Quick Reviews and Stuff: November

November’s been such a long month, man.

Movies

1. Killers of the Flower Moon — Go see this. Ignore the run time. The film is engaging the whole way through, just try not to chug a soda during the previews and you’ll be fine. There is a lot to take in here, and I look forward to watching it again with closed captioning in the future, to catch things that I missed. Stellar performances by the whole cast, but especially Lily Gladstone, who is outstanding. (She was the best part of The Unknown Country, a film that was largely improvised/shot without much of a script.) The level of grief and pain she is able to summon in her role is heartbreaking and otherworldly. This is a true story and the amount of sheer evil on display here is terrifying. (Also kudos to Jason Isbell for holding his own against Leonardo Di Caprio in a pretty crucial scene.)

2. Subject — Documentary about documentaries; more specifically, about how participating in a documentary can impact the subject’s lives in ways that maybe no one anticipated. Raises a lot of interesting questions about the ethics of documentary making, although I think they brought in a few too many different ideas and could have been better served really focusing in on one or two central questions. Also, there aren’t really any answers given, although producer/participant Margaret Ratliff talked afterwards in a Q&A about a nonprofit she’s forming that will help advocate for documentary participants to ensure they’re taken care of/not taken advantage of. That seems like something that should have existed long before now.

3. The Marvels —I haven’t really kept up on the whole MCU, and I think that studio needs to sit down and think about whether the whole “you now need to have watched four different TV shows, three movies, and found our secret website to understand this new thing” is really working for them. Having to extend so much energy to follow something is great for the superfan, but much like how casual comics fans get turned off by the sheer amount of content they’re expected to consume to keep up, the movie/TV-verse is doing the same thing to casual fans. Anyway — this was funnier than I thought it would be, and even though I’ve skipped large chunks of MCU canon, it was easy enough to follow along with. Iman Vellani is absolutely perfect as Kamala Khan, her energy and humor helps keep this one light-hearted and I look forward to seeing more from her. Also, the scene with the cats — if you’ve seen it, you know which one I mean — was probably about the hardest I’ve laughed in ages. I saw this in a special screening put on by my employer (a research laboratory), so afterwards got to hear some scientists talk about quantum physics, which hurts my brain.

4. In the Heart of the Sea — I love some Maritime Disaster Content and the real-life story of the Essex is one I’ve been familiar with for a while. This movie… exists? It wasn’t particularly good but wasn’t dreadful, and it had a lot of familiar faces to round out the cast. But I can’t help but think the story could have been better told if they let it linger in the darkness instead of holding back for the PG-13 rating. At least we get a few good close ups of Cillian Murphy’s face before everything goes to hell.

Books

1. Liebestrasse, Greg Lockard, Tim Fish (Illustrator), Hector Barros (Illustrator) — Graphic novel set both in the lead up to and the aftermath of WWII, following an American man in Berlin who unexpectedly finds himself falling in love. This was fine, although shows the inherent limitations in the graphic novel as a format, as I think this would have been much better served by a longer adaptation. We know Sam and Philip love each other because we are told they love each other, but there is so little development of their relationship and they often don’t even seem to like each other, to the point where it’s hard to see why they’d each be risking their own safety/lives for the other. The art is decent but I just wanted more story/development than I got.

2. The Witching Tide, Margaret Meyer — Debut novel set in 1645 England, during the witch trials era. If you didn’t know, that is definitely one of my Drunk History Topics so I’m always excited to read something set in this era. Meyer’s work is meticulously researched and really reflects the moral panic/hysteria of the time, where something as simple as a mole, a birthmark, or other physical imperfection was used as a sign of witchcraft. Unfortunately I found this book a bit too slow — despite the fact that it takes place mostly over the course of just a few days — and features my least favorite thing, the “did it or didn’t it happen” ending. Martha, our main character, has motivations and explanations that shift from page to page, and while in a way that makes sense — you try living her life and see if your reactions are rational — it also makes it hard to really pin her down in terms of what she wants to see happen.

3. Starter Villain, John Scalzi —Charlie’s estranged uncle dies and leaves him a bit more than he bargained for. This was DELIGHTFUL. I read most of this in one sitting. Incredibly engaging from the very first page, witty, absolutely spot on perfect banter/dialogue between the characters. It’s not necessarily a book whose jokes will all hold up in 20 years or whatever— there’s a joke about Spotify that I thought was hilarious but which might be meaningless to future readers — but as a book for right now, it’s great, particularly as a send-up of start-up/venture capital culture. If anything I thought the ending was a bit rushed/handwaved, but overall the book was so entertaining that I didn’t mind so much. Bonus points for being set in the Chicago suburbs (who sets a book in Barrington!?) and for its positive portrayal of labor negotiations. (You’ll see.)

4. Prodigal Father, Pagan Son, Anthony Menginie and Kerrie Droban — Menginie, the son of former leader of a motorcycle club, shares his memories of growing up in an environment that most people couldn’t even imagine. The book is one that’s nearly completely impossible to fact check, but peels away the glamor that media like Sons of Anarchy gives to the world of outlaw motorcycle clubs and displays instead the seedy characters, desperation, and fear that are rife in that world. I didn’t love the writing style, though whether that’s due to Menginie’s choice in narration or cowriter Kerrie Droban’s stylistic choices, who knows. The book is very good at sucking you into the action, though, even as you shake your head in disbelief at what you’re reading. Published in 2011, this is one I’d love to see an updated edition of, to know how Menginie fares today. (A quick Google does turn up his LinkedIn, at least.) He clearly goes through a lot of stuff and has a lot of troubled people in his life. I’d love to know how a mid-40-something Anthony Menginie has been processing all of this trauma that he experienced.

How About Some Other Stuff?

I rewatched Our Flag Means Death season one, and then moved right on to season two. I’ll try to write this without spoilers: season two was fun, though not quite as magical/inspiring as season one. With an eight-episode season, I think they could have benefitted more from the two extra episodes that were given to season one. The Stede/Ed stuff was well done, if a bit rushed, but a lot of what happens to the supporting cast, we’re told rather than having the room to see on screen. I would have loved a little more time to see the relationships develop between those characters. There’s a lot of good stuff in the Stede/Ed stuff though about navigating relationships, trust, communication, overcoming past hurt and trauma, etc. I just wish there’d been time for more of it.

I went back to Pennsylvania for the Thanksgiving holiday and was delighted to discover a cat cafe near where my family lives. Two paws up (?) to the Cattfeinated Cat Cafe in Greensburgh, PA. They have excellent cats, a really good selection of drinks and baked goods, a cute little gift shop, and a vintage/resale/second-hand corner. But most importantly, excellent cats.

I also briefly fostered Henry and Beezus, the absolute snuggliest kittens I’ve ever experienced, while their regular foster was traveling. They are both super playful, very curious, and will happily fall asleep curled up next to you. Inexplicably, they haven’t been adopted yet, which is a bummer because someone is missing out on the greatest pair of cats. If you’re anywhere near Chicago and are looking to open your heart and home to the most bonded pair of cats, please consider applying to adopt them through One Tail at a Time.

What’s Next?

It’s December, man, who knows.

I’d like to get around to seeing Napoleon and Saltburn; Poor Things and Eileen are both out soon too. I’m sure there’s other stuff coming up that will grab my attention. My workplace shuts down over Christmas/New Year’s, and my usual plan is to spend most of my spare time watching movies.

I already started reading another mediocre romance novel, and my hold for Our Wives Under the Sea just came in, so I am probably going to buzz through Mediocre Romance to get to that one.

I head northeast for a few days to go to a few Mountain Goats shows, see a few new cities (Rochester, NY, what’s up), and catch up with a few friends. No better way to end a year.

Unlike all the other posers, my “best of 2023” list doesn’t come out until 2024. What if I watch something on December 31st that rocks my world? We aim for completion and accuracy here.

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