fantastic. No less than three coworkers have told me Anya Taylor Joy-as-Beth Harmon looks like me.

Tim and I also finished Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, which was as good as everyone in history has said, and I finished Worst Laid Plans: An Anthology of Vacation Horror. I also reread some of This Is Where I Leave You because why leave the dysfunctional family theme to just what I watched?