Here are some things I enjoyed this month:
MOVIES + TELEVISION
ANNIHILATION
This film seems to have been very polarizing; I really liked it but I know of a number of people who had the complete opposite reaction. I found Annihilation to be enjoyably strange and engaging with great visuals and some really interesting music. I also loved that I was watching a sci-fi/action movie with an almost entirely female cast. The end of the film is particularly surreal and almost entirely dialogue free, relying on the images and music to tell the story instead of tacking on a voiceover or clunky dialogue to explain everything. This pleased me.
JUMAMJI
I was utterly surprised that I liked this film as much as I did. I went in with zero expectations and ended up having a really fun time. It's campy and silly and sometimes that's exactly what you need. It does contain some unfortunate lampshading in the form of Ruby Roundhouse's costume, as well as a few other missteps, but overall I found it charming.
THE TICK
Amazon's The Tick brought me some much needed optimism. The first couple of episodes are a bit uneven in tone, partly because of the way Amazon films pilots so far in advance, but once the show finds its footing it's really fun. The Tick manages to be meta and play with superhero tropes without getting annoying and still telling an entertaining story.
BOOKS
The Loyal League series tackles a time period and subject matter that you don't often see in historical romance: The Civil War. Cole's books feature really interesting, strong characters and don't shy away from the danger, horror, and injustice that her black female leads face in the confederate south. A Hope Divided is the second book in the series and my favorite so far. Cole takes her time building a strong and interesting relationship between the two main characters, making the slow-burn romance very satisfying and giving weight to the very bleak world in which they live.
ANNIHILATION (Jeff VanderMeer)
ANNIHILATION (Jeff VanderMeer)
There are some broad-stroke similarities between the Annihilation book and movie, but for the most part they are completely different stories. VanderMeer's novel takes its time building up an environment of dread and tension and hinting at all the bad things that are going on without fully explaining them. I loved the melancholy tone, the unreliable, hard-to-like protagonist, and the unusual structure of the writing. It reminded me a lot of House of Leaves. There are more books in the series and once I can work myself up to another dread-filled book experience, I'll read the next one.
I almost gave up on this book immediately after starting because I was not prepared for the stylized fantasy slang used 100% of the time by the main character/narrator. Luckily I stuck with it and eventually got used to the dialect and started to enjoy myself. Ok, now stick with me: Prosperity is a steam-punk-ish adventure story/romance with a plucky young ne'er-do-well protagonist who ends up leaving the grimy floating city in which he lives and joining a motley airship crew on an adventure to collect explosive magical air energy. On their travels they encounter crazed priests, air-pirates, mechanical zombies, and giant Lovecraftian extra-dimensional krakens. It's silly and fun and at the same time genuinely had me caring about the characters.
MUSIC
I'LL BE YOUR GIRL (The Decemberists)
YAY NEW DECEMBERISTS! I'll Be Your Girl mixes the lyricism and melodies that I have loved for years and adds rad synths. I love rad synths. HOW DID THEY KNOW??? Anyway, it's good and has a darker tone which feels very timely.
DEAR EVAN HANSEN
YAY NEW DECEMBERISTS! I'll Be Your Girl mixes the lyricism and melodies that I have loved for years and adds rad synths. I love rad synths. HOW DID THEY KNOW??? Anyway, it's good and has a darker tone which feels very timely.
DEAR EVAN HANSEN
I finally made time to sit down and listen to the original cast recording for Dear Evan Hansen and it is wonderful. The show is about a teenager with severe social anxiety whose entire life changes when he lies about being friends with a fellow student who recently committed suicide. Here is one of the songs that stuck with me the most:
ART THINGS
Definitely the biggest art news from March is the launch of my very own Patreon page. I also finished eight more Nerd Love collages which are now available in my Etsy shop. I have the final 14 pieces all sketched out and am hoping to get them finished up in April.
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