Review Round-Up
Books, movies, and shows I read/watched in March.
Got a super bad cold during March and still somehow managed to read some books and watch some stuff!
Books
Hooray for this year’s Hamilton Reads title! I didn’t understand every part of this book but I really enjoyed reading it. Equal parts funny, surreal, and horrifying this book is sure to get your book club talking.
I don’t read a lot of books featuring generational family drama, but Fall On Your Knees may have changed that! This is a play adaption of a book by Ann-Marie Macdonald of the same name, but it was absolutely brilliant. I really want to check out the book!
Thank you to the editor for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review! This book made me angry, it made me sad, it made me respect the contributors willing to be vulnerable and show the trauma they underwent and who they are as out individuals today. A beautiful and necessary read.
Anomia by Jade Wallace - 4/5
I’m so happy my library finally got a copy of this because I’ve wanted to read Anomia for so long! Wallace does an excellent job laying out the pieces of this mystery and connecting the large cast of characters together while also leaving some questions unanswered for the reader to mull over. Of course, the thing reader’s talk about most with this book is how it’s written without any reference to gender and sex, but what I loved is how easy Wallace made that. It’s as if they’re saying, “it isn’t that hard to write a book without reference to gender and sex, what’s your excuse?” and I loved that.
The Adventure Zone: The Suffering Game by the McElroys
Honestly, not my favourite of the graphic novel adaptions. The actual suffering game section was so small and a lot of the excitement, fear, and horror of the games was lost, but the set-up for The Stolen Century was fantastic!
Movies
I Used to Be Funny dir. Ally Pankiw (2023) 3/5
I love Rachel Sennott but this movie was lacking. My biggest issue is that while this movie is set in Toronto the improv among the actors was obvious because Sennott makes mention of Target and the Clinton administration and other American references that Canadians just aren’t going to casually bring up in conversation.
Brilliant acting and a wonderful story. I loved the surreal elements of this and how it felt a bit like Beau Is Afraid without going into full weirdness. This movie deserves more hype!
Wicked dir. Jon M. Chu (2024) - 5/5
Yes, I watched Wicked again, but this time as a sing-a-long!
Anora dir. Sean Baker (2024) - 4/5
I loved this, and it was so much funnier than I thought it was going to be!
TV Shows
Yellowjackets - Season 3
This season is WILD!!! There are only two episodes left and I’m so excited to see what will happen next!
I WANT TO LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Midnight Mass dir. Mike Flanagan
Doing my annual Lenten rewatch. Just as amazing as always!