MOVIES/TELEVISION & MISC MEDIA
BLACK WIDOW
I should preface this by saying the first Marvel film I saw in theaters was Spiderman: Homecoming. I watched Infinity War right after. Safe to say I was a little lost. I've seen most MCU films by this point. I skipped a few per the recommendations of fans; it seems there's a consensus a few contributions to the timeline aren't plot-heavy and don't have a very engaging story. I did wind up liking Age of Ultron, despite its general disfavor. All of the films were fun, but some were just better than the rest; Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier have certain charm and heart that put them above the others. Some films I just love indulgently; Ant Man & The Wasp, Captain Marvel, and Spiderman: Far From Home are feel-good comforts of mine. Black Widow takes a place among the latter group. There are a few heavy moments; we learn the origins of widows and feel the implications of their servitude as Natasha and her sister discuss how traumatic their experiences were.
However, what really makes this movie tick its family dynamic and humor. Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, and David Harbor are pitch-perfect in their roles, playing Natasha's sister, mother, and father respectively. Pugh especially shines, both in comedic beats and in the quieter moments of the film. She's going to be a tour de force as she reprises her role in the MCU as she bittersweetly takes on the mantle of Black Widow.
FEAR STREET
[SPOILERS BELOW]
Oh man, this series surprised me in more ways than one. I'm not a horror fan, and I'd never read the Goosebumps stories. I wasn't planning to watch them until my college roommate texted me asking if I'd seen them. Her reaching out to see if I had watched them meant one thing: it's gay. I was definitely more interested, but I still had doubts. I don't like horror, but I know the genre has its own set of tropes; who gets killed first, who lives, who dies. Nevertheless, I gave it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised to see a lesbian couple as the main romance. I didn't have any hope for them to make it to the end of part one, let alone finish out the trilogy. But Fear Street subverted many of my expectations. The acting and non-linear story had me invested, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't smile when I realized that Sam and Deena survived Shadyside's curse. It's my favorite Netflix original to date. I'm looking forward to a rewatch with friends closer to Halloween.
BOOKS
I used to be a voracious reader. Anyone who knew me in middle and high school would tell you that my nose was constantly stuck in a book. When I was younger, it was a way to escape. As I grew, it became a way to pass the time on my long bus rides to and from school.
I unintentionally stopped reading after I started college. Balancing multiple jobs and heavy course-loads left little room in my head for more words. I graduated last May, and have slowly fallen in love with reading again. I've found my taste in genres has broadened over the years as well; I went from strictly fantasy to enjoying realism, creative nonfiction, and biographies.
I also realized I wanted to seek out more diverse stories. I had come out since I last read for fun, and I wanted to find books with characters I could identify with. Enter:
ONE LAST STOP - CASEY MCQUISTON
This book was all over literature TikTok; nearly on every recommendation list for LGBTQ+ stories. I was staying with a friend in NYC for a secret project a few weeks ago. The whole trip was unplanned and very last-minute. I'm residing in this weird, post-grad grey area. I had a frugal upbringing; joblessness and looming student loan payments made me scared of spending any money on myself.
But I just had an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime week. I hadn't been to the city in two years, and I graduated this May. I just hopped off the Q train and was high from the adrenaline of my gig.
There was a picturesque Barnes and Noble down the street from my friend's studio apartment. The store actually had a "BookTok" table filled with viral reads. One Last Stop was nestled near the center. Budget be damned. I wanted this book. 23-year-old August moved to New York in search of a place to escape. She wasn't searching for community- she just wanted to live someplace where it's normal to be lonely. But, try as she might, she couldn't escape the warmth of her roommates and a few other people in the Big Apple. One of them being a stranger a subway. A girl from the 70's who can't get off the car.
THE PRICE OF SALT - PATRICIA HIGHSMITH
This book is a piece of classic gay literature, right? A tender, slow-burn lesbian romance that was written in 1952. The basis for Carol (2015). I'm late to the party, but I've been enjoying it immensely. It is an unequivocal story for its time, and holds up well after 70 years. There are universal moments; quotes which stick in the throat of anyone who has loved a woman in some way. I'm still getting through the last third of the book. I'm expecting Therese and Carol to ride off into the sunset- this is still the 1950's. But I look forward to seeing how their love carries on. I'm saving my viewing of the film for Christmas. I want to get the full experience.
I'm always looking for new TV/Film/Music recommendations! Have you been obsessed with anything recently? Feel free to drop some suggestions below!
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