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.
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