Here's What I Plan to Read and Watch This Week (2/27 - 3/5)

I forgot to update yesterday because my mind was blown by the Oscar drama (stay tuned).

I was sick for the majority of the week, so I didn’t get a chance to read or watch much.  To put things in perspective, I finally started to feel less miserable on Thursday, when I finally went to the theaters.

Here’s what I read and watched last week.

Books

Dirty Pretty Things by Michael Faudet: C-.  I’m just going to pair that with…

Bitter Sweet Love by Michael Faudet: B-.  Both collections by Michael Faudet are filled with poetry, short stories, and relevant quotations that help set the tone.  What is the subject of these books?  Both of these books contain hardcore descriptions of sex between the author and various women.  These books would make E.L. James blush.  I wish I knew this when I was browsing a Barnes and Noble a week ago and these caught my eye!  Dirty Pretty Thing, which precedes Bitter Sweet Love, is more chaotic and less coherent; the sequel contains better poetry and short stories, and my enjoyment level was much higher than with the original.  I will say that in both books, I wish the collection were organized better.  There doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason to the structure.

Movies

Get Out: B+. I saw the trailer a couple times and I was set to give it a hard pass, but even before the great reviews, I thought I'd give it a chance because it was Jordan Peele's directorial debut. From the opening scene, this movie set the kind of uneasy tone that had me squirming in the seat. This is a jarring, unsettling film. I can't wait to see it again!

I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore: C+. Funny first two acts; ultimately falls apart in that erratic conclusion. I’m so tired of comedies that devolve into crime dramas, because it never feels like an organic conclusion and the humor gets spottier.  Despite my annoyances, however, luckily Melanie Lynskey is a delight throughout as the main character.

The Salesman: A-. Asgar Farhadi continues to be peerless when it comes to morality tales. Excellently structured and paced to ensure maximum impact.

In addition, here’s what I’m planning to read and watch this week.

Books

Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell:  This audiobook expires early this week, so I really need to get to it.

The Talking Horse and the Sad Girl and the Village under the Sea by Mark Haddon:  What a title!  I’ve been on a poetry kick this month.  I haven’t read anything by Mark Haddon since Curious Incident.

Movies

Moonlight:  I first saw it in October and thoroughly loved it.  After its surprising Best Picture win, I feel inclined to re-watch it…especially since it’s being released on DVD today!

Kong: Skull Island:  Advance screenings ftw!

Table 19:  I literally just looked at local theaters and saw this independent comedy playing in St. Louis this weekend.  I’m already going to be in the area on Sunday for a Beatles tribute show, so I might catch this beforehand.  I like the cast (Anna Kendrick, Lisa Kudrow, et. al) and it’s a comedy, so why not?

Final Oscar Predictions: How many will La La Land win?

Unlike in recent years, there isn't that much in question as to which film will dominate at the Oscars.  Last year, predictions seemed to suggest that The Revenant would win Best Picture, but critics darling Spotlight pulled through.  The year before, the industry favorite Birdman triumphed over the former front-runner, Boyhood.

La La Land has felt like an obvious Best Picture winner since it premiered at several film festivals in the fall.  It certainly felt inevitable when I saw it back in November; if anything, I underestimated how big of a juggernaut the film could become.  Today the question isn't what is going to win Best Picture, but instead how many awards will La La Land accumulate.  The record is 11 wins, shared by 1959's Ben-Hur, 1997's Titanic, and 2003's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.  I'm cautiously predicting La La Land to miss the record by one, settling for "only" 10 Oscars.

Here are my predictions and preferences.

BEST PICTURE
Should Win: Moonlight
Will Win: La La Land

BEST DIRECTOR
Should Win: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Will Win: Damien Chazelle, La La Land

BEST LEADING ACTOR
Should Win: Denzel Washington, Fences
Will Win: Denzel Washington, Fences (but it’ll be a close race between him and Casey Affleck)

BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Should Win: Emma Stone, La La Land
Will Win: Emma Stone, La La Land

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Should Win: Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals
Will Win: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Should Win: Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Will Win: Viola Davis, Fences

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Should Win: The Lobster
Will Win: Manchester by the Sea

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Should Win: Moonlight
Will Win: Moonlight

BEST FILM EDITING
Should Win: Hell or High Water
Will Win: La La Land

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Should Win: Silence
Will Win: La La Land

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Should Win: La La Land
Will Win: La La Land

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Should Win: Jackie
Will Win: La La Land

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
Should Win: Star Trek Beyond
Will Win: A Man Called Ove

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Should Win: Moonlight
Will Win: La La Land

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Should Win: “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)”, La La Land
Will Win: “City of Stars”, La La Land

BEST SOUND EDITING
Should Win: Hacksaw Ridge
Will Win: Hacksaw Ridge

BEST SOUND MIXING
Should Win: Arrival
Will Win: La La Land

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Should Win: Kubo and the Two Strings
Will Win: The Jungle Book

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Should Win: Kubo and the Two Strings
Will Win: Kubo and the Two Strings (although it could just as easily be Zootopia)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Should Win: 13th
Will Win: 13th (smart money is on O.J.: Made in America, but I’m betting against it because I don’t think voters are going to sit through that 8 hour documentary)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Should Win:  Toni Erdmann

Will Win: The Salesman

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Should Win:  Abstain

Will Win: Piper

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Should Win:  Abstain

Will Win: Sing

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
Should Win:  Abstain

Will Win: Joe’s Violin

Here's What I'm Planning to Read and Watch This Week (2/20 - 2/26)

TL;DR:  I might be getting sick, so probably nothing.

 

I think I might finally be getting sick.  This after my roommate being sick at least three times, my immediate family passing around illness for months, etc.  I’d better be well on Sunday, though, since it’s the Oscars.

So, after gulping down some nasty Alka-Seltzer and while sucking on a lozenge, here are the books and movies I read last week.

Books

The It-Doesn’t-Matter Suit by Sylvia Plath: C. I wasn’t aware that Sylvia Plath wrote several children’s books.  I was browsing my university library and ran across this, which confused the hell out of me.  Quality-wise, this is as good as you’d expect a short story with a title like The It-Doesn’t-Matter Suit would be.  I did like what Plath tried to convey about conformity and being yourself.

The Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath: A-. I can read Plath’s poetry all day…and after getting through this collection, I feel like I had.  Ariel (the restored edition) is a better collection of Plath’s poetry, but I can see why she posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for this.

The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace: B+. Doesn’t this book look exactly like Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey?  Yes, it does—which is why it has been on my radar since I read that book back in October.  Also, the title sounded excellent—so yeah, I’ll freely admit I judged this book by its cover.  The same publisher makes it, so it’s not a surprise to report that the typeface and book cover look alike.  Similarly to Kaur’s collection of poetry, Lovelace broke my heart with her stories of loss and abuse—and, also similarly, I felt buoyant by the end of the book. 

Movies

Star Trek Beyond: C. Why do I keep coming back to this series?  I thoroughly enjoyed the reboot in 2009, but the 2013 sequel, Star Trek into Darkness, was a limp fish that flailed for over two hours.  I made the extra terrible mistake to give this a chance after missing out on seeing it while the film was in theaters, which led to the visual effects feeling less crisp, and the action coming across as less urgent than it should have.  Plot-wise, this is only slightly better than the limp fish from 2013…although a Beastie Boys song appearing during a dramatic moment may have been the dumbest thing I’ve seen in a 2016 movie.

The Bye Bye Man: D-. Hahahahahahahahaha.

The Handmaiden: A. I rented this two and a half hour foreign film from my local library, and sat on it until the night before it was due.  After nearly opting to return it unwatched, I thought I’d give it the ole college try…and almost instantly it captivated me.  The Handmaiden has stunning technical aspects, winning performances from all, and a script that contains two jarring plot twists.  I loved the hell out of this film.

I just refilled my water and opened a new lozenge.  Maybe I’ll feel better if I drink some hot chai latte.  While I warm up some water, here’s what I have coming up.

Books

I still need to finish Winter’s Bone (an audiobook) and Relish (a graphic novel).  No promises on finishing anything else, unless I splurge and buy some more poetry.

Movies

The Oscars are this Sunday!  I still need to drive 30 miles and see The Salesman, and I’m seeing a filmed version of Newsies on Wednesday.  Also, I was gonna give Get Out a hard pass, but I'm slightly intrigued that it's Jordan Peele (of Key & Peele fame) making his directorial debut.

Here's What I Plan to Read and Watch This Week (2/13 - 2/19)

I was going to start this off by wishing everyone a Happy Galentine’s Day, but I forgot to do this yesterday—so I guess I have to settle for wishing a boring, ordinary Happy Valentine’s Day.

Here’s what I read and watched last week.

Books

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher:  A-.  As enjoyable as Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher’s last memoir focused on her getting the role of Princess Leia on Star Wars and her relationship with co-star Harrison Ford.  Again, Fisher is hilarious and insightful.

Loving vs. Virginia by Patricia Hruby Powell:  B.  Overall I enjoyed this historical fiction book, but I’m unsure why it was written in verse.  I’m not of the belief that books like this need to rhyme or fulfill any arbitrary rule, but it didn’t read in a natural way, which slightly affected my response.

Movies

Passengers: D+. I'm at a loss with this film. On one hand, it's visually stunning, and the first 30-40 minutes are thrilling. I'd love for a full-length movie with just the Chris Pratt character, and the moral dilemma his character faces. On the other hand, the enjoyment level after Jennifer Lawrence's character plummets because of how the film handles the situation. This is one of the most morally corrupt romance I've seen.

Jim: the James Foley Story: B-. Overly long (by at least a half hour), repetitive, and glosses over big questions. Still, it's a powerful collection of interviews. I cried!  For some reason the end credits let us know three times that "The Empty Chair" was an original song written by Sting.

Fifty Shades Darker: D. Reviewed here.

The Batman Lego Movie: B. Yes, it's sophomoric. Yes, some of the jokes aren't as successful as others. Yes, it's not as good as The Lego Movie.  All of that said, this is an absolute riot. Will Arnett is a great anchor for this movie, and he plays well with virtually the entire cast. Can we take a second and thank the filmmakers for giving Michael Cera something to do in a movie in 2017?

Silence: B+. I waited so long to watch this three-hour Martin Scorsese movie about priests that I had to watch it at the second run, $3.50 theater.  I guess my fear was that the film would be boring and I wouldn’t relate to the film’s religious message.  Thankfully, my fears were misplaced, and I found it a thoroughly engrossing, haunting film with a great central performance by Andrew Garfield.

Here’s what I’m planning to read and watch this week.

Books

I’m in the middle of several books that I’m hoping to finish.  I also started a book over the weekend, but it’s a larger book and I have no delusion that I’m going to finish it this week.

The Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath:  A lot of this feels like a review from when I studied her in college.  All of this is to say that I’m thoroughly enjoying Plath’s word choice, and overall haunting poetry.

The It-Doesn’t-Matter Suit by Sylvia Plath:  Speaking of Plath, I didn’t know that she had written a children’s book…and my college has a copy of it to read.

Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell:  Loved the film, always wanted to read the source material.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley:  This looks like it’s going to be a fun graphic novel, because it’s all about food!

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty:  This is the longer book that I won’t be finishing this week.

Movies

The Handmaiden:  I hear this foreign film has some best-of-the-year technical aspects.  It was available at the library, so I have a week to watch it.

The Salesman:  Speaking of critically acclaimed foreign films, this one is also supposed to be great.