9/10 - Love, Liza
It’s hard not to love Phillip Seymour Hoffman… this was his first lead role in a film. He plays a gas sniffin’ widow. Kathy Bates in this movie too… and idk if this is a thing already but I’m joining her fan club which I am calling: the Kath-ter Baters.
Jim O’Rourke soundtrack…. I mean
It is very fucking good. Denny is one of my favorite supporting characters I’ve encountered in a really long time.
I’m starting to wonder how many movies PSH has with burning houses playing a character.
8/10 - First Reformed
Ethan Hawke is my MAN… he is my comfort actor. I will watch pretty much anything he’s in. I really loved First Reformed.
It does the religion —> suspense thing with a subtly that is missing from a lot of recent religious horror movies. I feel like a lot of christian imagery is pretty heavy handed recently… maybe i’m thinking of that new movie Heretic, although I haven’t seen it.
I called someone I knew who had also watched First Reformed to discuss it with them as soon as I finished it. I wanted to hear what they thought of the ending but I also needed to be pulled out of the reverie… cause this movie sucked me into it’s world.
I love the idea of a guy who works at a tourist trap church. And they delved into that character without a slightest hint of camp which I actually really appreciated. Nothing I love more than a slice of life.
7/10 - Blazing Saddles
This is our pedal steel player Xandy’s fave Mel Brooks movie and I had yet to see it so I thought I’d finally watch it since I found it on DVD.
Obviously the writing is incredible, the jokes definitely had me googling pop culture references constantly. I do enjoy watching a movie about two guys becoming buddies <3 Blazing Saddles trotting so Broke Back Mountain could gallop? Who’s to say?
The image that stuck with me the most is when they show that both the guy and the horse he rode in on have nooses around their necks at the public hanging.
Gene Wilder, another comfort actor of mine is always like seeing an old friend. I love Madalyn Kahn but I like her much more in “What’s Up Doc"?”, one of my favorite movies of all time.
I think Space Balls is still my favorite Mel Brooks…… I watched it 800 times as a kid and it left a forever impression.
1/10 - Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
I picked this up in a DVD haul I wrote about in January thinking it was the original… it was not. It was not good and I didn’t finish it. None of the actors were convincing Texans. Should I try the original or the 2013 next?
One redeeming thing though is that it had this guy Eric Balfour who I love from Six Feet Under and Buffy:
7/10 - Anora
Finally saw Anora! I watched it on a plane so my viewing experience wasn’t the best per se…. but idk I was just not that connected to it. I thought Mikey Madison was so good and a joy to watch as Anni the movie overall hm… wasnt my cup of tea for whatever reason. Maybe it’s cause I hated Vanya so fuckin much and didn’t connect with many of the other characters that dominated so much of the screen time.
I really wanna love this movie though so I’ll probably be rewatching it soon.
Anotha month of lotsa reading! One book I will not share because it kinda reveals too much about what I’ve been working on recently:)))))) But, here’s everything else I read this month. Lotsa graphic novels and comics this time
I read the first 3 issues of “Hyde Street”…. and I’m definitely gonna keep reading as they come out. It follows a group of poor souls who drag bastards to hell. All of the characters are given really compelling backstories, many unlike anything I’ve ever seen described in other stories. I always appreciate anything that innovates in a reliable format. I think the afterlife is a subject explored many places in media… but this approach is unlike any i’ve ever read. Really excited to keep following these characters.
My favorite thing I read this month was the first collection of “Harrow County” comics. Set in North Carolina (any wonder that I like it so much?) in the 1930’s it follows a young girl who is the reincarnation of a famous evil witch. The art is exactly the haunting griminess that I relate to and captures the disturbing feeling i’m always trying to describe.
I’ve been reading “Priestdaddy” and loooving it. Her internal monologue brings a similar comfort to me as Mary Karr’s does: clever, funny, zooming in on tiny moments that bear huge emotional significance. My favorite kind of memoir to read: an intimate look at a neurotic but loveable family.
Had someone in the comments recommend me “Squee!” a comic by Jhonen Vasquez so I picked up a collection! Jhonen also wrote Invader Zim and Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. I loved reading it soooo much and this is such a nostalgic kind of early internet influenced humor for me to revisit. There is also a really sweet and unfiltered way that both Jhonen and Roman Dirge (who wrote Lenore) talk to their readers in the prefaces of these books. I really appreciate their unpolished approaches… as a creator it is really comforting. The titular character Squee is Courage the Cowardly Dog if he was a little kid. A deeply troubled soul. The ending of his story is very cinematic I can’t believe he pulled it off in comic form.
9/10 - Somebody Somewhere
This is one of the sweetest shows I’ve ever seen… and somehow also one of the funniest. Ultimate comfort watch even though it deals with a lot of real ass shit. It’s set in Manhattan, Kansas and follows a group of friends and family who live there and take care of each other. Fred Rococo is the most precious man on TV.
I also watched Succession finally…. it was incredible and flawless. It took me forever to sit down and watch it. I did it. That’s all ya need to know. I love cousin Greg OBVIOUSLY.
That’s all for March!!! Bye <3