It's been awhile, and again (shocker) I am thinking of somewhat changing the direction of my blog, but not too much. But expect more posts; I have a lot of ideas of things to write on!
This post is going to be on the new movies, books, and music I have watched, read, and listened to this past week. Some are good, some not so much. Let's dive right in.
I watched two new movies this past week, both quite good.
I saw a documentary called Above and Beyond about the formation of the Israeli Air Force. My dad actually recommended this to me and it is really interesting. It was produced by Nancy Spielberg, the younger sister of Steven Spielberg, and it included a lot of interviews from the actual pilots who were part of the Air Force. This was very impressive to me on many levels: one, that so many were American, and two, that so many were still alive and seemed to be doing so well! It also included an interview with Paul Reubens, whose father was also a pilot who flew for Israel. As far as documentaries go, Above and Beyond was very engaging and I learned a lot. It was released in 2014 and you can watch it on Netflix!
I also FINALLY saw the original 1931 Dracula with Bela Lugosi. I can't believe I went my whole life without watching this classic but I'm glad I finally saw it. In fact, I want to do a whole review on this, so I won't say too much here. I will just say that I was pleasantly surprised by this film and I highly recommend it.
I read two books the past week. One I read was called The Dramatic Imagination by Robert Edmond Jones. It was actually a book I had to get for college when I was an acting major for that hot second. I kept it because I thought I would enjoy it later on. Robert Edmond Jones is supposedly this famous costumer and set designer in the theatre world and this book he wrote is one that is still really revered. It had some interesting points but honestly, I just have little patience now for uppity theatre people. His style of writing and some of his opinions were just so over-the-top, unnecessarily flowery, and just snooty. It's like the kind of book that Frasier Crane would have on his shelf but it won't remain on mine.
The other book I read, though, was incredible. I got it free from work and just the cover art (which I sadly, do pay too much attention when it comes to all forms of entertainment) and the description on the back made me think it would a little too childish and boring. But oh how wrong I was! It's definitely a book for kids, but it still was very enjoyable for me. It is about a twelve-year-old girl from a small town in Tennessee who comes from this incredible family but she feels like a screw-up and that she can never live up to her family legacy. She then gets involved in defending her family cafe from a developer as well as in a hunt for a treasure that is legendary in her town's folklore. It is a very relatable story that happens to be filled with magic dreams, spooky graveyards, and lots and lots of hot chocolate and muffins. It was also a very good reminder to not underestimate children's literature. YA and kid's books can very well-written and poignant, no matter what age you are reading them! The Key to Extraordinary is a very EXTRAORDINARY story (ayyyyyy).
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As you can tell by this deeply unsettling CD cover that still makes me a little bit uncomfortable, I purchased Sia's new album this week! It's called This is Acting and there's much to write on. From the first song called "Bird Set Free," I knew this album was going to be good. It's definitely different from 1000 Forms of Fear. In fact there were some songs that I just didn't quite understand and couldn't believe were on a Sia album, the most notable one being "Sweet Design" which is a booty-promotin' song featuring samples from none other than "Thong Song" by Sisqo (which, let's be honest, was the truest poetry the world received in music-form in 1999). Upon doing some research, I learned that almost this entire album is comprised of songs that Sia wrote for other people, like Rihanna and Adele, that were rejected. That's why Sia called the album This is Acting; she stated these were words she would never say herself and that the whole album was like an act. That is so interesting and it makes me love the album even more. I don't like it as much as 1000 Forms of Fear, but it's still very good. Sia really fails to ever disappoint me. My favorite tracks on this album are "Bird Set Free," the anthem that opened this album so wonderfully just like "Chandelier" did for 1000 Forms of Fear; the two singles "Alive" and "Cheap Thrills;" "Broken Glass," which is just a really pretty song; and "Space Between," which has a very Twin Peaks vibe to it. I recommend buying the deluxe version of this album because it includes two really amazing songs at the end called "Fist Fighting in a Sandstorm" and "Summer Rain."
Overall, it was a very good week for movies and books and music! The next post will be a review on the Dutch film Secrets of War, which I am very excited for. See you then xx
This post is going to be on the new movies, books, and music I have watched, read, and listened to this past week. Some are good, some not so much. Let's dive right in.
I watched two new movies this past week, both quite good.
I saw a documentary called Above and Beyond about the formation of the Israeli Air Force. My dad actually recommended this to me and it is really interesting. It was produced by Nancy Spielberg, the younger sister of Steven Spielberg, and it included a lot of interviews from the actual pilots who were part of the Air Force. This was very impressive to me on many levels: one, that so many were American, and two, that so many were still alive and seemed to be doing so well! It also included an interview with Paul Reubens, whose father was also a pilot who flew for Israel. As far as documentaries go, Above and Beyond was very engaging and I learned a lot. It was released in 2014 and you can watch it on Netflix!
I also FINALLY saw the original 1931 Dracula with Bela Lugosi. I can't believe I went my whole life without watching this classic but I'm glad I finally saw it. In fact, I want to do a whole review on this, so I won't say too much here. I will just say that I was pleasantly surprised by this film and I highly recommend it.
I read two books the past week. One I read was called The Dramatic Imagination by Robert Edmond Jones. It was actually a book I had to get for college when I was an acting major for that hot second. I kept it because I thought I would enjoy it later on. Robert Edmond Jones is supposedly this famous costumer and set designer in the theatre world and this book he wrote is one that is still really revered. It had some interesting points but honestly, I just have little patience now for uppity theatre people. His style of writing and some of his opinions were just so over-the-top, unnecessarily flowery, and just snooty. It's like the kind of book that Frasier Crane would have on his shelf but it won't remain on mine.
The other book I read, though, was incredible. I got it free from work and just the cover art (which I sadly, do pay too much attention when it comes to all forms of entertainment) and the description on the back made me think it would a little too childish and boring. But oh how wrong I was! It's definitely a book for kids, but it still was very enjoyable for me. It is about a twelve-year-old girl from a small town in Tennessee who comes from this incredible family but she feels like a screw-up and that she can never live up to her family legacy. She then gets involved in defending her family cafe from a developer as well as in a hunt for a treasure that is legendary in her town's folklore. It is a very relatable story that happens to be filled with magic dreams, spooky graveyards, and lots and lots of hot chocolate and muffins. It was also a very good reminder to not underestimate children's literature. YA and kid's books can very well-written and poignant, no matter what age you are reading them! The Key to Extraordinary is a very EXTRAORDINARY story (ayyyyyy).
.As you can tell by this deeply unsettling CD cover that still makes me a little bit uncomfortable, I purchased Sia's new album this week! It's called This is Acting and there's much to write on. From the first song called "Bird Set Free," I knew this album was going to be good. It's definitely different from 1000 Forms of Fear. In fact there were some songs that I just didn't quite understand and couldn't believe were on a Sia album, the most notable one being "Sweet Design" which is a booty-promotin' song featuring samples from none other than "Thong Song" by Sisqo (which, let's be honest, was the truest poetry the world received in music-form in 1999). Upon doing some research, I learned that almost this entire album is comprised of songs that Sia wrote for other people, like Rihanna and Adele, that were rejected. That's why Sia called the album This is Acting; she stated these were words she would never say herself and that the whole album was like an act. That is so interesting and it makes me love the album even more. I don't like it as much as 1000 Forms of Fear, but it's still very good. Sia really fails to ever disappoint me. My favorite tracks on this album are "Bird Set Free," the anthem that opened this album so wonderfully just like "Chandelier" did for 1000 Forms of Fear; the two singles "Alive" and "Cheap Thrills;" "Broken Glass," which is just a really pretty song; and "Space Between," which has a very Twin Peaks vibe to it. I recommend buying the deluxe version of this album because it includes two really amazing songs at the end called "Fist Fighting in a Sandstorm" and "Summer Rain."
Overall, it was a very good week for movies and books and music! The next post will be a review on the Dutch film Secrets of War, which I am very excited for. See you then xx
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