i. recent books
tender is the flesh, bazterrica [4.0 ★] mildly disturbing? because of the possibility that a future like in the book seems totally possible. it was particularly interesting because of the parallels bazterrica drew between capitalism and cannibalism, as well as the overarching theme of the degradation of morality.
no longer human, dazai [4.0 ★] it's filled with bleakness and despair and just keeps on getting worse when you think it can't go any further. "now i have neither happiness nor unhappiness. everything passes". the main character is entirely engulfed in his own thoughts, he's flawed, weak, and isolated, the sense of hopelessness bleeding through into reality and emphasised by the way the book draws on dazai's own personal life.
flowers for algernon, keyes [5.0 ★]
a little life, yanagihara [5.0 ★] sad but almost comforting to read at the same time, i loved this book, in particular the unrelentless cycle of hope and hopelessness. i felt a lot of resonation from lines in the book.
american psycho, easton ellis [4.5 ★]
the bell jar, plath [3.5 ★]
kafka on the shore, murakami [4.0 ★]
after dark, murakami [4.5 ★]
the trial, kafka [4.0 ★]
ii. recent films
kill bill: volume 1, 2003 [4.0 ★] definitely quite an indulgent film, i think it's quite "cinema" heavy and plot light but i don't think that's a negative, especially in this case. beautiful cinematography with some really creative camera shots and use of colour, loved the split screen scene and the blue silhouette fight scene in particular, and also an equally beautiful soundtrack that i don't think gets talked about enough. filled with cathartic violence and gore which kept me ridiculously stressed the entire time but the cinematography and sheer beauty made it not boring; i didn't end up skipping over anything. lucy liu was gorgeous i love lucy liu <3 as much as i loved o-ren and the final scene in the snow, which was almost reminiscent of the edward scissorhands snow scene.
i think i might increase the rating after i watch the second part, but i'm not a fan of the fact that there is even a second part at all, especially noting that it's longer than 2 hours. also not a fan of the feet scenes.
the wonderful story of henry sugar, 2023 [4.0 ★] i didn't expect to enjoy this too much, but it ended up really exceeding my expectations. along with the other shorts, stylistically they were quintessential wes anderson but executed better than asteroid city, which had originally left me slightly dissappointed. when i was younger, i read a lot of roald dahl (i still have the big box set of all of his work) so i was particularly excited for this; i think wes anderson's style perfectly complemented roald dahl's storytelling and created a comfortable sense of nostalgia. the pacing was perfect, i fucking loved the fast speed of dialogue and the blunt direct monologues. i need all films to be paced like this.
edward scissorhands, 1990 [4.5 ★] such a uniquely poetic work, it plays out warmly like a fairytale. winona ryder was beautiful and played the role perfectly. i wish i could burn the snow scene into my eyes.
anna karenina, 2012 [4.0 ★] the most beautiful whimsical visuals, especially the costume design, and a beautiful score. i think a lot of the substance of the film is derived from the elaborate styling, but what can i say. all the world's a stage. i think joe wright did an amazing job with the source material given, transforming what could have been a slightly stuffy period drama into a magnificent work of art.
oppenheimer, 2023 [5.0 ★] first 5 star film in a while; a cinematic masterpiece, truly incredible from start to end. the dead silence in a full theater during the trinity explosion and the prolonged tension throughout the entire 3 hours, with the most perfect ending. cold war history + quantum physics? loved getting excited every time a new scientist turned up. maybe this film was made for me. need to rewatch in 70mm imax!!
barbie, 2023 [3.5 ★] great film for people who are just discovering that women deserve rights; it felt like an onslaught of corporate girl boss white liberal feminism and just seemed more like an expensive advertisement for mattel. there was also too much ken, people who are complaining about this being anti-men are silly. get a grip. despite it being surface level, i think ultimately it does an ok introductory job and in places where this level of feminism may already be considered extreme, the film possibly does well in creating talking points and was impactful in its reach of a very wide audience. nevertheless, i still love greta gerwig and i liked the set & costume design. i do think the media's influenced how i perceived this film but i don't know. i just didn't enjoy it too much, even ignoring any feminist points it attempts to make. it's silly and fun but watching cat videos for an hour and a half is also silly and fun.
jacob’s ladder, 1990 [4.0 ★]
asteroid city, 2023 [3.5 ★] a work of art. very wes anderson.
about time, 2013 [2.5 ★] too british
notting hill, 1999 [3.5 ★]
tetris, 2023 [2.0 ★]
a bride for rip van winkle, 2016 [3.5 ★]