Review Round-Up
Review Round-Up
Books, movies, and shows I read/watched in June.
June just FLEW by, and I managed to read and watch some cool stuff!
Books
I finally read Mona Awad’s debut and it’s amazing to see how much her writing has changed. I really enjoyed the style of this and how the different short stories and nicknames Elizabeth used to identify herself mirrored her identity with her body.
Once upon a time, Jon Klassen tweeted about his love of libraries after an Alaskan librarian found a folktale he had forgotten the name of in the shelves of one of their branches. This is that folktale! Great illustrations, a creepy cute story.
I cared about some of these essays, just not all of them. Very millennial, which isn’t a bad thing but is a certain style of essay writing that many won’t vibe with anymore.
Have you ever wondered why someone would join a cult? Summers offers a realistic look at what leads people into joining toxic and dangerous environments. One of my favourites by Summers!
Grey Dog by Elliot Gish - 4/5
A dark, horrifying read exploring women’s roles and rage. The inspiration from L.M. Montgomery is obvious to fans of her work, but the balance of rural Canadianness with horror is perfectly done.
Fun Fact: I cried for half an hour to forty-five minutes when I finished The Haunting of Bly Manor, which this book is compared to. But I didn’t cry when I finished this book (hooray!), but it was still good. A good Gothic vibe but I wasn’t a fan when Fantasy started showing up.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me this for an honest review! While I don’t think the summary accurately gets what this book is about, I appreciated reading about Waite’s honestly with her complicated and prolonged grief. Grief is difficult to talk about and losing the sympathy of those around you as it’s happening makes it harder. I think many people will relate to her memoir, especially those who have found out unfortunate secrets from their loves ones after they have died.
This is without a doubt one of the best plays I’ve ever read, I loved every moment of it. I only hope I get to see it performed live at some point, but until then maybe I’ll check out the HBO mini series.
Movies
The Miseducation of Cameron Post dir. Desiree Akhavan (2018) - 4/5
A less pastel, more depressing But I’m a Cheerleader. Fanastic movie though, and while it’s set in the 90’s it still makes me angry that conversion camps continue to exist.
The Transfiguration dir. Michael O’Shea (2016) - 3.5/5
I also love vampires, but I would not go to Milo’s lengths. Obviously this is because of trauma, but WOW MILO! It drags at points but what an ending!
Theater Camp dir. Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman (2023) - 4/5
I had no idea this was filmed as a mockumentary and it made it so much better! Theatre kids will love it, anyone who’s ever known a theatre kid will laugh. So much fun!
Marie Antoinette dir. Sophia Coppola (2006) - 4/5
Let them eat cake, or just eat the rich! I loved the colour scheme for this movie and overall enjoyed it more than I thought. Very sad they took Mops away, the cutest pug in the world.
Splash dir. Ron Howard (1984) - 4/5
My sister hated this movie, my dad loves it, so naturally I had to watch it to form my own opinion and honestly, I loved it! Whenever you watch a movie from the 80s you have to go expecting some unpleasant things (pervy John Candy, the male gaze, manic pixie mermaid dream girl) but I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.
Inside Out 2 dir. Kelsey Mann (2024) - 4/5
This was such a fantastic sequel, look at Disney Pixar making kids aware of their anxiety at a young age instead of believing they’re just worriers for the first twenty-one years of their lives!
Galaxy Quest dir. Dean Parisot (1999) - 3.5/5
For whatever reason I remember the commercials for this movie so vividly that for twenty-five years I’ve known the catchphrase for this movie without actually seeing it. Very cute and campy, a love letter to the cheesy tropes of sci-fi. Sigourney Weaver and Sam Rockwell are the best parts of this movie!
TV Shows
FINISHED SEASON 2! Good stuff here, things are ramping up and getting serious. Keith is so mean to David though, and Frederico just annoys me. I’m curious to see how things go with Ruth because it seems like she can never be happy. On to season 3!
Luffy I SWEAR IF YOU DON’T GO BACK TO SEE THAT WHALE (ง•̀.•́)ง
Otherwise lots of fun like always. Was not expecting the excitement in Whiskey Peak and the dark tone shift, but I’m digging it. I also love Vivi, from one blue-haired girl to another.