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Year of Lists

March Films

more awards-related stuff and then FREEDOM (what I chose to do with it is another thing but one thing I cannot be judged for is there are a LOT of movies this month, and that is positive)

must-watches in bold (these are in relation to other movies watched, and the time, not necessarily must-watches of all time)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always (2023) *6ish, I guess? - does this count? It's nostalgia in an hour's worth. it's every bit as bad as you would hope. Great stuff.

American Fiction (2023) *7.5 - hell yeah. Finally, something important done in a pleasant, human, enjoyable way (see how much I sobbed during this awards season: so.many.super.sad movies - or if not sad, just.so.much, overall). Performances are out of this world; it has everything: humour, nuance, a bit of romance, a bit of sadness; it was so damn good to watch.

The Zone of Interest (2023) *6 - how do you rate this? that six is not representative of the movie at all, but here we are. Everything you've heard about this is true: it's masterful, definitely a gut punch, Sandra Hüller is having a great year; the sound(track) is out of this world. It says so much with so little. Yes, it's a movie about the Holocaust, but it's also, really, a movie about how we stand by and allow atrocities to happen. It's a movie about humanity's cruellest side: indifference - right now, and then, and always. There is much to be said here, a lot of conversation was around how Schindler's List worked as a movie, therefore, romanticised, by the movie lens, the Holocaust. I can see how The Zone of Interest tried really hard not to do that, and I can confidently say it's done so much for exposing how useless we can be in the face of tragedy, but with every day that passes, I keep thinking more and more that it hasn't escaped that movie lens. However, it does really well at asking the question of whether we can portray atrocities of this kind, and does it really make a difference when we try?

Dune: Part Two (2024) *7.5 - umm, this is so long I need to rewatch it to even have a formed opinion. In lieu of a rewatch, here are my current thoughts: it wouldn't have been half the movie it is without the soundtrack. Also currently my favourite soundtrack of all time. I could rave and rave about it. The performances were great all round. I really love that Villeneuve doesn't try to constantly capture people like the mega starts they are: see Timmy's double chin, constipated face, present in both movies, and at a close-up at that. Some scenes were visually and emotionally breathtaking but I'm not sure if this was the case because of the anticipation of seeing something loved in a book portrayed on screen. It felt busy and a bit disjointed, especially in comparison to Part 1. I so wish they'd done the romance differently. I was constantly thinking of The Bear and how well that worked there. I wish they'd let Paul and Chani's connection breathe and mature, taken us along for the ride.

Alice, Darling (2022) *6 - this gave How to Have Sex vibes. I love when a movie addresses difficult subjects (in this case, abuse) in a slice-of-life, uber real, awkward way. It dexterously looks at the outward indicators of abuse, the responsibility of friendship - some mild body horror for both symbolic and literal purposes.

The Sixth Sense (1999) *7.5 - they don't make them like this anymore. Boy, do I envy anyone who hasn't watched this and doesn't know anything about it. If you know that person, please, make them known, I want to sit them down and pop this in the cassette player (Netflix or Prime or whatever, but you know). It's only the second time I watched this because I thought there wasn't much reason to, apart from nostalgia. Surely, it's just so worthy because of the set-up. Yeah, yeah, I was wrong. I had to pause a couple of times to allow myself to digest the mastery of what this movie is when YOU DO KNOW.

Scarface (1983) *7 - what can I say? Yup, it's great. Colours are a highlight, as is Michelle Pfeiffer.

A Time to Kill (1996) *6 - disclaimer: I am going through legal dramas, I love 'em. This was fun, much more timely than I expected. Samuel L Jackson has a beautiful, beautiful speech. A man fancies a woman that is not his wife, and she is pretty, and young, and smart, and she ignites a spark in him, and she believes in what he's doing in all the ways his wife doesn't, and yet, said man doesn't cheat on said wife. Woohoo. I'm all for complexity and non-monogamy (when both, or more parties, agree to it) but it is just so beautiful to see a good marriage challenged and withstand the challenge. Bonus points for young Matthew McConaughey and infant Sandy Bullock. It's serious, it's legal fun, a bit naïve; the nineties in a two and a half hour ride.

Rush Hour; Rush Hour 2; Rush Hour 3 (1998) (2001) (2007) *6 *6 *5 - WAR UGH ... SO MUCH FUN. Yeah, they shouldn't be bunched together, yeah, a lot of it reads problematic, yeah, I wish I'd been watching them all my life. Great stuff. Don't look away at all the racist jokes, both ways, and any other way you can imagine. This is a superb example of looking at what we made for fun: there's so much to digest, learn from, appreciate. I LOVE JACKIE CHAN. When I was a kid, it was considered embarrassing to appreciate his work. I had a stupid-ass, DUH, moment of realisation watching this: oh, that 'martial arts movies are sub-par' idea? Yeah, blatant racism. It feels so good to come to this now. Side-note: Zhang Ziyi showing up in 2, what a treat. I'm not one for recycling material but can we have Rush Hour 4 please, please, please?

Blow Out (1981) *6 - another Brian de Palma, another good movie with its merits. Some of it was delicious in a movie buff way, but I was bored nonetheless. If you're into your legal, crime, journalistic slow-burners, go for it.

Decision to Leave (2022) *9 - triple bold. This is my favourite movie. It has been since I saw it in the cinema and cried in the toilets after. It is a masterpiece, Park Chan-Wook might well be my favourite director. There are not enough good things or good enough words I could say. Here's the best I can do rn: noir at its best, romance at its most complex, human nature at its barest, lyricism, depth, story for days, really unapologetic storytelling, no infantilising the audience here, crime at its most beautiful, and potentially the best ending scene cinema has ever seen. Watch this, watch The Handmaiden, watch Stoker, watch Oldboy (when I watch more of his movies, they'll be added to this). They're all in my great movies of all time (fictional) list. Side-note: WE ARE SLEEPING ON KOREAN CINEMA. We're getting there, but we're not even close. Still underrated.

Joy Ride (2023) *6 - does what it says on the tin. Also SO MUCH FUN.

#power rangers #mighty morphin power rangers #american fiction #cord jefferson #jeffrey wright #sterling k. brown #the zone of interest #jonathan glazer #sandra hüller #dune part two #denis villeneuve #timothée chalamet #zendaya #rebecca ferguson #alice darling #anna kendrick #mary nighy #the sixth sense #m night shyamalan #bruce willis #scarface #brian de palma #al pacino #michelle pfeiffer #a time to kill #legal drama #matthew mcconaughey #sandra bullock #samuel l jackson #joel schumacher

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from Henry Hoke's Open Throat

I want to devour their sound

------------

I have so much language in my brain

and nowhere to put it

------------

pinks and reds like sparks of blood and thought

#henry hoke #open throat #quotes #literature #bookblr

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...and you understand that sin was never meant to be easy, only sweet.

#mary jean chan #flèche #dress #poetry #quotes

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Year of Lists

February Books

Penance by Eliza Clark * 3/5 - would recommend for anyone who's into true crime: podcasting, documentaries, reporting. It's an interesting study of how we approach tragedies, with all the expected questions of what is truth, who has a right to tell a story, is there a respectful way of writing about tragedy, etc. It feels like a book born out of the question "what would In Cold Blood be if it was written today"? It's more like an exercise or a project than a gripping story. For those willing, there is a lot to unpack.

Beloved by Toni Morrison * 5/5 - Toni Morrison was an exceptional writer. From Zadie Smith's introduction to this edition: "All readers and writers are indebted to her for the space she created". Beloved is one of those books that deserves all the praise and hype it got, if not even more. I can't even begin to explore the nuances of the narrative, language, characterisation. I will just say that it reads urgent, dreamlike, true, affecting. And, from the foreword by Morrison: "To render enslavement as a personal experience, language must get out of the way".

"I husband that moment on the pier, the deceptive river, the instant awareness of possibility, the loud heart kicking, the solitude, the danger. And the girl with the nice hat. Then the focus."

Flèche by Mary Jean Chan * 5/5 - it's often I rate poetry collections a 5*, but it's rare it's so clear a 5*. It's just superb.

The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara * 3/5 - Yanagihara's books could all be studied. The craft is always incredible as is the depth of the storytelling. I just wasn't crazy about this one, but, she writes, I read.

Open Throat by Henry Hoke (ToB Read) * 5/5 - a moving, hungry, feverish dream of a book

#penance #eliza clark #on true crime #toni morrison #beloved #mary jean chan #flèche #the people in the trees #hanya yanagihara #open throat #henry hoke #literature #fiction #tournament of books #bookblr #books #reading #poetry

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Year of Lists

February Films

it's awards season so all of this has been nominated for...stuff

must-watches in bold

The Holdovers (2023) * 7.5 - so, I thought this was a comedy. This is not a comedy. It made me very sad. I sobbed through most of the second half. Great performances, very good script.

Nyad (2023) * 7.2 - *insert little heart* YES, it was so, so good to watch a powerful, motivating, unembellished, stands-on-its-own story. It's definitely inspiring, and the performances are pretty great. I LOVE JODIE FOSTER.

Barbie (2023) * 7 - this is a hard one. I feel my (finally) watching of this movie has been so affected by the buzz and discourse and memes and light scandals. It'll take me much longer to digest and settle on an opinion.

La Sociedad de la Nieve (Society of the Snow) (2023) * 7.2 - this is a lot. It's devastating and it's moving and it scratches that real life, schadenfreude itch; it's not quite pleasure, but it's certainly fascinating to watch something so cinematic and know it's basically all true.

Maestro (2023) * 6 - Highlight: Carey Mulligan; also the reason the rating's not lower.

Past Lives (2023) * 7 - it destroyed me, I was crying on the train, I was crying in the street. It's heartbreaking, but also, accurate and raw and real; the performances are good, and what it manages to capture is usually unattainable.

#past lives #celine song #greta lee #teo yoon #maestro #carey mulligan #bradley cooper #best picture #society of the snow #j. a. bayona #la sociedad de la nieve #Enzo Vogrincic #barbie #greta gerwig #margot robbie #ryan gosling #nyad #jimmy chin #Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi #annette bening #jodie foster #rhys ifans #the holdovers #alexander payne #paul giamatti #da'vine joy randolph #dominic sessa #films #various nominees #awards season

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from The Window by Mary Jean Chan (Flèche)

............................................ You will refuse

your mother's rage, her spit, her tongue

heavy like the heaviest of stones. Her

anger is like the sun, which is like love,

which is the easiest thing, even on the

hardest of days.......................................

#poetry #mary jean chan #quotes #poetry quotes #words words words #academia #just academia stuff

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this fucking masterpiece

#movie of the year #anatomy of a fall #sandra hüller #justine triet #films #favourite movies

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Year of Lists

January Books

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (ToB Read) *3/5 - there's an ease in the storytelling, it gives you time to luxuriate in the plot. I loved the back-and-forth, the exploration of the past and of characters who were not central to the main goings-on, but just like in life, you can trace their influence through time. Despite the writing talent, and the much promising setup and characters, I had trouble connecting to this novel; most of my joy in reading this came from the observation of McBride's craft in putting this together.

Folklorn by Angela Mi Young Hur *3.2/5 - for a minute there I really thought this would be the great Korean novel I've been looking for. Firstly: one for the great covers list. The marrying of science and folklore/superstition/oral inter-generational storytelling: chef's kiss. I wish it amounted to more than it actually did. The novel opens in dreamy language, otherworldly imagery, beautiful, beautiful world-building. It unfortunately loses its coherence and promise about 30% in. It fizzles into a concept that begs for a better storyline to hold it together. I wish the protagonist's personality amounted to more than self-wallowing in pity and self-othering. There are nuances that could have been explored so deeply; I wanted her to see herself as the wonder I saw her as. Nonetheless, there is magic here, there is familial complexity, and beauty.

Notable quote: “The first generation who come are grateful, certainly. They can endure much, swallow their pride. Their children want more—the freedom not to be grateful, indebted, and beholden.”

The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake *3/5 - it hasn't even been long since I read this and I can't even remember the plot. Positives: Blake's writing gets better and better, clearly not in the general, book-making sense, but in the pleasant-to-read, I-love-spending-time-with-your-words way. I did enjoy the reading of this, I just don't think this was written because the story was there, but rather, because the trilogy needed to end. I love the characters and I love the illustrations and the elements that make Atlas so exciting: magic, ambition, a sentient, secret, ancient library full of the deepest, darkest knowledge of the world - the dark academia of it all. Better luck with the prequel. We're suckers for it either way.

The Premonition by Banana Yoshimoto *5/5 - a perfect little dream - I LOVE BANANA / Mrs Caliban by Rachel Ingalls *5/5 - superb.

Both of these are 5 stars partially because they're novellas. They're dreamy and otherworldly, tackling their specific subject-matters with dexterity. Mrs Caliban is worth an afternoon, especially for fans of The Shape of Water.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke *4.7/5 - boy oh boy was this a surprise. I don't have much to say, THIS.IS.INCREDIBLE. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, and perhaps wouldn't be mine if it was written by another author. I read this in a day.

The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (audiobook) *4/5 - this is a reread, first read-through was a physical copy; I'm listening to the series now because I'd missed that world. The narrator for this one is better than the first and his work is only improving. By the end of this one you can tell this is a narrator who truly understands King's writing, with all its humour and intricacies.

The Green Mile by Stephen King *4.7/5 - it's as good as you think it is, as good as everyone says it is. In case it wasn't clear I LOVE STEPHEN KING.

#the heaven and earth grocery store #james mcbride #books #reading #bookblr #book reviews #historical fiction #folklore #magical realism #korean literature #fantasy fiction #atlas #atlas trilogy #olivie blake #angela mi young hur #the premonition #banana yoshimoto #japanese fiction #fiction in translation #mrs caliban #the shape of water #rachel ingalls #piranesi #susanna clarke #literary fiction #stephen king #the dark tower #audiobooks #the green mile #lists

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Year of Lists

January Films

must-watches in bold

The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) *6

Saltburn (2023) *7 - Highlight: Barry Keoghan

Marry My Dead Body (2022) *6ish

First Man (2018) *6 - Highlight: real life audio recordings; in-spacecraft scenes

The Killer (2023) *6ish - don't bother, except for maybe the Tilda Swinton dining scene

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) *7 - Highlight: Lily Gladstone and her character's capacity for compassion and understanding

The Boy and the Heron (2023) *7 - Highlight: the Ghibli magic and absurdity

How to Have Sex (2023) *7 - Highlight: the unbelievable emotional accuracy of the British young adult experience. It will stay with you: had a visceral negative reaction to someone offering to pour a shot in my mouth in Lisbon's Bairro Alto

Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) *6 - Highlight: hotness and the soundtrack; FUN

Anatomy of a Fall (2023) - *9 - Movie of the Year. The craft is incredible, from plotting to tension, to dialogue; almost flawless.

May December (2023) *5 - Highlight: the performances

Poor Things (2023) *9 - Lanthimos' best movie to date. The actor range and sheer fun is incredible; will hit harder than you expect. So close to perfection bar a dip halfway through. Longer than it should have been

#the return of the pink panther #peter sellers #saltburn #marry my dead body #first man #the killer #killers of the flower moon #lily gladstone #the boy and the heron #studio ghibli #how to have sex #british cinema #bodies bodies bodies #anatomy of a fall #may december #poor things #emma stone #yorgos lanthimos #movies #films #awards #currently watching #lists #movie lists #film lists #year of lists #i love lists

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Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.

#the haunting of hill house #books and literature #classics #shirley jackson #halloween #spooky #horror #haunting #bookworm #bookblr #book quotes

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I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.

All those moments will be lost in time...like tears in rain.

---

We're all just looking out for something real.

#blade runner #blade runner 2049 #ridley scott #denis villeneuve #ryan gosling #rutger hauer #movies #sci-fi #films

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A heart’s a heavy burden

#howl's moving castle #howls moving castle #studio ghibli #ghibli films #hayao miyazaki #movies #animation

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no one told me Howl was so hot

#howl's moving castle #studio ghibli #ghibli films #movies #animation #sadboi #sad boi aesthetic #howls moving castle #hayao miyazaki

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HOW TO BE A MORE INTERESTING WOMAN: A POLITE GUIDE FOR THE POETESS - Safiya Sinclair, from Cannibal

Call me Mary. Call me Sophie,

Call me what you like.

I’ll answer to any man who looks

at me right.

/

You may come to my garden

and steal hydrangeas in the night.

I’ll suck your thumb

and play dumb.

/

I’ll pretend I can make anything

grow. Rosebushes and violets

and bruises for show. I’ll open

my hot mouth for an orchid

/

to snake out; I’ve been practising

this bee-sting pout. I will titter

and fluster and faint. Write hundreds

of sonnets in your name.

/

(Each one born fat and sunny.

Then I can claim to have made

something happy.)

Light pools slick in my eyelids–

/

I am all lashes and lips.

I have learnt how to smile, how to

talk with my hips, how to swallow

my words, how to make myself

/

small. I won’t make a fuss.

I will coo. I will crawl.

And if you knock right,

this spine will give out–

/

I will crumble and weed and paw

at your feet. Unbraid and emote,

walk faceless from the brink;

if you spit, I will drink.

/

I will grow heavy and silent

and sick. I will strip you right down

to the bone. I will take your name.

I will take your home

/

and wake dark with a song

on which you finally choke;

my black hair furring thick

in the gawk of your throat.

#poetry #poem #Poems #cannibal #caliban #safiya sinclair

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220625

#south london walks #ladywell #lewisham #photography #nature #nature walks #london parks #london #south london #trees #summer #summertime

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220605

#south london #south london walks #jubilee #landscapes #nature #nature walks #neighbourhoods #cloudy day

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To Baby ARMYs Everywhere

Sometimes you come across a piece of writing that feels like it came out of you. Here’s Scaachi Koul (as received in a Buzzfeed newsletter) covering some of what’s been happening to me in the past month - it’s fun, it’s funny, and if the word hyperbole crosses your mind while reading it, take my word for it, you’re wrong. I too, would give BTS four kidneys if they asked for one. 

Highlight from the column - and I’m sure, representative of many people’s feelings, including mine:

‘If any of these men I do not know asked me for a kidney, I’d give them four. They are underappreciated heroes of our time, and I want to put my mouth on all of their mouths, at the same time. The songs are good, they have incredible breath control, they are the Beatles. I want to gently part, muss, and then repart their hairs...

I’m especially here for Jungkook, his little red mouth, his sharp jawline that I hope slices me all up, and his stupid, stupid lip ring.’

#kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #park jimin #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook #bts #ARMY #PTD #ptd las vegas #ptd_on_stage_lv #obsessions #buzzfeed