This is my reviewing blog. I read and view a wide variety of stuff, not all of it will be good. This is really just so I remember what I've done (I'm really forgetful). I usualy enjoy everything, so I don't imagine that there's going to...
I thought this was a super cute movie about taking your chance, being brave, and finding friendship in uncommon places. It also ticks almost every box in the found families trope.
At the end of the day though, it is a kids movie and while there are some funny and heart warming moments, there is only so much that can be done. Kudos to the writers for making this more that just a film about a cat chasing a mouse. The touches of criticism towards capitalism and consumerism did not go unnoticed.
Its always nice to revisit an old haunt, and this really did feel like picking up where you left off with your old friends.
Albertalli does a good job of dealing with the guilt of moving on from place to place and questioning how we can feel like we are in the moment, but also not. Lot’s of teen angst to go around - although, at this point, I would say these feelings of longing, disconnectedness, and fear are fairly universal themes.
I started this novel an age ago, and I’m not going to lie - it was hard going for a long while. The central character, while fascinating, is also quite a painful and difficult individual to gel with. I get why she is the way she is, but understanding is not the same as being okay with.
The second half of the novel really picks up, and all the characters really start to come into their own. I can see why there was so much fanfare around this novel. All the characters are quite richly drawn, and there is a great pay off at the end.
Overall, this was a great study of loneliness and isolation in our contemporary lifestyles. This tied nicely into many conversations that I have been having with the people in my life about the difference between being alone and being lonely, and also conversations we’ve had about the importance of social connection and belonging.
Other themes including the acceptance of self, the reconciliation of human needs and desire, and our need to ‘fix’ memory and our pasts resonated deeply. After thinking on this for a while, I would recommend this novel, with the caveat that readers should beware of the slog that is the first half.
Yes! This was dark, spicy and funny. I usually hate thrillers because, let’s be honest, it’s always women being brutalised, and I think I have enough general anxiety about safety that I don’t need it in my media and entertainment too. While this film was fairly predictable, it was great to see power exerted from a place of vulnerability.
The casting was really good - the performances were fun and familiar. Carey Mulligan’s performance was electric! Her little microexpressions are golden! And Bo Burnham’s character was so good! So deceptive. I thought the script did a really good job of reflecting back a lot of the rhetoric that we hear in cases of on campus sexual assault.
So, here are all the books that I aim to get through this year. I don’t actually anticipate to get through them all (I mean, let’s be realistic here) and I’m sure that I will add things as I go.
I’ve also joined an online book club, which will hopefully encourage me to read more. Last year I only got to 12 - pathetic!
‘f’ means I’ve started, but not finished. I will strike through and add a date when I’ve completed something.
Well, here we go.
Re-read
The Hobbit - Tolkien, illus. Jemima Catlin
The Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Rowling, illus. Kay
Pride and Prejudice - Austen
1984 - Orwell
Novels
Cat’s Cradle - Vonnegut (f)
Mother Night - Vonnegut
Boy - Dahl
Parade’s End - Ford
Jingo - Pratchett
The Call of Cthulu and other weird tales - Lovecraft
Welcome to Nightvale, a novel - Fink and Cranor
Earthsea Quartet - le Guin
The Serpent Bride - Douglass
Schindler’s List - Keneally
For the Term of His Natural Life - Clarke
Crazy Rich Asians - Kwan
The Kiterunner - Hosseini
The Princess Bride - Goldman
The Good People - Kent
Kafka on the Shore - Murakami
The Turning - Winton
Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine - Honeyman Mar 27
The Boneless Mercies - Tucholke
The Two Lost Mountains - Reilly
Where the Crawdads Sing - Owens
Spinning Silver - Novik
Dune - Herbert
Call Me By Your Name - Aciman Apr 7
Hogfather - Pratchett
Shorts
Norse Mythology - Gaiman
Love, Creekwood - Albertalli Mar 28
Non fiction
Doctor Who Encyclopedia - Russell
Instant Egghead Guide: the Universe - Minkel (f)
Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy - Steiff (f)
Margaret Thatcher - Moore
Dishonesty is the second-best policy - Mitchell
Dark Emu - Pascoe
Poetry
Poems of John Keats - Keats (f)
Plays
Coriolanus - Shakespeare
Love’s Labour’s Lost - Shakespeare
Star Wars (In the style of Shakespeare) - Drescher
The Empire Striketh Back (In the style of Shakespeare) - Drescher
The Jedi Doth Return (In the style of Shakespeare) - Drescher
I am a massive sucker for Malec. I actually can’t get enough, they are so wholesome. The plot is fairly generic, not a whole lot of tension. I mean, the team end up in Shanghai and the underworld and everyone lives, but it is teen fiction, and it is fairly fun on the whole.
I’m not going to lie, I’m only in this for the Malec content and the Lightwood sibling dynamic. Kudos to Chu and Clare for throwing in some Asian culture too.
Ahh a nice easy Young Adult read. This novel was really fun to read, much of it harks back to writing that we got in film and television from the late nineties and early 2000s - think Joss Whedon and co. I really enjoyed it because it didn’t take itself too seriously, particularly in the central plot, and you do get a sense that you want to stick by the characters.
The sweet romance between Magnus and Alec is tooth rotting; but in these trying times, it’s what we need. A couple who love each other dearly, who are generally perceptive of each other’s needs, and though wildly different as individuals, work hard at their relationship to make it work.
The only thing was that the villain in the story was too easy to pick, so I spent much of the novel wondering why they didn’t catch them. I’m interested to see what happens to this villain if they do appear again, particularly after what happens at the end.
This novel has been sitting on my bookshelf, unread, for almost five years. There’s a certain sadness in knowing that Pratchett will never write another Discworld novel, although I do think that this novel was almost an allegory for him passing on the mantle of authorship to someone else.
In the novel, we meet Tiffany Aching once more as she now takes over from the late Granny Weatherwax. She struggles to fill her shoes, and finds herself being pulled into many different directions, juggling the expectations of her family, her community, society, the other witches, and of course, herself. This is so very, very relatable. We get a lovely coming of age story, with some of Pratchett’s usual insightful social commentary sprinkled in.
The key messages here are things that many of my friends and colleagues have been thinking about these last few months. What does it really mean to fail? What are our core values, and how important is it that we hold on to them? What can make us give these up? How far do we push ourselves before we say stop? How can we better recognise and celebrate the inner strengths of others?
This novel was so fun to read. Every time I pick up a Discworld novel, it’s like snuggling under a familiar blanket. The characters and the world are so warm and so familiar now. I walked away from this novel thinking about the importance of surrounding yourself with champions of your cause, seeking out and taking on advice from a good mentor, and trusting in your gut.
I took ages to finish this. I started all the way back in April, but despite all the time I had to read during the whole COVID period couldn’t motivate me to get beyond the Italy section. But I have finally finished it, and I’m glad I did.
I love reading about other people’s lives and getting a deeper insight into how people think and grow. It puts me in a reflective mood - gets me thinking about my own choices and whatnot.
I do like Gilbert’s style of writing in this, it’s like a very journalistic in style, kind of like a really long feature article. I enjoyed the gentle philosophy of trying to get to the deeper core of who we are and what works for us.
Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia was a turning point in my childhood (or early teenage hood as it were). When I first saw Star Wars in the late 90s (yes, I was very late to the game), it had such an impact on my appreciation for storytelling and character. I loved it, and it started a lifelong appreciation for science fiction.
This ‘sort of’ memoir was an interesting read, and I guess it answered a lot of questions that I had as a young fangirl. Carrie writes with such a warm voice, and it feels like she’s having a conversation with your when you read this book.
She’s also such a humorous writer, I imagine it would be easy to lament her lot, but she writes with such a wry humour, that again, it’s like having a laugh with an old friend.
Hmm, perhaps it’s now time to find ‘Wishful Drinking’ and carry on the Carrie reading.
Loved it! This was such a fun film and again, another departure from the traditional superhero fare that we’ve seen a lot of. I guess it’s in the vein of Deadpool, in terms of style and narrative. This is miles better than Suicide Squad. I remember watching Suicide Squad and thinking that Margot Robbie carried that film, and I was so happy that she got her chance to star in her own movie - yay!
I really liked the exploration of the character, Harley Quinn, in this film. The opening was so well done - that cartoon style was super cute, and it really painted a picture of her character. I thought the film did quite a good job at exploring the characters. I know there was criticism that not all characters had their backstories explored in more detail, but really, the film is already almost two hours long, and in terms of pacing, it makes sense that things are cut. To be honest, I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything.
In terms of style, it’s obviously structured chaos, in that the characters are super flamboyant and loud! And I though that that violent clash worked for the film. The style also reminded me a bit of Guy Ritchie’s work - that very comic book-y Rock’n’Rolla punchy flash cards thing. I liked it - I mean, it’s a comic book story at the end of the day, so it’s good to merge some of those features.
Although, Margot Robbie, is obviously fantastic. I just have to say, that Ewan McGregor’s Roman was creepy as hell! At first, I was like, wow, Ewan McGregor as this host-with-the-most, a little bit spoilt, a bit annoying, but then, he starts doing things, and by the end, I thought exploding was too good for him! His performance was so good and the writing for his character - very Joffrey-esque!
This is a film I’d watch again, just so many moving parts!
I went in blind. Although opera is never too hard to follow, it would have been good if I had done some research into at least, the plot of Faust. This was a grand metaphysical production about a deal made at a crossroads. Everything about it was grand, although, being produced by Opera Australia, I would expect nothing less.
The orchestra was phenomenal, I’m always reminded of how important the music is to the telling of a story, when I go and see something in a language I don’t speak. As an aside, for some reason, I thought that my Year 8 level of French knowledge from 20-odd years ago would assist me, and assist me it absolutely didn’t! I read the surtitles like (almost) everybody else! But back to the orchestra - I wish I could harness the energy of the conductor (Lorenzo Passerini) because he was phenomenal - such a delight to watch!
The costumes were also excellent - although again, Opera Australia. The performances were really good. Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Mephistopheles was enchanting, so much presence! Although, my favourite was Irina Lungu as Marguerite. Her voice - just wow! She hit every note, every emotional set piece.
I always forget how much I love the Opera until I go and see it, Then it all comes rushing back.
I’ve never read any of Gilbert’s work before, yes, even despite of Eat Pray Love, being made into a film and all that. I’m not sure what I expected of this novel, but I remember being uncertain of whether I would actually enjoy it - but enjoy it, I did.
The reflective structure of the novel makes it read like a memoir and I thought the ending was tied up quite nicely. Vivian Morris was such an interesting protagonist, it was delightful to watch her navigate New York City, and grow and change.
The book is so long, and there were so many good parts, that I can’t list them all! The central themes of life, love, the passing of time, and friendship (amongst others) were delved into with a fair amount of detail.
I will definitely be reading more Gilbert in the future.
I have never seen Twelfth Night performed live, but of course, knew the story thanks to Amanda Bynes and She’s the Man (still a super fun film!). I also adore Sport for Jove as a performance company. And man, they did not disappoint!
Twelfth Night was fun and fancy-free. Great acting, great costumes, and a great venue for their summer series. I went with some friends and we had a lovely picnic on the lawn of Old Government House.
They used the space so well, there was action everywhere. I thought it was very cleverly planned out, because sometimes you can get confused in such a big space, but they managed it really well, you always knew where to look.
I always highly recommend Sport for Jove, I try to see their productions as often as I can - and I’m a huge sucker for Shakespeare’s comedies!
This is such a heartwarming play which explores both the pathos of suicide and the ineffability of life.
The set was really intimate and Steve Rodgers was delightful to watch. I loved the audience participation because I think it adds an element of spontaneity to the whole experience. A woman was asked to take her shoe off and use her sock as a puppet, I imagine that she didn’t think that was going to happen at the beginning of the day.
This made me reflect on my own life and the things and people in it that I love, that I’m grateful for, and the things which fall under the simple pleasures category of existence.
My initial reaction also made me realise that sometimes I’m a passive observer of life rather than an active and considerate participator, and that’s something that needs to change.
So first off, I guess it’s considered quite morbid to think about death (of yourself, loved ones, pet, other people, etc) and decay, but this was so interesting! Doughty creates such a friendly tone through the book, and the way that she explains things is so easy to follow (yes, I realise that this is a book for younger readers probably).
The questions raised were really interesting too. It’s funny because I am in contact with lots of young people in my work, and the one about eating popcorn just before you die did come up a few weeks back!
I also think, everyone is on some level afraid of death, but like anything, the more we know about it, the more myths we dispel, the more we will become accepting of it being a fact of life. I will say, that it did put me in a calmer frame of mind - not that I have ever been particularly panicked about death.
I would recommend this book to anyone who had even a passing interest in mortality. Although death can be a very solemn thing, Doughty also takes the time to find some humour within it all.
This was a beautiful and cleverly shot piece of film, and although I don’t really like war films this was pretty good. Upon reflection it was nice to see a war film which didn’t go on with the gratuitous violence. It reminded me of those Kenneth Slessor poems, about the waste and futility of war.
The quest trope is always a good one to get characters to move from relatively safe environments and put themselves into all manner of danger, and in this sense, 1917 achieved that. George Mackay and Dean-Charles Chapman were really engaging to watch and there were some really good sections of the film, which felt super discordant - which I love, I think you should never be too comfortable in the cinema.
At the end of the day though, I wouldn’t say that I loved this film, but I can certainly appreciate how it talks about war and the people who suffered through it. There’s a banality in evil, and that’s what war is, and this film does a good job capturing that banality. All these lives were wasted and for what.
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