Monthly Recap: December 2020

Happy New Year guys! I could wish you a year filled with health, joy and success, but I did it a year ago and we all saw how 2020 went. Instead, I'm bringing out the French in me and I am just going to say merde!  

Now, let's go back to December, my laziest month of 2020 because I really did nothing all month long. Sure, I learnt some German, picked up yoga, and bought myself an expensive bottle of Japanese gin — okay, maybe this really isn't an accomplishment I should brag about —, but I didn't doodle all month, I didn't write all month, other than for the blog, and I even forgot to write on my journal multiple days. But in my defence, developing a new celebrity crush basically every day is very exhausting and time-consuming. 

I finished reading Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Idiot and, as expected, I loved it. The protagonist is such a unique and interesting character, nothing like I've seen before in Dostoevsky, and it represents so well the human complexity, the corruption of society and it really goes to show that innocence does not equal ignorance. Then I read Bram Stoker's Dracula, and it was such a compelling and fascinating read. I could have done without the weirdly written English though (the zookeeper, boatman, etc.) and it really bothered me that Van Helsing occasionally spoke German since he is Dutch. I finally read Alice Walker's The Color Purple and it broke me. Crying while reading books isn't something I do often — I think it has happened only once before when I read Markus Zusak's The Book Thief —, but this one devastated me. I literally had to stop at times because some parts were so difficult to read I couldn't take it all at once. The writing is beautiful and powerful, and the characters so well developed. And I miraculously finished reading Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center. I started reading this book around June, I think, but it was so boring and dreadfully written I stopped. I only picked it up again after finishing Walker's book because I didn't want to start 2020 with unfinished books. 

I watched The Queen's Gambit last month and I loved it. Although I read nothing but good things about it, I was sceptical as I went in with a "chess is boring" mindset. It took me a bit to get into it but I soon found myself very engaged and fascinated by it, and would have never thought to find chess so compelling. Also, Anya Taylor-Joy is terrific. I also watched, finally, Apple's original Ted Lasso and oh my god! that show is so funny. I don't like Sudekis which is why it took me this long to watch it but damn, he's amazing in this — not only his performance is very good and humourous, but his character, Ted, is one of the most likeable dudes ever. The story isn't nothing new as it's yet another underdog tale but it's very well made and, thankfully, doesn't end in a clichéd way. I really can't wait for season 2. I watched another Netflix original series, the German How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast), and I loved it. The main character, Moritz, is such an asshole, Mark Zuckerberg kind of asshole, and yet I like him and keep rooting for him despite all the shitty stuff he does to his friends. I finished season 4 of Rick and Morty, which makes me very sad. And I watched Netflix's docufiction series Alien Worlds and, while I wasn't ready to see two rhinoceros beetles fuck, it was so compelling, it has great visuals, and I really liked how it uses certain conditions and life forms on earth to show how it would be possible for life to exist on planets with certain conditions. My only complaint is that the alien worlds should have had a bit more focus and that they shouldn't have used the same images over and over again. But it's comprehensible given the limited budget. 

Kajillionaire (2020) - Review

Vertigo (1958) - Review

Happiest Season (2020) - Review

Tenet (2020)

Plot: Armed with only one word, Tenet, and fighting for the survival of the entire world, a Protagonist (John David Washington) journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.

I didn't even want to watch this film because of all the bad reviews I had read over the past months, but I ended up watching it anyway as I was curious to see how bad it was. Now, I don't know if it's because I had very low expectations, but I absolutely adored this film. It's very complex, the "can't even look away for a second" kind of complex, but it's pretty easy to understand if you pay attention. The acting is amazing, the effects are amazing, and Elizabeth Debicki slays. I will rewatch as soon as I have the time and will definitely write a full review then. Rating: 4,5/5

The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020) - Review

Sound of Metal (2019) - Review

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Plot: Set in 1984 during the Cold War, the film follows Diana (Gal Gadot) and her past love Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) as they face off against Max Lord (Pedro Pascal) and Cheetah (Kristen Wiig).

I was really looking forward to seeing this film and unfortunately, it turns out to be the biggest disappointment of the year. I wasn't really invested in the story, I did not like that they yet again went for the "removes glasses and becomes hot" cliché, and yet again vilified the Middle East. Pedro Pascal is amazing though. I would totally rewatch the film for him. Rating: 3/5

Ghostbusters (1984)

Plot: After getting kicked out of their positions at a university in New York City, Dr Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Dr Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and Dr Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) start hunting ghosts for money. Things get tough when an ancient god from another dimension takes over a downtown skyscraper. 

I felt meh about Paul Feig's all-female remake, and I felt meh about the original too. I really liked seeing the three ghostbusters trapping spirits and all but I got a bit bored once the god plot became the main focus. Also, Murray plays always the same character. Rating: 2,5/5