Review Round-Up
Books, movies, and shows I read/watched in January.
This Review Round-Up is a couple days late, hope that isn’t a sign for how the rest of the year will go in terms of Substacking. But January is always a time, isn’t it? Very few books read and movies and shows watched, but some and that’s what matters!
Books
Grandfather of the Treaties: Finding Our Future Through the Wampum Covenant by Daniel Coleman - 4/5
Thank you to River Street Writing for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review! Coleman’s book is a wealth of information about the Wampum Covenant, including looking at and understanding when these covenant’s were first discussed and agreed upon and how we can learn and improve relationships with Indigenous peoples and communities. But with the detail Coleman goes into the book it’s definitely one that needs to be consumed slowly and pondered over, which is why it took me nearly the entire month of January to complete.
I have been a longtime fan of N.D. Stevenson and while I did enjoy the comics and “essays” in this I did hope for more. I do think this memoir reflects many of it’s time, and I’d love to see a newer edition where Stevenson expands on how their life has changed since the publication of this.
Movies
I Saw the TV Glow dir. Jane Shoenbrun (2024) - 4/5
Why did the academy think that Emilia Perez was a better movie showing the trans experience over this? I Saw The TV Glow is a fantastic, heart-wrenching movie and Justice Smith shines, especially towards the end.
Conclave dir. Edward Berger (2024) - 4/5
I saw this in the library before the Oscar nominations were announced and thought “this looks like an Oscar movie” and I was right! I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would, especially the ending which I didn’t see coming. Also fun fact, I didn’t realize how much politics were involved in electing the Pope and really and truly thought God decided who the Pope was through the white and black smoke. I love being taught the wrong things through Catholicism!
Portrait of a Lady on Fire dir. Céline Sciamma (2019) - 5/5
Some of my friends and I have started an artsy movie watching club and this was our first choice and what a fantastic movie to start with! It’s shot so beautifully, very much like a painting and the subtle acting throughout is marvelous. Well worth the hype!
TV Shows
Yellowjackets - Season 2
Rewatching this for the season 3 premiere on February 14! As good as always, and my dad has not predicted a lot of the things that have happened so that’s good.
This was a short and fun arc. My friend told me that after this One Piece really ramps up so I’m excited for what comes next!
Twin Peaks - The Return
I’m so sad that I didn’t get to finish Twin Peaks while David Lynch was alive so everything going forward is in tribute to him now. That being said, I have absolutely no clue what is happening in The Return but I’m loving it!