I really value when people use violence for me, it's actually one of my love languages
A somewhat rambling list of the films and shows I watched, plus what I've read and listened to over the past month (that wasn't included in the last post)
What can I say? I promised to catch you up on most of what I’ve cast my peepers on of late and I’m confident in saying I have kept that promise … and then some. Full disclosure: this is a fairly accurate list, but there were some I opted not to include for time and content. Case in point: Some are horror titles I’m saving for another post.
Okay, fine. Real quick on the non-horror ones I left off: Yay for The Batman vs Dracula, Uncorked, Book Club: The Next Chapter, Flower, Girlfriends and Girlfriends; meh for Happiness for Beginners.
A bonus yay with a caveat: The Tourist. Season one of the Jamie Dornan/Danielle Macdonald dark comedy/mystery about a man who wakes up with no memory in the Australian outback is a surreal treat. However, Max dropped it from its service and there is currently no way to watch it in the U.S. Here’s hoping it finds a new home here once the second and final season is completed.
We good? Awesome. Let’s dive in!
FILM
Blue Beetle
The second best live-action comic book-based project to arrive this year. That's not faint praise. Jaime Reyes and his irrepressible family roared into cinemas with a superhero origin story that not only puts a Latinx character at its center, but is fun and well crafted, too. Let's hope future DC movies take a page from the Reyes' playbook.
Bottoms
Honestly, I was genuinely excited to see Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott's follow-up to the terrific Shiva Baby. Thankfully, the ladies did not disappoint. This queer high school comedy is violent as hell, not to mention riotously funny and gloriously honest. Sennott and the amazing Ayo Edebiri are sensational, as are the sensational supporting cast.
Writer’s note: Oh yeah! The quote in the headline totes comes from this flick.
Desperately Seeking Susan
I finally got to see writer/director Susan Seidelman's 1985 classic mistaken identity comedy with bored New Jersey housewife Rosanna Arquette pretending to be wild child Madonna with the latter trying to track her down. While my love for Seidelman might be recent thanks to a viewing of her sensational Smithereens last year, I am all in.
Fanfic
As a fanfic writer myself, I was intrigued by this Polish coming-of-age flick about a teenage girl struggling with gender identity issues who writes to escape into the fantasy world she's created with her stories. Despite the emotional complexities inherent in a story like this, there is a sense of optimism that shines through.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter
Based on a chapter in Bram Stoker's Dracula, this brings that captain's log to bloody life. Corey Hawkins, Liam Cunningham, and David Dastmalchian do an admirable job as the ship's crew, the talented trio keeping us mostly distracted until you-know-who appears. A fun side quest for fans of Stoker's novel and of the Dracula mythos, in general.
Lingua Franca
Writer/director Isobel Sandoval's illuminating and touching 2019 film is a balm for the soul. Sandoval also stars, giving a fantastic performance as an undocumented trans Filipina seeking a green card who finds romance with a patient’s son. The redoubtable Lynn Cohen offers an emotional, heart wrenching turn as the woman cared for by Sandoval's character.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Did the franchise peak with Fallout? If this latest film is any indication, then let's all take a step back while it self-destructs. Part Two is going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting to make the snoozy AI plot (which feels recycled from a million other films/shows) worth it. Though maybe start by dropping the dead weight of Tom Cruise, who looks checked out for most of the runtime, and Simon Pegg, who adds nothing as Cruise’s emotional support animal. Hayley Atwell is clearly having a ball, so why not reinvigorate the IP with her and be done with it? But please keep Ving Rhames.
Niagara
Marilyn Monroe is an underrated actress. While I'm not a fan of everything she's done, there's no denying how electrifying she can be with the right project. Case in point: this 1953 noir that has Monroe as a femme fatale married to sad sack Joseph Cotten. A sensational thriller that keeps you in its grip until the final frame.
Run Rabbit Run
I haven't seen a movie with so little to say since the Twilight franchise. When you have Sarah Snook, Damon Herriman, and Greta Scacchi in your film, you better deliver. Instead, the real horror is how anyone thought this was a coherent psychological chiller. Do yourself a favor and scratch your familial trauma horror itch with Don't Look Now or Hereditary.
Smoking Causes Coughing
Leave it to writer/director Quentin Dupieux to put his own absurdist twist on the superhero genre. I love his work, so I was delighted to catch this 2022 film about a team of vigilantes who are sent on a retreat by their rat boss (not a euphemism) to work out their issues. Needless to say, things don't go as expected. Incredibly funny. Incredibly gory. Incredibly unique.
Summertime
There's no denying that Katherine Hepburn illuminated the screen with her rapier wit and immense talent. In David Lean's 1955 romantic drama, she draws our compassion as an older single woman visiting Venice who falls for a handsome yet married shopkeeper. A charming travelogue with a visceral performance from Hepburn at its center.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
A pleasant surprise following all of the nonsensical live-action attempts of late, this animated gem offers not only a hunger for pizza, but a sense of immense satisfaction from seeing the turtles rendered so well. The animation has its own refreshing style, plus that voice cast (Ayo Edebiri! Natasia Demetriou!)? Yes, please.
Wendell & Wild
If you're a fan of Henry Selick — and if you love The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, and Coraline as much as I do, then you definitely are — be sure to check out his 2022 release. This animated delight, which tells the tale of a young girl who makes a deal with the titular demon brothers, takes its cues from The Nightmare Before Christmas but is a supernatural treat all its own.
TV
And Just Like That...
While it will never live up to the iconic status of Sex and the City, I do still enjoy the controlled chaos of this sequel series. It's fun catching up with Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte (miss you forever, Samantha!); although, seriously, can we be done with Che? Huge shout out to show MVPs Sarita Choudhury and Mario Cantone, who deserve their own spinoff. (Renewed for season three. All episodes available on Max.)
The Bear
Diving deeper into the characters has been a huge boon to the second season of this exquisite series. The one who seems to benefit the most from this is Richie as Ebon Moss-Bachrach gives a rich, transformative performance in the season's finest episode, "Forks." Huge props also go out to Ayo Edebiri (yep, she's back one more time!), Lionel Boyce, and Liza Colón-Zayas for their standout work. (All episodes available on Hulu.)
Deadwater Fell
A family killed. The aftershocks threaten to shatter the illusion of everything a community holds dear. David Tennant, Cush Jumbo, Matthew McNulty, and Anna Madeley star in this compelling thriller that loses its footing as it closes in on the finish line. Fans may come for Tennant, but it's Jumbo and Madeley who shine brightest. (All episodes available on Acorn TV.)
Death in Paradise
After discovering I was several series behind, I jumped back into one of my favorite cozy mysteries with both feet. Set on the Caribbean island of St. Marie, a London detective inspector joins the island's police force in the same capacity. Every couple of years, there's a cast shakeup yet the result remains the same: a nicely crafted mystery with fun characters. (Renewed for series 13 and 14. All episodes available on Britbox.)
Kevin Can F**k Himself
This ingenious series was inspired by the rampant misogyny and toxicity associated with the Kevin James sitcom Kevin Can Wait. Switching between reel life and real life with impressive dexterity, the writers and the cast are dialed into the material. Annie Murphy, Mary Hollis Inboden, and Eric Petersen are an incredible triple act. (All episodes available on AMC+.)
The Lazarus Project
Ambitious. Emotional. Thrilling. There are more grandiose ways to describe this brilliant British sci-fi actioner about a man who gets involved with a secret organization that works to prevent mass extinction events through time travel after the death of his lover. It also has a cracking cast led by Paapa Essiedu, Anjli Mohindra, and Tom Burke. (Renewed for series two. All episodes available on TNTdrama.com.)
BOOKS
I’m a huge fan of Kamala Khan and her initial 38-issue run written by G. Willow Wilson is a fantastic introduction. These stories are fun, emotional, thrilling, and filled with fun cameos from your favorite Avengers. While the cameos are great, it’s Kamala’s friends and family who are the real unsung heroes — a fact Kamala realizes more often than not. The Marvelous Ms. Khan is an aspirational role model; not to mention she’s one of the most relatable female characters to hit the Marvel universe.
Alden and Conrad are tabletop gamers and sworn enemies who find themselves in a precarious position when they are forced to drive cross-country to a gaming convention. Annabeth Albert is one of my favorite MM romance authors. She’s an expert at crafting warm, low-angst stories with characters that are easy to fall for — even if those same characters don’t fall that easily for each other. Sweet, sexy, and hits you square in the feels. You might even be inspired to find a tabletop game to play.
An Echo in the Bone (Outlander #7)
The ballad of Claire Randall Fraser and Jamie Fraser continues in one of the best books in the outstanding Diana Gabaldon series. Set during the American Revolution, the couple find they cannot avoid the war and are soon thrust in the midst of it. One of my favorite subplots naturally involves one of my favorite supporting characters: Lord John Grey. That Gabaldon weaves him so intrinsically into the fabric of this tale (and featuring his history as a spy, to boot) thrills me to no end. Can’t believe there’s only three books left!
MUSIC
I’m thinking this post has gone on long enough. That said, I couldn’t leave without sharing some of my favorite listens from the past month. Hit play on all of these and bop till you drop or swoon to the moon.
Maisie Peters — The Good Witch
Barbie The Album
Hozier — Unreal Unearth
Janelle Monáe — The Age of Pleasure
Rina Sawayama — Hold the Girl
Until next time!