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.
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