Recent Reviews 9/24
Hello my dear friends! We are long overdue for another Recent Reviews Segment, so on this lovely early fall weekend, I decided to sit down and review everything I’ve been consuming lately. It has been an entertaining few months! Full disclosure, my mom and I watched When Harry Met Sally the other weekend while I was home, and I loved it so much it inspired me to finally write out this blog post. Review of that darling movie, and others, below!
Film Reviews:
When Harry Met Sally
This film has been on my list for so very long, and yet for some reason, I never got around to it. I am, however, glad that life conspired this way, because when my mom and I had a night to ourselves a few weekends ago, we decided to give it a watch. It is one of her all-time favorites, and I was excited for a gal’s night in with her.
This movie made me laugh so hard. Meg Ryan is just perfect. Such a feel-good film, and a classic for a reason. I am not even remotely surprised that this movie is so widely beloved. If you’ve been putting off watching this one, this is your sign to do it!!
Arrival
I had heard amazing things about this movie on and off for years, but I must admit the sci-fi/alien movies are just usually not my thing. What eventually convinced me to watch it was a trending audio on Instagram (I know, silly right?) of the opening monologue of the movie. It was so moving, that I just needed the rest of the story.
And so, I grabbed myself some grocery story sushi, a glass of wine, and sat down a Friday to this movie. By halfway, my sushi and my wine had been cast aside, and I was sitting upright staring at this movie. As a bit of (embarrassing) context, I really have a terrible attention span. I am usually on my phone before the end of a movie. But not this one. I can’t remember being so raptured by any film. I kept staring, up until credits rolled.
While this movie is technically about alien arrival and all those cliche things, it truly could not be further from that. In a very real sense, it touches on the meaning of life. On what it means to live one’s life in the strange universe we know so little about. It touched me deeply, and stuck with me for days afterward.
Cinderella (2015)
Who doesn’t love themselves a good live-action disney film? I never did watch this one back in the day when it came out, and it was the perfect escapism for me back in July when I was in the thick of summer classes.
There is nothing surprising about this movie in plot, as I think all of us are familiar with the story of cinderella. I did think it was phenomenally casted and acted, and the costumes were stunning. It wonderfully captured the childhood whimsy one felt when watching the cartoon. A great feel-good watch if you’re looking for one.
The Nun
Austin and I actually watched this one last night, so it is a last-minute addition to this blog post. And if you’re wondering how we watch movies together long-distance, let me pass along our secret to long distance dating: Google Meets. It it way less glitchy than zoom or facetime. We join a google meet together, pull up the movie on our respective screens, count down from three and hit play at the same time. It’s as good as it’s gonna get for now.
I typically don’t like horror movies, but the conjuring series is the exception to that. This movie is adjacent to that universe, so we thought it would be fun to give it a shot. And I have to say, we weren’t impressed. It is hard to live up to the conjuring movies, but we both felt this movie was cliche and truncated. Not our favorite.
T.V. Reviews:
1923
I caught the last half of 1883, the prequel to this show, with my parents at the beginning of this summer. It was very good in its own right, but to me the crown of this series is 1923. The cinematography alone took my breath away - not to mention that fact I somehow became irreparably attached to these characters in a short 8 episode season. I am waiting breathlessly for the second season.
The phenomenal casting and acting in this series must also be mentioned - truly an all around gem and absolutely worth getting sucked into like I was.
New Girl
I’ve finished the first two seasons of New Girl, and I have to admit that it has made me laugh harder than anything on TV has in a long time. It is obviously a cult favorite - I am not the first person to adore this show. I actually remember trying to watch New Girl six or seven years ago, and being not at all hooked. I think the humor is quite “adult” and wouldn’t be as funny to someone younger. But it is such a good comfort sitcom, and I am so very pleased that there are many more seasons ahead of me.
Book Reviews:
Braiding Sweetgrass
As I think I’ve mentioned a few times, I’ve been on a nonfiction kick in the last year or so. Lately I haven’t had the best luck with fiction, and so much of the fiction I’ve picked up has felt shallow/predictable/cringey. So nonfiction has been enjoyable, because, due to its very nature, it is hard for it to be anything but valuable and informative.
This particular book had been on my wishlist for years before I finally mustered up the pennies to purchase it at the bookstore last autumn. It is one of those books I just knew I would want to own instead of lend from the library - for annotating/revisiting purposes mainly.
It did not disappoint. Literally every single page had at least one gem of wisdom. I have often remarked in captions or videos that I feel that my garden teaches me so many more lessons that I ever thought possible; the lessons of letting go, of patience, trust, killing with kindness, etc. Extend that to the entire natural world, add the wisdom of centuries of native understandings, a tenured botanist’s perspective, and you’ve got Braiding Sweetgrass. It made me love the natural world more, which considering how deeply I love it, is impressive.
This book will not be a quick read for most people, it certainly wasn’t for me. But it’s almost better that way. The extra time makes it feel like you can absorb those gems better. A triumph of writing, and a loving ode to mother nature.
Normal People
I normally try to avoid very-hyped books. For the most part, I find they don’t live up to expectations, and prefer to find hidden gems that aren’t all over the internet world. There are, of course, exceptions to that (Where The Crawdads Sing was one a few years ago), and Normal People is another.
I was talking to my sister-in-law about Normal People shortly before starting it, and she said she isn’t the biggest fan of Sally Rooney - mainly because she doesn’t use quotation marks around dialogue. And I will admit, this is somewhat off-putting while reading. I don’t entirely understand what the point of not using them is, especially when they would just help with reader comprehension. I eventually got used to it, but I am going to have to agree with my sis in law about that.
However, the novel itself was wonderful. When I first shared on my Instagram story that I was reading it, so many lovely people replied praising it, many of whom said they couldn’t put it down and ended up finishing it in a day. I completely understand why. For me it was more like a week, but considering I’m usually reading at a rate of a book every two months, that was incredibly fast. A beautifully done novel about life, love, and learning about one’s self.
Alright my friends, thus ends another installment of recent reviews! I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to connecting with you more again soon. Much love,
- Faith