I didn’t have to travel this week, so I had some more time to read and
watch movies. As I predicted, though, I
wasn’t able to get through two audiobooks in the same week. Although, for some reason, I chose to get
through the newer audiobook rather than finish the one that was due this week—in
my typical “ooh, shiny books” way.
Books
It’s All Absolutely Fine by
Ruby Elliot: A-. For fans of Jenny Lawson’s nonfiction books,
and fans of Hyperbole and a Half, I
urge you to give Ruby Elliot’s book a shot.
Yes, it deals with heavy subjects—depression, body issues, eating
disorders, anxiety—but it’s educational for those looking for a semi-serious
self-help book. I’ll definitely start to
follow Elliot’s Tumblr feeds for quicker updates while she continues her
journey.
Before I Fall by Lauren
Oliver: B. As I expected, this story
translates better on the page than it did on the screen. The Groundhog
Day meets Mean Girls aspect does
get tiring in the second act, but I was able to understand Sam Kingston’s
character development more, and it felt like a smooth transition.
Movies
The Hollars: D. Holy shit, this film is a tonal
disaster. This hunk of junk plays every key on the piano in the hopes that it
will garner hipster cred and/or be beloved as a tearjerker. It tries so hard to
be liked, but when the script starts with Sharlto Copley pissing in a pitcher
and ends with the worst excuse of gallows humor this side of Sweeney Todd, the film can only do so
much. Thank God for Margo Martindale and Richard Jenkins, who both give
phenomenal performances in a film that doesn't deserve the effort. It's an
interesting case study to compare what Other
People gets right whereas The Hollars
gets terribly wrong.
Beauty and the Beast (2017): C+. Visually stunning movie with
sporadically good acting and singing. Unfortunately, the use of auto tune is
not subtle at all. Thankfully, the good
outweighs the bad, and the movie wasn’t completely unnecessary.
Kong: Skull Island: B-. Reviewed here.
My Life as a Zucchini: A-. Okay, so I wasn’t aware of the
extremely short runtime (it barely cracks in at an hour and ten minutes), and I
also didn’t know the movie’s main plotline involved the eponymous character
entering an orphanage. This film runs
the gambits of emotions, and delivers this stop-motion animation in such a
fulfilling fashion that I didn’t realize it was so short until I checked my
cell phone after it ended. I need a
sequel to this right now!
My Life as a Zucchini was the last 2016 movie I really needed to watch before finalizing my top ten list, so I'll do that some time this week!
And here’s what I’m planning to read and watch this week.
Books
The Receptionist by Janet
Groth: I’m halfway done and the audiobook is due back tomorrow night. Can I get through this? Possibly, if I don’t get too distracted by…
It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini: I bought this book about six months ago at a Goodwill, and I still haven’t gotten around to it because I have a book buying problem. This would still be on my list of things to read if it weren’t for one of my co-workers, who recently read this and won’t shut up about its virtues. It’s an average sized book (roughly 450 pages) so I hope to finish it this week.
Big Mushy Happy Lump by Sarah
Anderson: Look, I’m in love with Sarah
Scribbles.
Movies
Gifted: AMC has been giving
away a lot of free movie screenings lately, and it’d be rude if I didn’t take
them up on their offers…right?
Power Rangers: Last week I
admitted that I’m a closet WWE fan (although admittedly not as religiously as I
was back in 1999-2004). It’s probably not a surprise that I was a fan of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from the
age of like 6 – 11. This movie doesn’t
look too good, but I’ll still find time to watch it.
Life: Dumb title. I feel like
I’ve seen this type of space movie about three dozen times.
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